Tourism Kimberley (TK) held their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at Centre 64, discussing the current state of affairs and looking ahead to the future.
Andrew McNair, who moved to Kimberley on Halloween, 2024 to accept the role of TK’s executive director, spoke with the Bulletin to discuss the highlights of the meeting, including some of the challenges facing tourism in Kimberley.
He said that since arriving in Kimberley, his first priority has been to spend time around the community meeting people, making sure they know what’s going on with TK and hearing what thoughts, ideas and concerns they have.
“It’s been great, being welcomed into the community, I have certainly felt welcomed,” McNair said. “I’m excited to be here. It’s been great, I’m loving my surroundings and getting out and enjoying everything that Kimberley has to offer, between the trails and the ski hill, the restaurants and businesses it’s been great settling into the area so far.”
One of the key challenges McNair discussed is the significant overflow that occurs during peak tourism seasons, due to not having enough accomodation, which can result in visitors opting to stay in Cranbrook instead. Once they’ve returned to Cranbrook, they are less likely to shop or dine at Kimberley businesses.
With Kimberley having to meet the five and 20-year requirements set out in the Interim Housing Needs Report, there is a both a need to build housing and accomodation spaces such as hotels.
“I would say both of those things [housing and accommodation] are important, because if you’re going to grow as a resort community, or just a municipality in general, when you’re trying to attract a new business or bring people in to work at your existing businesses, they need to stay somewhere,” McNair said. “You need housing for people first of all, obviously, so we all know that’s a concern.”
Solutions to this can come from looking into different ways of zoning things, he added, for example having commercial buildings with residential units in them, or having both lodging and housing in the same neighbourhood. He added increasing capacity must be done responsibly, and include expanding accomodation options, improving local transportation and enhancing public amenities.
“I think there’s opportunity and conversations to be had on how you can do these things and be able to be creative, but it needs to be done responsibly,” he said. “You need to obviously have your consultation with your community, you need to make sure it fits into future plans for businesses. So it really comes down to conversation and including your stakeholders in the conversations when you’re trying to improve the area.”
In terms of transportation, McNair feels a reliable shuttle service between Kimberley and the Canadian Rockies International Airport would be a huge asset for tourism, as it would help guests more easily plan their trips here.
“When I talk about the tourism experience for people, if they’re flying, the experience starts at the airport,” he said. “So how easy is it for them to get from the airport to here?”
“We talk to people about how they can get off the airplane and have their ski boots on in under an hour. Half an hour and they’re to the hill or to Kimberley itself, wherever they’re staying, whatever they’re doing in their recreational endeavours. It’s so close, let’s make it even easier for them.”
McNair said there is a lack of comprehensive “Kimberley Packages,” and the city would benefit from more all-inclusive, or “stay-and-play” packages to make it easier for potential visitors to plan their vacations here. There is also a need, he added, to enhance Kimberley’s appeal as a destination for longer stays, for example encouraging guests to book trips during midweek periods.
He said these packages should be marketed through targeted advertising, particularly aimed at out-of-region visitors, with an emphasis on those from Canada’s east coast.
McNair said he may be a bit biased, being from the east coast himself, but he said there’s a huge number of tourists who travel west, but not specifically to Kimberley, as far as he can tell.
“They’re already spending their tourism dollars to get to British Columbia and the west coast in general,” he said. “So I think let’s give them a new option. I would argue it’s more affordable than a lot of other areas and not nearly as busy, so they get more bang for their buck and a better experience, and Kimberley has just a nice welcoming feel to it much like the east coast.”
Another thing that would bolster TK is an upgrade to the Visitor Information Centre. McNair was recently in Vancouver, networking at the Destination BC VIC Conference, hearing from other markets how they operate their VICs. Many, he found, have both a brick and mortar space, as Kimberley does, but also mobile VICs as well, allowing them to set up at special events around the community, increasing visibility and being more available and helpful to tourists.
“As far as upgrades, it’s really just looking at the model of how we run it, how visible we are and what we do,” he explained. “And even just a freshen up — a coat of paint, that sort of thing. When I say updating it’s more a case of looking for ways to be more visible and relevant and helpful for visitors when they come.”
Overall, McNair is happy with where the tourism industry is in Kimberley and is excited for the opportunities the future affords.
“Coming in as someone new to the area, coming in obviously for employment, but at the same time getting to know the area, for me, I feel like a visitor and my experience has been wonderful,” he said. “Getting out to different restaurants and local shops and the ski hill and all the different services that we have around town has been wonderful. So I would liken my first couple months here to a good example of how tourism is in the town, because in some ways I’m the same as a visitor.
I think we’re in good shape, but the opportunity is just to make it that much better. It’s not because there’s things wrong with it, but I think there’s some untapped opportunity and as far as how realistic I think it is, or how optimistic I am, I’d say I’m extremely optimistic.”
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