CANMORE – Officials with Tourism Canmore Kananaskis (TCK) are hoping Canmore residents and business owners will get engaged at a pair of upcoming open house sessions.
Two sessions are set for next Thursday (Nov. 1) from 10 a.m. to noon and 4 to 6 p.m. and their purpose is to determine what is the future for tourism in Canmore and Kananskis Country.
TCK executive director Dave Rodney said he would like the community to join in on the journey to help build an exciting new community tourism strategic plan.
“We don’t want to tell the community what to do or how to do it,” Rodney said. “We are earnestly seeking honest advice as to what they believe the future of tourism in Canmore and Kananskis should be.
“This is a longer, tougher process, but it is definitely the right thing to do because our tourism economy affects all our friends and neighbours and the quality of life of both locals and visitors.”
TCK board chair Andrew Shepherd said the input sessions are critical at this phase of the organization’s evolution toward re-establishing itself as the community’s destination marketing organization.
“Right now we need to get it off the ground and get it going with forward momentum,” said Shepherd, the general manager of the Blackstone Mountain Lodge.
Rodney added it would be worthwhile to consider TCK as a destination management organization, because tourism is so much more than marketing. He said because tourism affects all aspects of the local economy, they hope to see a cross-section of the community represented at the sessions.
“Whether people have jobs in restaurants, retail, hotels, adventure companies, or small business of any kind, or people who just care deeply about our front yard and our backyard in Canmore and Kananaskis – we want to hear from everybody and this is their chance,” he said.
