Council offers support for Chinook Country grant

The Chinook Country Tourist Association is hoping a provincial grant will assist them in taking visitor services “on the road.”

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has developed a new strategy to “inform, inspire and influence visitors to maximize their travel experiences and help grow the tourism economy across the province.”

On Monday, Lethbridge City Council approved a Letter of Support to accompany the CCTA’s Visitor Services Innovation Fund grant application, which will help implement some of the ministry’s strategies.

“How visitors access information, make travel decisions and purchase travel experiences has changed dramatically in recent years, and will continue to change at an even faster pace going forward,” CCTA executive director Nikolaus Wyslouzil presented to council.

“There is a need for visitor services to evolve to match how travellers access and consume information, so our intent is to implement new strategies with the grant dollars.”

There are two elements to the changes, he explained. The first is to take the Visitor Centre “on the road” to various events and attractions around Lethbridge this summer. To assist this, they would purchase an adult tricycle and trailer to hold a brochure rack, outfitted with a Wi-Fi hotspot and solar-powered battery charger.

As part of a regional focus, they plan to have the street team visit other southern Alberta communities, such as Taber during Cornfest.

Second, they are looking at digital kiosks, which would be installed at entry points to attractions, hotels, retail outlets or the mall. The self-manned kiosks would grant access to tourism information for the user.

At some events, the CCTA hopes to collect feedback through surveys to get a better understanding of what visitors are looking for. Last summer, surveys indicated visitors were more than happy with their Lethbridge experience, rating it an average of 4.5 out of 5. More than 90 per cent of visitors said they’d return and 98 per cent said they would recommend Lethbridge to family or friends to visit.

“Very high numbers,” said Wyslouzil. “We have a good situation where people want to come back.”

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