Red Deer hosted its largest ever sporting event with the 2019 Canada Winter Games (Canada Games/Karen Benjamin)

By Troy Gillard

collaborative approach

Moving forward to make Red Deer a top tourism destination

Aug 19, 2019 | 7:20 PM

Red Deer has hosted a long list of major sports tourism events over the past decade. But a new collaboration aims to go above and beyond that to make Red Deer a top destination.

The ‘Tourism Joint Venture’ between The City of Red Deer and Tourism Red Deer focuses on the “visitor experience” in outlining desired tourism outcomes, role clarity, and reporting between the two organizations through 2022.

A Major Event Strategy and Bid Committee are in the works as part of the collaboration, but Tara Lodewyk, The City’s Director of Planning Services says there’s more to it.

“The other piece relates to some of those tourism ‘non-event’ things that we need to focus on such as creating visitor experiences within Red Deer and within the region,” she explained. “There were three focus areas identified which were culture, outdoor recreation, and culinary. So that’s where we will focus in addition to the events piece.”

That being said, hopes are high for what the strategy and committee will be able to accomplish, Lodewyk says.

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“We’ll continue to have these sporting (events) and others that are smaller. But these (being sought) are bigger,” she teased. “It is those international and national events. Those are the biggies where you’re having to put up large dollars in order to even bid on having the event in the community.”

“I think this is great,” said J.P. Fortin, Board Chair for Tourism Red Deer. “Working with The City and all the other partners allows us to get things moving a lot faster and to actually get a bigger impact for visitors, residents and our local industry.”

A City staff report on the two-page document says “Visitors are seeking experiences which combine the local people, culture and geography of a region.”

The new collaboration builds on the Central Alberta Destination Management Plan from 2015 which promoted creating “a unique, must-experience destination offering visitors authentic, affordable and sustainable experience year round.”

City Council will receive an annual report on the collaboration and whether its stated goals are being met.