Project Title:

Community Based Visitor Experience Survey

Project Organization:

Regional District of Mount Waddington and Partners

Project Investment:

  • Island Coastal Economic Trust: $8,500
  • Regional District of Mount Waddington: $3,500
  • Campbell River Tourism: $2,500
  • Comox Valley Economic Development Society: $2,500
  • Total Budget: $17,000

Project Highlight:

Visitors from the Comox Valley to the northern tip of Vancouver Island are spending an average of $432 per day.

The Comox Valley, Campbell River and the Northern Vancouver Island region have embraced tourism as a major growth industry since the decline of forestry, mining and commercial fishing in the region. Although tourism is recognized as a key contributor to the regional economy, there is currently insufficient data related to tourism and visitor behaviour. As a result, it is challenging for community destination marketing organizations and industry stakeholders to establish an evidence based target market and broader strategic plans.

The Visitor Experience Survey allows these communities to develop local and regional visitor profiles. These profiles are based upon the tourism related choices and behaviour of visitors, visitor demographics and visitor engagement with travel planning resources. The project involved connecting with visitors at carefully selected locations during their trip and inviting them to participate in the survey at the end of their tourism experience in the region. This holistic approach to data collection ensures that results reflect the overall experience of visitors.

The project enabled the establishment of a local Visitor Profile, greatly benefiting the Comox Valley, Campbell River and Northern Vancouver Island. By better understanding the region’s target audience, subsequent strategic plans, business plans and marketing decisions will include local market data. Additionally, the project fosters the development of intra-regional partnerships and increased cooperation between tourism service providers and enables the development of common tourism products and marketing for shared markets and unique positioning where markets diverge.

Island Coastal Economic Trust funded this project on 2016 through the Capital and Innovation program.