June 15, 2011
Increased Support For Local Tourism
PEACE RIVER – To help grow and promote local tourism, the communities in the Peace River region are eligible to receive funding towards marketing and development projects.
Eligible communities include:
- Dawson Creek - $9,200
- Chetwynd - $4,700
- Fort St. John - $9,200
- Hudson's Hope - $9,200
- Fort Nelson - $9,200
- Taylor - $5,000
- Tumbler Ridge - $9,200
Why this matters:
- This funding assists communities that are in a position to implement their own tourism building initiatives.
- These initiatives will support advertising, tourist-related signage, audio walking tours, online activities, tourism brochures, and research.
- Smaller towns depend on tourism for jobs and keeping their local economies strong.
Quotes:
"This will help smaller towns market themselves and showcase what they have to offer. People are often drawn to urban centers, but the Peace River has some great tourist destinations and opportunities as well."
-Peace River North MLA Pat Pimm
"Not many people realize what a great area of British Columbia this is to visit, but funding like this can help change that."
-Peace River South MLA Blair Lekstrom
Additional Info:
- The funding comes from the provincial government’s Community Tourism Opportunities (CTO) program administered by regional destination marketing organizations.
- Both marketing and development projects are eligible under the program which reimburses communities following successful completion of their approved projects.
- The Province is providing one million dollars shared among 300 grassroots projects. More than 180 communities in all parts of the province have projects that are eligible for funding.
- This is the third year the CTO program has been in operation and it has grown in popularity each year. This year there has been a 13 per cent increase in participation.
- Successful applicants must have matching funds for their projects and they receive their funding after successful completion of their projects.
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