Community Development Initiatives 2010 | Provincial Programs

Community Development Year-in-Review

TOTA Community Development 2010 Annual Report

As we enter into year-two of our three-year strategy for the Community Development department at Thompson Okanagan Tourism, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those communities who have expressed an interest in working with TOTA and who are willing to share information to help others.

We are in essence a “community of communities” and as your regional tourism organization it is our role to assist you in strengthening tourism in your community, which in turn strengthens all of us as a regional destination.

The Community Development Strategy Focus of Effort for 2010/11 includes:

Connect communities to Tourism BC and TOTA initiatives
Provide support to community leaders through enhanced communications, mentorship and facilitation
Promote industry best practices
Create a database driven website to support both internal operations and communities

TOTA Community Development Forum TOTA hosted the first annual Community Forum during the 2^nd Annual TOTA Summit, at Sparkling Hill Resort, near Vernon Nov. 3-5, 2010. During this event, the first Community Development Annual Report was presented, along with the launch of a new brochure titled, “Working with Tourism BC and the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association”. Tourism BC Community Partnerships representative, Laura Plant presented an overview of Community Partnership programs and announced the upcoming “Online Tourism Industry Resources” web resource to be launched on the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Investment website. Guest presenters included Kathleen Harvey of Tourism Product Services who gave an overview of how communities can utilize www.HelloBC and Sydney Johnsen of Thompson Rivers University profiled the REDTREE project.

TOTA was a proud sponsor of the 2010 Southern Interior Local Government Association (SILGA) conference and the first annual Rural Tourism Conference.

We look forward to connecting with all communities and hamlets throughout the region and encourage you to contact us to learn more about how we can work together.

Simone Carlysle-Smith
Community Development Specialist,
Thompson Okanagan Tourism
(250) 860-5999 ext 214