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TOURISM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
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Appendix 2
Rationale for Promotion of Events and Festivals
(from 1997 Tourism Strategy) |
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Objective: |
To attract visitors to Revelstoke by
hosting a number of well targeted, high quality festivals and/or events
on an annual basis. |
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Rationale: |
- Revelstoke already
organizes and hosts a number of successful festivals and events (e.g.,
the Mountain Arts Festival, Kokanee Ball Tournament, Grizzly Plaza
summer entertainment) and, therefore, has a foundation upon which to
develop this sector.
- Festivals and
events bring a group of visitors to the community for a set period of
time. These visitors provide a captive audience for area businesses.
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Market Trends: |
Although general market data on
participation rates in festivals and events is unavailable, many
communities incorporate special events into their tourism activities in
recognition of their economic contribution (e.g., Victoria Jazz
Festival, Nanaimo Bathtub races, Squamish logger sports, Calgary
Stampede, etc.). In addition to creating a recognizable community image,
festivals and events reflect the current preference of many visitors to
participate in interesting or educational experiences as part of their
holidays. As a result, the incorporation of festivals and events as part
of Revelstoke’s tourism strategy is believed to offer promising market
potential. |
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Development Initiatives |
- Because of the
logistical and capital implications of creating a festival and events
focus for Revelstoke, it is recommended that this be viewed as a mid to
longer term strategy objective. Although current festival/event
activities should continue, this longer term focus will give the
community time to ensure that festival and event planning and marketing
activities are undertaken in an organized and effective manner.
- In order to
successfully establish a festivals and events culture in Revelstoke, it
is recommended that a festivals and events coordinator or committee be
established. This position should be separate from, but work closely
with, the tourism development agency. While it could start out as a
part-time position, it should, like the tourism development agent, be a
paid position (the person selected should have proven experience
organizing festivals and events). Until a regular festivals and events
schedule is established, the coordinator could be paid by the sponsoring
agency (where relevant), or on a commission basis.
- The
festival/events coordinator will need to identify appropriate festival
and events options for Revelstoke. This should be done in consultation
with the tourism development agency and affected organizations (e.g.,
drama club, sporting leagues), and should be based on an assessment of
the town’s festival and events strengths (e.g., facilities, existence of
a local sponsoring organization) and a review of opportunities. The
community should initially focus on achieving three or four well-run
events (over and above the Mountain Arts Festival and Grizzly Plaza
program) during the year.
- Initially,
festivals and events should be hosted using available community
facilities. Without knowing how the festivals and events culture of
Revelstoke will evolve, it is difficult to make capital development
recommendations. It is suggested that the community review festival and
events activities on a regular basis to assess facility requirements and
development feasibility.
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Marketing Initiatives |
The nature of marketing activity will vary
depending on identified festivals and events opportunities. Regardless
of the events hosted, however, marketing activity should be:
- initiated well in
advance of event dates;
- well targeted
(e.g., a drama festival should be marketed directly to drama clubs,
etc.)
- used to cross-sell
or package community tourism services; and
- high quality.
In addition to using marketing to
attract event/festival participants, marketing will be required (where
relevant), to attract festival/event spectators. This can be done in a
cost-effective way by:
- making
listings of events/festivals available to hotels, the Visitor
InfoCentre etc.;
- using a card
in hotel rooms to invite guests to attend events; and
- incorporating
a complete events listing in appropriate tourism literature, on the
Internet, as part of community news ads, etc.
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| Implementation: |
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Initiative |
Timing |
Roles/ Responsibilities |
Evaluation Process |
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To attract visitors to Revelstoke by
hosting a number of well targeted, high quality festivals and/or events
on an annual basis. |
Mid term to select a coordinator/committee
and identify festival and events opportunities.
Long-term to expand festival/events calendar
and/or to build additional facilities. |
The selected festivals/ events coordinator/
committee would be responsible for implementing these recommendations.
Selection of a coordinator could be done
by a committee comprised of the tourism development agent, tourism
committee members, the City, and perhaps, representatives of relevant
local organizations. |
The success of this strategy will be
measured in terms of the number of new, successful festivals/events
initiated. It is proposed that 4 new
festivals/events be initiated over the next 5 years.
Success will also be measured by
festival/event participant days as determined by the number of
registered attendees and the number of non-local spectators.
Participation days should be tracked
by the coordinator. Spectator days will be less quantifiable but could
be assessed using ticket sales, spectator surveys, etc. |
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