HIGHWAY 3 CORRIDOR DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY HIGHLIGHTS CATHEDRAL PROVINCIAL PARK Photo: Johan Lolos

THANK WHAT’S YOU INSIDE The Highway 3 Corridor Destination the (Syilx), Cranbrook 1. INTRODUCTION Development Strategy was guided and Creston — home of the Sinixt 2. REALIZING THE POTENTIAL by input from over 100 tourism and Ktunaxa. 3. AT A GLANCE partners representing the diversity of communities, organizations, Thank you to our tourism partners 4. GEARING UP businesses, interests and passions. who participated in the process by attending planning workshops, We thank the First Nations on conducting interviews, hosting site whose traditional territories we visits and responding to surveys. gathered for our community meetings Special thanks to the members of including: Hope — home of the the Working Group as well as the Shxw’ow’hamel, Manning Park facilitators of the Highway 3 Corridor — home of the Upper Similkameen destination development process. and the Stó:lō, — home of

HIGHWAY 3 CORRIDOR | 2 1 INTRODUCTION

WHY A STRATEGY? 3B and 43 and the immediate hinterland, comprises provincial strategy thereby ensuring a truly integrated some 838 km of mountainous, valley and riverside and cohesive combination of bottom-up and top- The Highway 3 Corridor Destination Development roads. It travels through several First Nations communities down destination planning. Strategy was developed to enhance the competitiveness linking cities, towns and smaller settlements along its of the Highway 3 tourism destination over the next 10 length. It is strategically connected to air and rail years and beyond. The strategy was developed as part transport infrastructure and intersects a number of A KEY IMPERATIVE of Destination BC’s Destination Development Program key north-south transit routes. It is a corridor in to support and guide the long-term growth of tourism Successful destination development recognizes that transition. Historically significant as a gold rush trail, in . This document presents the key “we all have a role to play”. The recommendations tourism and recreation opportunities, as well as highlights of the Highway 3 Corridor strategy. contained within the Destination Development lifestyle/amenity migration, have contributed to a Strategy form the foundation for additional, focused transition along the corridor from a resource-based and aligned discussions regarding implementation WHO IS IT FOR? economy to a more diversified one. Key sectors now locally, regionally, and provincially. Tourism partners include agritourism, viticulture, cultural heritage have already articulated their desire to work The Highway 3 Corridor Destination Development tourism, manufacturing, and tech start-ups. cooperatively, as a unified Highway 3 Corridor, on Strategy is a guide for tourism partners as they work destination development initiatives. It is only by collaboratively to grow the visitor economy. The working collaboratively that the true potential of the strategy will be reviewed and updated to reflect WHERE DOES IT FIT? Highway 3 Corridor can be realized. changing tourism objectives, priorities, and market The Highway 3 Corridor is one of 20 planning areas conditions. Results will be tracked and emerging across BC for which destination development strategies learning outcomes will inform future implementation are being developed. Each planning area represents a AT A GLANCE activities thereby optimizing their effectiveness in logical destination or corridor for visitors in and around increasing economic, social, and cultural benefits for In what follows, the key features of the strategy — the the province. As planning areas cross multiple jurisdictions, the entire Highway 3 Corridor. vision, the motivating experiences and the key aspects adopting an integrated approach with a shared vision of each of the development themes — are set out. and coordinated investment is critical. The Highway 3 While further detail on each of these elements is WHERE IS IT FOR? Corridor traverses several tourism regions — , available in the full strategy, they are brought together Coast & Mountains, Thompson Okanagan and the here, in the following “At A Glance” section, to Known as the Crowsnest Highway, Highway 3 in its Kootenay Rockies. In time, regional strategies will be demonstrate the integrated nature of the approach entirety stretches some 1,161 km from Hope, BC to developed, informed by the outcomes of the planning being taken; the overall scope of the endeavour and , . Within BC, Highway 3 is also area destination development strategies. These the importance of working to a shared agenda. known as the Southern Trans-Provincial Highway. The regional strategies will in turn inform the creation of a Highway 3 Corridor, which also includes Highway 3A,

HIGHWAY 3 CORRIDOR | 3 2 REALIZING THE POTENTIAL

A DISTINCTIVE DESTINATION The appeal of the Highway 3 Corridor lies in its particular combination of people, place, pace and personality. With a First Nations’ heritage that is cherished and celebrated, its distinctiveness derives from the quirkiness, small town friendliness and sense of belonging of its many communities.

Clean air, rejuvenating water, perfect powder snow and experiences, responding to the needs of visitors KEY OPPORTUNITIES relatively easy access to a backcountry network of year-round. Working together and adopting a sustainable trails and tracks provide wonderful opportunities for approach, partners seek to realise the following vision: While the destination faces a number of challenges being in nature, whether to indulge a passion for including the connectivity and reliability of the driving adventurous activity or seek out zen-like calm. As a TRAVELLERS WITH A experience, the absence of a critial mass of product experiences, dependency on peak season and staff road trip, Highway 3 offers the prospect of a relaxed SENSE OF ADVENTURE pace of travel with multiple opportunities to stop, constraints, key opportunities focus on the need to: explore and spend time in distinctive communities ARE ATTRACTED TO THE • Enhance the road trip experience along the way. Locally grown food and drink, live HIGHWAY 3 CORRIDOR’S ABUNDANCE • Showcase community character music, festivals and events creatively express the OF PARKS, REMARKABLE OUTDOOR • Create new off-peak season experiences to motivate destination’s contemporary culture while encounters RECREATION AND THE WELCOMING travel — with a focus on outdoor recreation/trails, arts with storytellers and story keepers reveal the depth of and culture, agritourism, storytelling its history and heritage. ECCENTRICITY OF ITS MANY SMALL • Strengthen support for business viability COMMUNITIES, EACH OFFERING • Manage visitor growth and environmental sustainability A SHARED VISION INTERESTING LANDSCAPES, STORIES The ambition is for the Highway 3 Corridor to become AND HISTORIES TO SHARE. HIGHWAY a truly remarkable driving experience. Weaving its way 3’S SAFE, SCENIC ROUTE CAN through stunning landscapes and linking distinctive BE EXPLORED BY TRAVELLERS AT communities, it provides access to a range of compelling THEIR OWN PACE. IT IS BC’S BEST KNOWN, BEST-LOVED, WEST-EAST DRIVING CORRIDOR.

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RED MOUNTAIN RESORT EXPERIENCE POTENTIAL Photo: Kari Medig Specific product experiences and signature locations with the potential to motivate travel to the Highway 3 Corridor, encourage longer stays and generate year-round tourism include:

OUTDOOR AND RECREATION • Kootenays (craft beer) • Hope/Manning Park — camping, • Nelson (restaurants) hiking • Osoyoos — Summer water activities STORIES AND LEGENDS • Christina Lake — Summer water • Othello Tunnels (Hope) activities, hiking, mountain biking • Mascot Gold Mines (Hedley) • Fernie — Skiing and mountain biking • Tashme Internment Camp • Rossland — Skiing and mountain biking (Princeton area) • Powder Highway — Skiing and winter • Grist Mill () activities • NK’MIP Desert Cultural Centre • Kootenay — Dirt trail running/ (Osoyoos) mountain biking • Doukhobor Discovery Centre (Castlegar) ARTS, CULTURE, FESTIVALS, AND EVENTS • Italian heritage/mining history (Trail) • Artisan communities/areas include • Historic downtown/mining history/ Hope, Grand Forks, Castlegar, Gold Fever Follies (Rossland) Creston, Nelson, and Crawford Bay. • Creston Wildlife Centre (Creston) • Further signature events to attract • Ktunaxa Interpretive Centre visitation to the destination to (St. Eugene) be identified • Fort Steele Heritage Town (Cranbrook) FOOD, DRINK, AND AGRITOURISM • Underground Mining Railway • Osoyoos/Oliver (fruit, wineries) (Kimberley) Keremeos/Cawston (fruit) • Historic downtown (Fernie) • Creston Valley (fruit, wineries) • Elkview Mine ()

HIGHWAY 3 CORRIDOR | 5 3 AT A GLANCE

VISION STATEMENT Travellers with a sense of adventure are attracted to the Highway 3 corridor’s abundance of parks, remarkable outdoor recreation and the welcoming eccentricity of its many small communities, each offering interesting landscapes, stories and histories to share. Highway 3’s safe, scenic route can be explored by travellers at their own pace. It is BC’s best known, best-loved, west–east driving corridor.

OUTDOOR ARTS, FESTIVALS FOOD, DRINK STORIES & RECREATION & EVENTS & AGRITOURISM & LEGENDS

THEME 1 “GOING FURTHER” CREATING A MEMORABLE ROAD TRIP

SAFE SIGNED SERVICED SEGMENTED SEAMLESS A safe, convenient and reliable The availability of consistent and An iconic stop every hour A suite of coherent, compelling Easy and intuitive negotiation of driving experience will be key to uniform signage of what’s ahead supplemented by a suite of supporting and connected itineraries will meet access to, along, and through inspiring the confidence of is a key consideration for visitors visitor services along and off the route the needs and satisfy the interests communities and back onto the travellers and safeguarding the new to the route. will convert the highway from a of different visitor segments, highway will raise the profile of the reputation of the route. “transit” to a “touring” experience. whether they want to explore on two route whilst enhancing the wheels, in four or on foot. experience for visitors.

THEME 2 “STAYING LONGER” — SHOWCASING COMMUNITY CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY

DISTINCTIVE GREAT FIRST SEAMLESS A WARM WELCOME PLACES & LASTING IMPRESSIONS CONNECTIVITY Activate a suite of training initiatives to Convert the unique assets, attributes Ensure that the places — particularly Manage the impact of the highway in equip “ambassadors” with the skills to and associations into compelling the downtowns along the corridor downtown locations by affording priority engage confidently and knowledgably experiences that will motivate visitors to — which visitors encounter are vibrant, to residents and visitors in terms of with visitors about the “end-to-end” come, explore, stay longer and return. attractive and well-looked after. pedestrian movement and circulation. offer of experiences available.

THEME 3 “GOING DEEPER” — DEVELOPING & ENHANCING INFRASTRUCTURE, PRODUCTS & EXPERIENCES

GREAT TRAILS FOR CELEBRATING HERITAGE FEEDING BODY STIMULATING CURIOUS A GREAT OUTDOORS & CULTURE & SOUL MINDS

Create a suite of iconic trail based journeys Curate and judiciously program a calendar Engage farmers and growers in creating Enable the story keepers — the First that will motivate visitor interests, optimize of motivational events and festivals great food and drink experiences enabling Nations communities — to engage visitors local networks and align with iconic bike which best showcase the distinctive visitors to explore a wealth of locally in the rich history of their traditional and rail trails. Facilitate access to the outdoors attributes of the communities along produced, locally crafted and locally territories, curate a compelling cultural for year-round countryside and waterway the corridor, extend the visitor served fare. tourism offer and derive real benefit from pursuits, including camping. season and promote unity of purpose. their participation in the visitor economy.

PROVIDING AN ENABLING & SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT Work collaboratively across the corridor to enhance air access to the destination; promote business and investment opportunities and facilitate the development of experiences that are accessible for all. 3 AT A GLANCE

THEME 4 “GROWING STRONGER” — BUILDING YEAR-ROUND, LONG-TERM BUSINESS VIABILITY & SUSTAINABILITY

THRIVING INDIGENOUS CONNECTED YEAR ROUND INVESTING IN PEOPLE SHARING INFORMATION FACILITATING GROWTH TOURISM Facilitate those involved in the Match sector needs in terms & KNOW-HOW Facilitate investment and Build the capacity of First business of tourism to align of required skills with the capacity Communicate, update and streamline the approval process Nations communities to lead, their offer in response to visitor of educational institutes to disseminate information and guidance for new product development develop and grow a sustainable demand and work collaboratively deliver relevant training. Offer on the range of resources and initiatives; meet the accommodation and culturally rich to create, communicate, package tailored, affordable, on-site training supports available to tourism needs of industry employees Indigenous tourism industry. and sell compelling experiences. and mentoring to existing businesses to assist with funding, and review tax policies. tourism businesses. mentoring and training.

THEME 5 “WORKING TOGETHER” — EMBRACING COOPERATION & COLLABORATION, BUILDING COMMUNITY SUPPORT & UNDERSTANDING

COLLABORATE ADVOCATE BUILD GATHER & SHARE TO COMPETE & COMMUNICATE RESILIENCE INTELLIGENCE Promote the Highway 3 Corridor Build a coalition of support to Find ways to renew, resource and reward the Develop a research program to better Destination Development Strategy safeguard the resource base for tourism role of volunteers in sustaining key aspects understand the performance, perception amongst key stakeholders and facilitate a while acknowledging the capacity of of the visitor economy. Institute a forum and potential of tourism in the planning culture of partnership at all levels to other industries to enhance/constrain dedicated to sharing learning outcomes; area. Engage visitor touch points in realize the ambition of this shared agenda the development and performance adopting best practice and building capacity. capturing data and market insights. for destination development. of the sector.

THEME 6 “TREADING LIGHTLY” — BALANCED & MANAGED GROWTH & ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

INTEGRATED PLANNING DIVERSIFY MANAGE & DESTINATION & BUSINESS & DEVELOPMENT TO THRIVE REDUCE IMPACT ACCREDITATION Work collaboratively with key players to Develop evidence based scenarios to better Adopt a sustainable approach to the Create a tourism charter to confirm, understand development needs, assess understand the impact of climate change. Build development of tourism supported by celebrate and communicate the potential impacts and devise an agreed the capacity of the sector to respond and a program of monitoring and measuring importance of adopting a upon framework for realizing and managing become more resilient through, for example, the long-term health of the ecosystem sustainable approach to growing the future interventions. diversifying its offerings. to ensure its protection. visitor economy.

HIGHWAY 3 CORRIDOR | 7 4 GEARING UP

FRAMEWORK SUCCESS NETWORKS CATALYST PROJECTS The strategy presents the destination This strategy is intended to inform development objectives using a actions for the future, which over time The following eight actions were identified as consistent framework to determine the may be embedded in local, regional, catalyst projects for immediately moving the prioritization of each objective and the and provincial decision making. The strategy into implementation. relative timing for implementation. result will be an integrated system of Objectives with a provincial or regional priorities that will achieve better Going Further: Creating cultural/ancestral trade trails, settlers, scope are identified as well and will development decisions, drive greater a Memorable Road Trip stories of reinvention, and Japanese inform the regional and provincial tourism revenues, and realize benefits • Map out entire visitor journey internment camps and resettlement. destination development strategies. for businesses and communities on adopting a variety of travelling • Facilitate meaningful engagement the Highway 3 Corridor. All this will “personas” and identify opportunities where First Nations are benefitting contribute to a thriving, vibrant and to improve the overall visitor touring and ensure ownership of Indigenous High Value growing economy. experience through enhancements. tourism development. 1.  QUICK 2.  LONGER TERM • Implement Destination BC WINS ACTIONS Joint strategy ownership among all Staying Longer: Showcasing Community Remarkable Experiences Program (2017–2020) (2021–2027) planning area tourism partners is a Character and Personality across the corridor. critical component of this program’s • Have each community develop an success. The strategy identifies a inventory and identify their own Working Together: Embracing Cooperation suggested success network of tourism 5–10 unique assets to enhance in & Collaboration, Building Community 3.  SET ASIDE 4.  LEAVE OUT line with the four motivating Support & Understanding UNTIL OF STRATEGY, partners to champion and move experiences. Low Value RESOURCES REEVALUATE actions within each objective forward. • Present the Highway 3 Corridor ALLOW IN FUTURE Destination Development Strategy Being identified as a partner doesn’t Going Deeper: Developing & Enhancing (same package/presentation) to each mean the actions have been endorsed Infrastructure, Products& Experiences economic development agency along Low Complexity High Complexity or resources have been committed. • Create a trail asset inventory and the corridor. analyze the community based trails to • Evolve the Mayors’ and Chairs’ identify one or two iconic Highway 3 tourism subcommittee to a Highway Corridor destination trails to motivate 3 Tourism Alliance to work with travel to the planning area. tourism regions to implement this • Develop a plan to enhance the 10-year Highway 3 Corridor Highway 3 Corridor journey to Destination Development Strategy. support the Stories + Legends pathways through First Nation

HIGHWAY 3 CORRIDOR | 8 You can likely find it in the more detailed Highway 3 Corridor LOOKING Destination Development strategy or you can reach us at: DESTINATION BC [email protected]

MINISTRY OF TOURISM, ARTS AND CULTURE FOR MORE [email protected] INDIGENOUS TOURISM ASSOCIATION OF BC INFORMATION? [email protected] KOOTENAY ROCKIES TOURISM [email protected]

THOMPSON OKANAGAN TOURISM ASSOCIATION [email protected]

FRONT COVER PHOTO: HIGHWAY 3 AND THE KOOTENAY RIVER, Kari Medig

HIGHWAY 3 CORRIDOR

OUTDOOR ARTS FOOD STORIES RECREATION FESTIVALS DRINK LEGENDS EVENTS AGRITOURISM

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