Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park to be marketed beyond our borders

Times Contributor

 

The number of visitors is expected to drastically increase as Southern Alberta’s Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park (BCHP)has been confirmed as one of the 67 qualified sites to be added to the second wave of the Canadian Tourism Commission’s (CTC) new marketing program in the 2011 Signature Experiences Collection (SEC).

With the current number of travel experiences totalling 115, the SEC marketing program is prioritizing to advertise the high quality tourism experiences internationally to grab the attention of consumers in 11 countries around the world. The CTC sales teams are trying to be consistent with promoting the image of Canada through its tourism brand, “Canada. Keep Exploring.”

China, a noteworthy country for its steady increase in the travel market, has recently deemed Canada to be a favourable destination,  said Beverly Wright, VP, Programs and Business at BCHP, which makes her excited about the potential outcome. According to the CTC’s website, the Chinese Travel Market is gaining momentum. In 2009, 26 million Chinese travellers visited Canada, and the number is expected to reach 60 million by 2020.

“Even if we get a fraction of those visitors, it’s going to be a mass amount of people and of course they’ll all be staying in Strathmore hotels,” said Wright. 

When the BCHP first opened in July 2007, the new commodity was thriving and the season of 2009 was their most productive year. The numbers in the following years have sort of “evened out,” as Wright puts it.

“We want to be one of the signature attractions in this area and it would be nice to draw in the amount of numbers that Tyrrell Museum does. We want to be identified in the same branch – you know if you go in the area, you can go to Tyrrell the dinosaur park and you can go to Blackfoot Crossing,” said Wright. 

The BCHP has reached out to other marketing opportunities as well, including Travel Alberta and Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) partners and is a part of the Canadian Badlands marketing region. Wright said a lot of help has been given in regards to funding opportunities, marketing strategies and area development plans. 

“We’re totally in our infant stages. We are still developing programs and we are trying to start to use our amenities more. We’re trying to have more special events and get our neighbours from Strathmore out as well,” said Wright.

The BCHP plans to bring in the very popular Andrea Menard, a Métis singer/songwriter and actor, recent Gemini nominee for ‘Best Performance by an Actress’ for her television roles in Velvet Devil and Moccasin Flats. She is currently playing in Blackstone, which broadcasts on APTN and Showcase. Menard is to come and perform a concert for the kids as well as do an evening show on Dec. 2.

“It’s just that we are looking to improve our programs and attractions all the time and we’ll keep our neighbours and Strathmore informed so they can come out and have fun with us,” said Wright. 

The BCHP is reaching all aspects of the market to increase tourist productivity while the CTC is also expecting their third wave of applications coming in this November to further expand the SEC. The business of tourism is huge and is set to steadily increase, benefitting many aspects of the Canadian economy by creating jobs and contributing to Canada’s overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP).