Mission – Council approved a new five-year strategic plan to support and develop Mission as a tourism destination last week (May 16) at Regular Council.
“As a destination, Mission has a great deal to offer,” said Mayor Paul Horn. “Both residents and visitors enjoy our great outdoors, arts and heritage, and friendly neighbours. Our new Tourism Strategy looks for ways to better attract visitors and drive economic activity based on our strengths, while helping us to maintain the fibre of our community.”
The strategy was developed by Cadence Strategies, the Tourism Committee, along with community stakeholders to focus on what Mission currently has to offer and the aspirations shared by residents, business owners, and tourism stakeholders.
“The Tourism Committee has since inception been a diverse group of passionate committee members. The diversity of skills, specialized knowledge, and capabilities has been the strength and driving force for the creativity, cooperation, and successes realized over the last three years,” said Paula Kent, Committee Chair. “As a committee, we are confident in our strategic direction and the tactics for achieving our future goals.”
The five strategic pillars in the new strategy are:
1. Research and Industry Support: To gain a clear understanding of our visitors and key
markets including where they are going, for how long, their motivations and priorities.
This will inform marketing and investment opportunities and begin to develop “the value
of tourism” for the City.
2. Destination Marketing: To create a brand identity and cohesive marketing campaign that inspires and attracts increased visitation and economic spending to the community; while also generating investment interest and a sense of pride for residents.
3. Destination Development: To support the realization of Mission’s potential as a tourism destination and enhance the competitive edge through the development of new business and recreational products.
4. Communication and Advocacy: To create a network of connected and strategically
aligned stakeholders and partners who collaborate with all levels of government and
engaged citizen advocates to generate a strong visitor economy.
5. Visitor Servicing, Education and Stewardship: To offer excellent visitor information and customer service through a variety of physical and virtual platforms and to educate residents and visitors in a mindful way of the importance of the natural resources available.
A one-year Implementation Plan was also created to get the process underway.
The Strategic Plan (2022-2026) and the Implementation Plan for 2022 can both be found at tourismmission.ca/about-us/
Special thanks go to Destination BC for the initial funding of this project and to all those who contributed.
Committee members Paula Kent, Chair, and Glen Robertson, Economic Development Select Committee Representative joined Clare Seeley, Manager of Tourism to present a high-level overview of Tourism Mission’s strategic direction at the Regular Council meeting on May 16.
