Tourism Projects

1.  Website Linkages Amongst Communities to Better Serve Visitor
The goal of the Quick Link project is to serve the visitor first and make it user-friendly without taking away the mandate, or focus, of the actual web site. The general approach is to personally contact all areas and seek a commitment to the establishment of key area links that are either highlighted and/or placed at the bottom of existing home pages.

Action Plan

1. Tourism Swift Current, working in partnership with Southwest Tourism will supply a full list of existing web site links from tourism members in the region and key area links from organizations in the region.
2. Utilizing this list, a committee from the Leadership Team will work to support and promote the 12 key areas links within the Southwest  (E.G. Cypress Hills, Grasslands, Great Sandhills, Lake Diefenbaker).
3. Within each region, members of the committee, with the support of the Leadership Team and Southwest REDA will contact local communities and organizations to encourage quick links to each key area of the region. Contact will be done through e-mail, telephone calls, follow-up letters and local presentations to businesses, chambers, organizations and councils. Time line for completion of the project is the May long weekend.

2.  Expand Partnerships Through Packaging
The Leadership Team will identify a list of 100 Great Experiences that are available across the region. The purpose is two-fold. As tourism packages are not readily available and being marketed to the visitor, the intent is to begin with single experiences that allow all individuals and communities to participate. The experiences would progress and evolve into actual packages. As with Quick Links, everything begins with a single step, and this is the first towards the support of packaging. Each of the experiences is intended to provide visitors with “great excuses” to visit.

Action Plan

1. All members of the Leadership Team have agreed to submit a minimum of 10 experiences from their area to the 100 Great Experiences committee.
2. The committee of the Leadership Team has committed itself to compiling the list from across the region into a workable document that can be printed, distributed and promoted on-line across the region.
3. Tourism Swift Current has also committed its support to the project and will work to obtain additional marketing, print and web support from local businesses, supporting media and related tourism organizations.
4. As the list of Great Experiences evolves, a criteria will be established that is based on packaging programs developed by organizations that include Saskatchewan Country Vacations Association, Sask Tourism, Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development, and Rendevous Canada.

3.  Expand Signage – Roadside Pullouts
The plan is to build on the base and consultation agreed upon for the key destination areas with all communities and organizations. As Quick Links, Regional Maps and 100 Great experiences are being created, research can be completed to help facilitate in the planning and building of the actual signs and required roadside pull-outs. While support is being sought and obtained for this initiative, the initial projects that connect to the sign program could be moving forward and be in place in advance of actual sign construction.

Action Plan

1. Complete the initial projects which to this point would include Quick Links, 100 Great Experiences and the Regional Map.
2. While these projects are being completed, work on obtaining costs estimates and required municipal approval for the installation of signs in each area of the region.
3. Working with local participants and related tourism organizations in each area, begin the process of obtaining community support and provincial funding to assist in turning printed maps into actual physical sign structures alongside highways.

4.  Improve Infrastructure
The Leadership Team is realistic about the prospects of secondary highways being built, but as it is committed to the business of tourism, it cannot willingly accept the status quo of visitor centres and rest stops across the region. The key behind all initiatives is they are connected and one is only as strong as its weakest link. Infrastructure is one of those links and if one is going to compete in the tourism industry, one also needs to be there to serve the visitor, and to provide the basic services required. Visitor facilities, rest stops and roads are all part of this service.

Action Plan

1. The Leadership Team has committed itself to seeking and obtaining support for the year round opening of the existing visitor centre at Maple Creek.
2. Along with this, the Leadership Team will be working to support the efforts of the new Wind Power Interpretive Centre being planned for Gull Lake.
3. In conjunction, it will pursue creative partnerships between retail businesses and tourism organizations across the region. This includes the development of visitor kiosks, placed within existing buildings. Tourism Swift Current has agreed to support a pilot project in 2005, and will also contribute support to expand this initiative with members, suppliers and organizations across the region.

5.  Expand FM Signals – Low Power Transmitters
The content of the messages on low power FM radio would include the partnerships that are first created on-line, in print and through the 100 Great Experiences initiative. It is a case of building on what already exists. It is also another local connection to the visitor, another local connection to the community, and another local connection to the region.

Action Plan

1. The group will be reviewing existing facilities to explore what has worked in the past for communities utilizing the transmitters.
2. In conjunction with this, the Leadership Team has also been in contact with equipment suppliers to explore total costs, options and opportunities.
3. Upon completion of this study, the Leadership team will make all information available to communities across the region and work to obtain local area support for the approval and building of this network.

6.  Improve Transportation
As with the building of roads, the Leadership Team is required to be realistic about what it can achieve from the start. Planes, Trains and Automobiles are not easy tasks for any group to undertake, but they also cannot be ignored and must be included on the list of initiatives if the region is going to grow and compete in the global marketplace. On the surface, this initiative will require a very large commitment, but if communities within a region can build new world-class attractions, a region can also re-build airports and return passenger rail service. As with previous initiatives, they all begin with a single step and this is seen as just one more along the way.

Action Plan

1. The Leadership Team has committed itself to exploring commuter services with existing providers. Meetings have been held with representatives of the Swift Current Airport, and discussions with regional suppliers will follow next.
2. Along with this, the Leadership Team has made the decision to support the efforts of Transportation 2000, a national organization committed to the restoration of rail transportation for passengers.
3. In conjunction with the above, the Leadership Team will work to promote local tour operators, who provide days trips with hosts and automobile transportation.

7.  Expand Education Through Awareness Programs
The Leadership Team, through initiatives already planned, will contribute to the process by working with local communities on projects that help to create awareness in the area. These plans, however, must lead to obtaining support from the education system itself.  

As with anything, and with all initiatives, it will be a process, but given the realities and perceptions within the region today, it needs to be undertaken.

Action Plan

1. The Leadership Team, working with the support of local tour operators will initiate FAM (familiarization) tours with community leaders across the region. Representatives from schools across the region will be invited to attend and participate.
2. In conjunction with the above, the Leadership Team will meet with the Cypress Hills Regional College, seeking assistance, support and direction in working with education in the region.
3. Along with this, a committee from the Leadership Team will explore the planning of an annual trade show that would invite participation from all high schools in the region to build displays highlighting and promoting their communities.

8.  Pool Marketing Resources
Pooling resources begins with the sharing of information in the region and a commitment to communicate openly with members across the area. Given our history of working hard, but not always working together, the pooling and sharing of both information and dollars will present challenges to all who are involved. Regardless, it should be explored and the initial projects will provide opportunities to work together in this area.

Action Plan

1. The regional map will be the first marketing project that will involve businesses, organizations and communities across the entire region.
2. The Leadership Team will also explore ways to combine the efforts of tourism organizations and work towards development of publications that promote the whole region and provide wider distribution networks to outside visitors.
3. The key to all projects involving the pooling of resources is to work with all areas of the region and create opportunities for local suppliers to be part of the process and overall marketing plans. The sum is always greater than its parts, but when possible, the parts themselves should come from within. This is the underlying goal of all initiatives and it is seen to be an integral part of its future success.

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