Project Title:

Ocean Boating Marine Tourism Marketing Phase 2

Project Organization:

BC Ocean Boating Tourism Association (BCOBTA)

Project Investment:

  • Island Coastal Economic Trust: $30,000
  • Destination BC: $50,000
  • Industry Promotional Sales: $17,300
  • Total Budget: $97,300

Project Highlight:

Monthly website visits increased 68% during the project period, growing from 2500 to 4200.

Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast are a year-round draw for marine visitors. ICET has supported the development of BC Ocean Boating Tourism Association (BCOBTA) as a regional collaboration tool to support marine tourism. Phase one of the project established the group as a destination marketing organization and created the initial marketing and branding strategies.

This second phase of the project aimed to enhance marine tourism marketing and engage the recreational boating sector in supporting destination marketing of BC’s coast. The project involved the completion of the AHOY BC website, the development and implementation of a stakeholder marketing and revenue generation strategy, the development of marketing materials for the sector, and the implementation of a system for measuring the marine tourism industry econometrics and gathering traveller intelligence.

The project resulted in the growth of traffic to the AHOY BC website, consumer newsletter subscriptions, and social media engagement. Early results indicate an increase in the number of marine visitors, average length of stay, as well as associated benefits to the region’s hospitality and service sectors.

Island Coastal Economic Trust funded this project on 2016 through the Investment Readiness program.