Macro Environment December 2015 WEST KOOTENAY/ REVELSTOKE DESTINATION DEVELOPM E N T SITUATION ANALYSIS DRAFT: March 13, 2017 Destination BC Destination Development Program Planning Area | Page 1 Macro Environment November 2015 CONTACTS Destination BC Representatives: Alison McKay (604)-660-3754 [email protected] Kootenay Rockies Tourism Association: Emilie Cayer-Huard (250)-427-4838 ext. 206 [email protected] Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training representative: Amber Crofts (250) 356-1489 [email protected] Destination BC Facilitator: Suzanne Denbak (604)-905-9678 [email protected] Table of Contents West Kootenay/Revelstoke | Page 2 Macro Environment December 2015 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Background and Purpose .................................................................................................................................... 5 Planning Area ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 Tourism Industry Context (Trends and Management Structure) ....................................................................... 7 West Kootenay/Revelstoke Performance and Market Analysis ......................................................................... 9 West Kootenay/Revelstoke Destination Assessment ....................................................................................... 10 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 14 1.1 Program Overview ................................................................................................................................... 14 1.2 Planning Process ...................................................................................................................................... 15 1.3 West Kootenay/Revelstoke Planning Area Description .......................................................................... 17 2 TOURISM INDUSTRY CONTEXT ....................................................................................................................... 47 2.1 Global Tourism Performance ................................................................................................................... 47 2.2 Canadian Tourism Performance .............................................................................................................. 47 2.3 BC Tourism Performance ......................................................................................................................... 48 2.4 Visitor Characteristics – By Activity ......................................................................................................... 63 2.5 Economic Trends ..................................................................................................................................... 66 2.6 Consumer Trends ..................................................................................................................................... 67 2.7 Destination Management Trends and Policy Issues ................................................................................ 71 2.8 BC Tourism Policies .................................................................................................................................. 73 2.9 Destination Management and Marketing Focus in BC ............................................................................ 75 3 WEST KOOTENAY/REVELSTOKE PLANNING AREA MANAGEMENT CONTEXT ................................................ 79 3.1 Management Structure & Key Initiatives ................................................................................................ 79 3.2 Past Tourism Planning Initiatives ............................................................................................................. 97 4 WEST KOOTENAY/REVELSTOKE PERFORMANCE AND MARKET ANALYSIS .................................................. 101 4.1 Tourism Performance ............................................................................................................................ 101 4.2 Key Markets ........................................................................................................................................... 104 4.3 Visitor Characteristics ............................................................................................................................ 105 4.4 Psychographic - Market Segmentation ................................................................................................. 105 5 WEST KOOTENAY/REVELSTOKE DESTINATION ASSESSMENT ...................................................................... 106 5.1 Summary of Demand Generators/Experience Enhancers ..................................................................... 106 5.2 Destination Assessment ........................................................................................................................ 107 5.3 Key Comparables/Examples .................................................................................................................. 116 Destination BC Destination Development Program Planning Area | Page 3 Macro Environment 5.4 SWOT/Destination Potential Analysis ................................................................................................... 122 5.5 Summary of Relevant Constraints & Opportunities .............................................................................. 123 6. PLANNING ISSUES AND CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................November.. 127 2015 West Kootenay/Revelstoke | Page 4 Macro Environment EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background and Purpose November 2015 Destination BC is offering destination development planning assistance to support the ongoing viability of BC’s tourism sector. The Destination Development Program (Program) is a critical part of Destination BC’s corporate strategy and will facilitate the collaboration of local, regional and provincial agencies, First Nations, destination marketing organizations (DMOs), tourism operators and other community interests to guide the long-term growth of tourism experiences and revenues. Destination development is all about bringing together planning, policy and capacity building efforts to: • Ensure that a destination is well positioned to make future strategic decisions; • Address impediments to growth and capitalize on opportunities; • Outline key assets of a destination including the main product themes/experiences available; • Outline key priorities for new product, infrastructure and amenity development; and • Identify impediments to development and tourism growth (e.g. potential policy or capacity issues, available funding, access to funding etc.) The benefits of destination development include: Creation of a clear ‘road-map’ for the destination; Leveraging the strength of the destination as seen by the visitor; Identifying opportunities and challenges to tourism growth; Establishing a joint vision that will direct development activity in a range of areas; Establishing priorities and align investments to grow the visitor economy; and Establishing the basis for joint action and inter-community dialogue. Planning Area The West Kootenay/Revelstoke planning area stretches from Rossland/Trail/Castlegar in the west to Revelstoke in the north and Creston in the east. The southern boundary is the US border. It includes the communities of Revelstoke, Nakusp, New Denver, Silverton, Slocan, Kaslo, Creston, Nelson, Castlegar, Salmo, Rossland, Trail, Montrose, Fruitvale, Warfield, and all areas of the Regional District of Central Kootenay, Areas A and B of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary and Area A of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District. The West Kootenay/Revelstoke planning area is within the Traditional Territory of the Ktunaxa Nation which includes the Ktunaxa Nation Council, with central government offices located in Cranbrook, and the following communities located in Canada (two additional communities are located south of the 49th parallel):ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation in Windemere; ʔakinku̓ mǂasnuqǂiʔit (Tobacco Plains Indian Band) in Grasmere, ʔaq̓am (St. Mary’s Indian Band) near Cranbrook; and yaqan nuykiy (Lower Kootenay Indian Band) near Creston). West Kootenay/Revelstoke | Page 5 Macro Environment The Sinixt First Nation (Arrow Lakes people), although declared extinct by the Federal government in 1956 are currently pursuing a reversal of this decision. Sinixt Traditional Territory also includes the West Kootenay/Revelstoke planning area. Secwepemc and Okanagan indigenous peoples also indicate Traditional Territory interests withinNovember the West 2015 Kootenay/Revelstoke planning area Tourism and recreation opportunities as well as amenity migration have begun to shift the dependence from a resource based to a more diversified economy. Alongside tourism, forestry, mining and agriculture remain important sectors. There is also a significant service sector that includes health and education in the planning area. Recently the number of technology-based companies choosing the West Kootenay/Revelstoke area as their base of operations has increased. The MIDAS Centre in Trail recently opened offering