Highlights of the presentation include:
Draft Economic Development & Tourism Operational Plan
- End of September provided update to Council on COVID-19 impacts;
- Council requested that the operational plan be provided before the end of the year;
- 5 key areas of focus for 2021;
- Council identified opportunity for Economic Development workshop to look ahead;
- Workshop with Council for the first 8 weeks of 2021;
- Identify multi-year goals and then look at tactics.
Business Communication & Outreach
- Enhance mechanisms to communicate more directly with our business community;
- Establish our database for quarterly newsletters;
- Dashboard of economic indicators on our website;
- Working to identifying where we can find data sources with information specific to our community;
- West Kelowna is included in Kelowna Census Metropolitan Area;
- There is not always a breakdown for West Kelowna data specific information;
- For example: started to track job postings in the community through COEDC;
- This information will help us align decision making in the future and provide a better picture for economic health in the community;
- Increase in-person and digital one on one conversations to create opportunities for support.
Community & Business Assistance
- Focus on inbound inquiry for entrepreneurs and support them;
- Navigating City Hall - have a key point of contact to assist with direction to different departments at City Hall;
- Provide community information referrals and connections for site selection;
- Increase awareness of concerns to help and make sense of zoning and occupancy requirements;
- Business to businesses connection to introduce Regional services to help support the business;
- Opportunities through collaboration will help build the business community;
- Establish and promote website resources on the City's Economic Development website;
- Resources to help home-based and remote workers connect to the community;
- This section will be part of our quarterly reporting to Council - try to break it down into a few different areas.
Film Production Support
- Region is one of the first in North America to develop standards and safety measures to begin filming;
- Films in production here in West Kelowna has increased this year;
- With increased film production we need expectations in place, especially in commercial and residential neighbourhoods;
- Economic Development & Tourism department will be the central point of contact for Film production;
- Facilitate film permits requests to film in West Kelowna;
- Develop community filming guidelines - working with Okanagan Film Commission & production companies;
- Create an environment where they will want to continue to come to West Kelowna for filming and how can we explore the Economic trends;
- EDC member question: Is there a possibility to coordinate regionally on that? Yes, Okanagan Film Commission is coordinating a regional meeting. However West Kelowna could be the first community in the region to come out with guidelines based on best practices. Hoping to have consistency with guidelines across the neighbouring communities.
Tourism Marketing & Management
- Visit Westside tourism marketing activities focused on in-region (COVID-19) travellers;
- Identified need to focus on visitors once they are here;
- Strongest visitation this year come through - 95% median occupancy in B&Bs during August here in West Kelowna;
- Focus on in region marketing;
- Visitor services at the Westbank Museum have traditionally been from May to Thanksgiving;
- Approach with COVID, reach out to museum to be a year round visitor centre;
- Contract the Westbank Museum to provide visitor services on an annual basis;
- Add live chat bot on the Visit Westside website that will be answered by the visitor centre staff;
- Improvement tourism signage within the Farmloop (Glencoe & Elliot Road) area;
- Anticipating 2 smaller barrel stacks and some banners and improved signage;
- Currently 3 wineries in the area and anticipating 1 to 2 more wineries in the next few years;
- Improve connectivity amongst all of the wineries in West Kelowna;
- Assess the interest by West Kelowna eligible accommodation providers to implement a Municipal and Regional District Tax (aka Hotel Tax) for funding future tourism marketing services;
- Hotel tax could be collected for tourism marketing or affordable housing - both of which are needed in the community;
- Report to Council following consultation of all eligible accommodation providers;
- Engage with the Westside tourism industry through digital communication tools;
- Raise awareness and engagement for events happening within the community;
- EDC member question: What about maximizing the waterfront as a tourism destination in regards to infrastructure? Residents in the community are missing coffeeshops and restaurants along the waterfront. Gellatly section may have some preliminary design for restaurants and coffee shops along there.
- It was mentioned that West Kelowna is missing out on commercial docks - there is minimal parking and no amenities available. It was recommended to included these suggestions to Community Visioning.
Internal Organization Support
- Identify, measure and engage how we're supporting other departments;
- Working very closely with Development Services department;
- Short-term rentals, business licensing, community visioning, etc.;
- Working more with Engineering & Public Works department;
- Larger capital projects and where projects impact businesses - wineries, detour routes, signage, etc.;
- Increased engagement with Parks & Recreation department to assist with promotion;
- Parks and open spaces more important during COVID-19, community events, etc.;
- Increase engagement with Communications & Engagement department;
- more outreach in messaging, engaging with businesses, etc.;
- Interested to see our numbers when we start engaging and more areas.
Partnerships
- Tourism - anticipate more requests for funding opportunities as partners with other organizations in the region;
- Westbank First Nation - opportunities for resident attraction on the greater westside;
- Board of Trade - on great footing going into 2021 and shift into an advisory type board. Interesting to work together and see improvements and changes in the business community;
- Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission - continue to work in a number of different areas that we don't necessarily have the capacity to do.
Next Steps
- Meet with Council in early 2021;
- Adjust operational plan;
- Bring back to EDC and then back to Council.
Highlights of the discussion include:
- Clarification on next steps, what is the purpose of the Council Workshop? It was developed to show Council where we've come from and where we're going. It will create an opportunity to have more input in the process and have a discussion to set a focus and goals.