The Town of Drumheller is spearheading an initiative to help bring more tourists to the area and have them stay longer.
The Town is aiming to set up a meeting with tourism stakeholders in the Drumheller Valley before the end of the year. The goal would be to begin organizing a non profit destination marketing organization.
“It’s a priority, let’s get it going,” said Mayor Terry Yemen. “After signing that memorandum of understanding, it’s rekindled everything. I brought it [destination marketing] to administration and said it’s time to make it happen.”
It is hoped a meeting would help resolve how a destination marketing organization would be organized and how revenue is generated.
The main stakeholders include the Town of Drumheller, the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce, Royal Tyrrell Museum, Atlas Coal Mine, Passion Play, Rosebud Theatre, Dinosaur Trail Golf and Country Club, hotels, and more.
Many of those listed already work together as part of the Drumheller Consortium on destination marketing initiatives.
“They would be the keys to moving forward on developing an organization,” said Paul Salvatore, Director of Community Services. “The Drumheller Marketing Consortium is a natural fit to move forward on a future organization.”
Destination marketing, a tool utilized by other towns that rely on tourism, was brought to the attention of Town Council in March of 2011 when they received the Tourism Master Plan.
The document, prepared by Malone Given Parson Ltd., Western Management Consultants, Reach Market Planning LLC, and HDR I iTrans, included a recommendation to create an organization that would coordinate the tourism interests of the region.
Since the document was released, little movement had been made to establish a destination marketing organization.
Such an organization, it is hoped, would help tourists seek out more of what the area has to offer.
“We have all kinds of attractions to keep people entertained and staying in Drumheller. We need to develop a unified message that helps drive the traffic to Drumheller. Then make sure those businesses that support tourism in Drumheller benefit from that,” said Salvatore. “That only is possible if we work together in partnership and achieve what we agree upon is on our common vision.”
No meeting is scheduled as of yet, but the goal is to meet and have the initial groundwork completed by the end of the year.
