Editor:
The recent exchange of commentary on tourism in Delta has been fascinating to read.
The mayor's letter regarding Delta's tourism investment suggests to me that Lois Jackson is an "empress with no clothes." The mayor doesn't believe she's "naked" on the tourism issue because the municipality has a tourism strategy and it's "supported" tourism by granting funds each year to the Delta Chamber of Commerce.
In reality, if you read the recommendations contained in the Delta Tourism Strategy it would appear the mayor has chosen not to follow most of them. The mayor's reference to funding the operation of a tourism information centre doesn't even appear as a core initiative in the strategy document.
Perhaps the mayor can use her valuable time to give her constituents a more relevant status update on the array of recommendations found in the tourism strategy. Some of the more important ones include: hiring a qualified tourism program manager; preparing a tourism marketing plan; collaborating with B.C. Ferries and relevant destination management organizations; developing programs around farm tours; developing cycling routes. Have any of the recommendations been adopted?
The tourism opportunities that abound in Delta are actually quite impressive - a reality I have personally confirmed with the former CEO of Tourism BC after extensive discussions in 2011. However, to leverage them takes more than operating a tourism information centre.
It requires a coordinated implementation plan as proposed in the tourism strategy. It makes me wonder how much of our tax dollars have been wasted to date, both on the tourism strategy process and on a prehistoric marketing tactic.
For those who doubt the viability of tourism in Delta consider the global economic contribution of tourism ($6.3 trillion, nine per cent of global GDP and 255 million jobs in 2011) or B.C.'s tourism revenues of over $13 billion. Such large numbers indicate there is significant opportunity to gain a small slice of the tourism pie, as confirmed in the tourism strategy, which would be much more palatable than industrial and commercial development of our farmland.
Richard Kunz
