The city's public services committee listens as Jace Anderson of Medicine Hat Tourism gives his annual tourism report.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
The Destination Marketing Organization gave its annual report to the city’s public services committee on Monday, suggesting Medicine Hat tourism is starting to take off.
The year is the 11th year of the arrangement, as noted by Jace Anderson, executive director at Tourism Medicine Hat.
“Our mission is to be an industry-led nonprofit that exists to strengthen Medicine Hat’s tourism profile through destination marketing,” said Anderson. Over the course of the presentation, Anderson identified some of the biggest draws to the community for those travelling in the region.
He feels Medicine Hat is no longer an emerging tourism destination, but a maturing one.
One of the major draws remains the outdoors experience, with the 330 days of sunshine a year and the “incredible confluence of highway, waterway and community.” Other major points Anderson identified included the historic downtown area, the Historic Clay District, Echo Dale Regional Park and the Cypress Hills and Elkwater area, representing the more regional approach.
Anderson spoke of a “hub and spoke” principle, recognizing that while the city is a hub for tourists, there are many outlying destinations that bring visitors in. He mentioned Hidden Valley as an example of this.
Significant events in the past year included the Jehovah’s Witness assembly, which Anderson was pleased to note will be returning in 2024, with the second being the Canadian Enduro Downhill Mountain Biking Challenge.
“It’s a championship series of mountain biking competitions across Western Canada. The fact that we were able to secure them and host them in Cypress Hills is an incredible reinforcement to the quality of the trail network,” said Anderson.
This year, there were 490 events in the tourism Medicine Hat calendar, over the previous year’s 289, which both speaks to an increase in the number of events and a shift to people using the calendar there to promote their events more often over Tourism Medicine Hat needing to seek out events and post them themselves.
The Medicine Hat Summers campaign is still going strong, said Anderson, promoting the longer outdoor season in the region compared to some other nearby destinations.
Also very popular has been the Sunshine Trolley, with a second trolley added this year. The second trolley also features a mobility lift, making the service more accessible, and the project saw roughly 95% per cent ridership over the course of the season last year.
He did note the city may need to work on increasing accommodation capacity as they look to a future with new opportunities to build and refine Medicine Hat’s tourism industry.
[…] The city’s Public Service Commission listens as Medicine Hat Tourism’s Jace Anderson presents the annual tourism report – News Photo Anna Smitha-Smith@medicinehatnews.com The Destination Marketing Organization said Monday that the city’s Public Service Commission Submitted an annual report to the Service Commission and suggested Medicine Hat Tourism. It’s starting to take off. Tourism Medicine Hat Executive Director Jace Anderson noted that this year marks the 11th year of the agreement. “Our mission is to be an industry-driven nonprofit organization that exists to enhance Medicine Hat’s tourism profile through destination marketing,” Anderson said. During the course of his presentation, Anderson identified several aspects of the community that make it the biggest draw for people traveling to the area. He feels that Medicine Hat is no longer an emerging tourist destination, but a maturing tourist destination. One of the biggest draws, he says, is the outdoor experience with 330 days of sunshine a year and “an incredible confluence of highways, waterways and communities.” Other key points Anderson identified include the historic downtown area, the Historic Clay District, the Echodale Regional, Cypress Hills and the Elkwater Area, representing a more regional approach. Masu. Anderson spoke of the “hub and spoke” principle, recognizing that while the city is a tourist hub, there are also many suburban destinations that draw tourists. He cited Hidden Valley as an example. Highlights of the past year include the Jehovah’s Witnesses convention, and Anderson was happy to mention that the convention will be held again in 2024, the second time being the Canadian Enduro Downhill Mountain Bike Championship. It was a challenge. “This is a championship series for mountain bike competition that takes place across Western Canada. We stepped it up,” Anderson said. This year’s Tourism Medicine Hat calendar had his 490 events, up from his 289 the previous year. This speaks to the increase in the number of events and the fact that people are now using the calendar to promote events more frequently than Tourism Medicine Hat. You have to find the event and post it yourself. “The Medicine Hat Summers campaign remains strong, promoting the region’s long outdoor season compared to other nearby destinations,” Anderson said. The Sunshine Trolley is also very popular and a second trolley has been added this year. The second trolley is also equipped with a mobility lift, making the service more accessible and the project achieved a ridership rate of around 95% during the season last year. He noted that the city may need to work on increasing lodging capacity as it looks to the future with new opportunities to build and refine Medicine Hat’s tourism industry. 14 -13 Source link […]
[…] The city’s Public Service Commission listens as Medicine Hat Tourism’s Jace Anderson presents the annual tourism report – News Photo Anna Smitha-Smith@medicinehatnews.com The Destination Marketing Organization said Monday that the city’s Public Service Commission Submitted an annual report to the Service Commission and suggested Medicine Hat Tourism. It’s starting to take off. Tourism Medicine Hat Executive Director Jace Anderson noted that this year marks the 11th year of the agreement. “Our mission is to be an industry-driven nonprofit organization that exists to enhance Medicine Hat’s tourism profile through destination marketing,” Anderson said. During the course of his presentation, Anderson identified several aspects of the community that make it the biggest draw for people traveling to the area. He feels that Medicine Hat is no longer an emerging tourist destination, but a maturing tourist destination. One of the biggest draws, he says, is the outdoor experience with 330 days of sunshine a year and “an incredible confluence of highways, waterways and communities.” Other key points Anderson identified include the historic downtown area, the Historic Clay District, the Echodale Regional, Cypress Hills and the Elkwater Area, representing a more regional approach. Masu. Anderson spoke of the “hub and spoke” principle, recognizing that while the city is a tourist hub, there are also many suburban destinations that draw tourists. He cited Hidden Valley as an example. Highlights of the past year include the Jehovah’s Witnesses convention, and Anderson was happy to mention that the convention will be held again in 2024, the second time being the Canadian Enduro Downhill Mountain Bike Championship. It was a challenge. “This is a championship series for mountain bike competition that takes place across Western Canada. We stepped it up,” Anderson said. This year’s Tourism Medicine Hat calendar had his 490 events, up from his 289 the previous year. This speaks to the increase in the number of events and the fact that people are now using the calendar to promote events more frequently than Tourism Medicine Hat. You have to find the event and post it yourself. “The Medicine Hat Summers campaign remains strong, promoting the region’s long outdoor season compared to other nearby destinations,” Anderson said. The Sunshine Trolley is also very popular and a second trolley has been added this year. The second trolley is also equipped with a mobility lift, making the service more accessible and the project achieved a ridership rate of around 95% during the season last year. He noted that the city may need to work on increasing lodging capacity as it looks to the future with new opportunities to build and refine Medicine Hat’s tourism industry. 14 -13 Source link […]