From left are Oliver Tourism Association board of directors James Hodge, Carol Sheridan, Jennifer Busmann, Tony Munday and Beth Garrish.
Lyonel Doherty photo
The Oliver Tourism Association (OTA) is seeking financial independence as it continues to reach out to visitors from around the world.
This was one of four primary strategies outlined during OTA’s annual general meeting at the Oliver Visitor Centre on March 17.
The other primary goals include a cultural tourism strategy, a communications plan, and increased engagement of the Tourism Advisory Council, consisting of James Hodge, Beth Garrish, Carol Sheridan, Tony Munday, Jennifer Busmann, Lyndie Hill, Jill Lawson, Sarah Lefebvre, Lily Young and Leanne Parrent.
Garrish said OTA’s strategic planning session last fall resulted in a revamped destination marketing vision.
She noted the goal is to become less reliant on municipal government in the quest for financial stability and independence.
One of OTA’s main priorities is to develop a cultural tourism strategy by involving local organizations.
“We want to market that and capitalize on that . . . we really want to get a better representation from the cultural community,” Garrish said.
Another priority is to develop a salmon interpretive loop with native cultural activities.
Marketing OTA’s partnership with “sister city” Chelan, WA is yet another priority, Garrish pointed out.
Association president Tony Munday said they really want to market Oliver as a geocaching destination. Geocaching is the recreational activity of finding hidden objects by using a global positioning system (GPS) device.
Munday said many people come to Oliver just to find these geocache items.
“It’s the only type of social media where you can get people where you want them to be . . . it brings a new demographic in to the area.”
There have been 913 visits to Wine Capital of Canada geocaches.
Munday said there are more than three million geocaches hidden around the world, even on the moon.
He noted that the Oliver Visitor Centre saw 14,010 visitors in 2014, a slight (2.4 per cent) decrease from 2013.
British Columbia made up 42 per cent of the parties, while local residents made up 22 per cent. Twelve per cent came from Alberta. Two per cent came from Washington, and two per cent visited from California.
“It’s exciting to see the amount of ‘snowbirds’ we’re seeing, and we’re hoping to see an increase in US visits as the US dollar is strong,” Munday said.
The Wine Capital of Canada Facebook page has 1206 fans, with an average weekly reach of 500 people.
Garrish commended visitor centre manager Rhoda Brooks and her “most amazing” team of volunteers – Pat Wessel, Lynne Friesen, Roberta Dodge, Leslie Marriot, Mary Doyle, Penny Turcotte, Christine Work, Trude Doepker, Norma Mason, Pat Buckland, Gerry Davidson, Jim Cade, Al Cade, Herb Cline, Judy Pagett and Pat Street.
Garrish said Brooks will be getting some relief with the hiring of a new OTA employee.
Garrish outlined some upcoming projects to match their strategic plan. A new signature event for 2016 will be a “Roots and Fruits Faire” – a vintage jam.
She also highlighted the creation of a new bike and hike trail map for the entire South Okanagan.
In addition, OTA is creating a local “tear away” trail/town/wine map for people to use.
Another key tool to draw visitors to the area is a new promotional video of Oliver. The association did a “soft launch” on Facebook in January and reached more than 23,112 people.
Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
