Fiacco points to bright tourism future
Saskatchewan’s economic fortunes have turned the corner and Saskatchewan’s tourism industry is poised to do the same according to Tourism Saskatchewan CEO Pat Fiacco.
Tourism Saskatchewan CEO Pat Fiacco, the after lunch speaker at the third Annual 49 x 110 Spring Conference at the Sky Centre on April 24, is excited about the opportunities facing tourism businesses across Saskatchewan. He highlighted that this is an exciting time for tourism industry in Saskatchewan. “We’re really starting to become the ‘it’ province. There was a time when people wondered ‘what about Saskatchewan?’ Today people know about Saskatchewan. The natural resources that we have. With the economy that is doing so well. Where we’re seeing this magnificent population growth,” Fiacco said. “This is the place to be. People that are moving here for jobs are starting to also realize that this is not only a great place to work but it’s a great place live.”
“There’s nothing but opportunity here.”
Fiacco was named CEO of Tourism Saskatchewan this past November, following legislation which turned Tourism Saskatchewan into a Treasury Board Crown Corporation. He noted that they have been careful to properly establish their mandate priorities and future direction, but one of their main focusses will be on marketing Saskatchewan as a tourism destination at the provincial, national and international level.
He assured the primarily Tourism Saskatchewan CEO Pat Fiacco was the after lunch speaker at the third Annual 49 x 110 Spring Conference at the Sky Centre on April 24. tourism business crowd that they will be involved in their current consultation process, and Tourism Saskatchewan’s future direction will be fully communicated to them.
“We’re going to help you. And we’re going to get creative. And we’re going to do things differently. And we’re going to be bold, and big. Why? Well, because Saskatchewan’s big. We have a lot of geography to cover in this province, and we have to make sure we get it right and we have to make sure that we put packages together. We make it easier for our travelers and our visitors. Really easy. We can’t do it by ourselves, we need to do it collectively. And I’m really excited for what’s ahead,” Fiacco said during his remarks to the audience.
They continue to work towards the goal of developing an Event Hosting Strategy for the province, a plan which will contribute to building their vision for tourism.
This past February they launched the comprehensive website saskatchewan2013.com, which promotes 2013 signature events ( Juno Awards, Memorial Cup, 101st Grey Cup) to regular provincial highlight events like the Craven Country Jamboree and Swift Current’s SaskPower Windscape Kite Festival and the Long Day’s Night Music Festival.
“What they have in common is that they showcase Saskatchewan hospitality, brining profile to the province, and of course stimulating the economy.”
He felt that Saskatchewan’s tourism industry has the right tools in place to grow, and Tourism Saskatchewan needs to play a roll in that success.
“I think that the businesses in Saskatchewan have really captured what we have in this province and are excited about it.”
“We need to capture that. We need to promote it, not only here in Saskatchewan but nationally and internationally. But we need a real good strategy to do that.”
However, one of Saskatchewan’s biggest tourism growth opportunities is in the area of holiday options for Saskatchewan residents themselves.
“Clearly we want to promote our province as a fantastic tourism destination. And as we know we have a lot of geography to cover. And we cover everything. But what we haven’t done, I don’t think well enough, is promote it provincially. And I know for a fact that the majority of people living in this province do not realize that they can travel within this province, within a couple of hours, and see an amazing Saskatchewan that they didn’t realize existed here. And we have an obligation to help with that.”
He also said that if you look around the globe, Saskatchewan also has a series of other benefits, led by the province being a safe place to live and visit.
“We’re probably one of the safest places out there. Security is very, very important. We all know about the hospitality of Saskatchewan people and that, yes, of course it’s changing, but relative to what’s happening in the rest of the world, we’ve got it pretty lucky here. And that’s a selling point.”
Fiacco also touched on the importance of a Destination Marketing Fee.
While both the Regina and Saskatoon Hotel Associations have a fee in place, the remainder of the province does not have a fee in place.