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Strategic Direction
Haida Gwaii Tourism Strategy
The Heritage Tourism Strategy was developed through consultation with Islanders by Islanders, and outlines what is important about where and how we live and what we must do to protect, celebrate, and share our heritage. On Haida Gwaii heritage can be defined as having 5 integrated elements:
- The relationship between healthy ecosystems and our way of life.
- A deep and profound respect for Haida culture.
- A strong determination to preserve our unique island way of life.
- An Inspired Relationship to Place.
- Community integrity and the importance of that which is local.
From these 5 elements the Strategy provides eleven linked objectives. These include:
- Encourage islanders, local institutions, and off-island interests to understand and respect the Heritage Tourism Strategy’s definitions of heritage.
- Cultivate a deep and profound respect for Haida culture.
- Encourage tourism operators, visitors and local residents to maintain healthy marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
- Encourage mutual respect, honesty, integrity and trust in our relationships with off-island tourism and associated interests.
- Ensure that the Heritage Tourism Strategy contributes to building a truly sustainable island economy.
- Encourage the incorporation of the Heritage Tourism Strategy into the marine and land use planning processes for the Islands.
- Establish partnerships with educational programs and institutions to ensure tourism-related activities are conducted responsibly and appropriately.
- Respect the knowledge and experience of local people.
- Improve and develop tourism employment opportunities for island residents.
- Build educational and interpretive support for the Heritage Tourism Strategy in the expanded tourism community.
- Determine how to best assure on-going implementation of the Heritage Tourism Strategy objectives and vision.
The Haida Gwaii Community Viability Strategy, jointly facilitated by the Province and the Haida Nation, was finalized in May 2007. It provided a strategic plan for the future economic development of the islands, developed through the collaboration of residents in each of the communities on Haida Gwaii.
It noted that Haida Gwaii relies heavily on resource extraction activities and the government sector for its job base. The regional economy on the islands in 2001 (latest data available from BC Stats) remained very dependent on the forest sector and government services (education, health and public administration). Collectively these two sectors made up approximately 63% of the income generated locally although since then there has been a decline in the resource economy.
In 2001, 31% of the local labour force was employed in primary or goods-producing activities compared to less than 21% for the province. Despite this weighting, the regional economy has experienced a steady transition away from goods production over to service-based employment. As forestry and fisheries employment fall, service employment is becoming a necessary mainstay for many residents.
Tourism was the third most significant employment generator on Haida Gwaii accounting for 12% of basic sector employment, behind the public sector (41%) and the forest sector (28%). Despite being the third largest sector on Haida Gwaii, the proportion of total community income was approximately only 5% because of lower wages and the seasonality of employment. It was noted in the Community Viability Strategy that the major challenges for tourism include the lack of community involvement in and benefits from the tidal fishing lodge sector, the current limited season of many products, limited visitor services, uncertain ferry services and a general lack of coordination and marketing to visitor markets. Despite these problems, tourism has some exceptional potential because of the unique combination of mystic, landscapes, culture, history, and communities that few other places can match.
There are a total of 66 strategies for achieving the Plan goals under a Three Year Plan and the following 8 are under Tourism.
23. Develop better organizational capacity among the tourism industry.
24. Apply for Tourism BC’s Community Tourism Foundations Program.
25. Update the Heritage Tourism Plan and incorporate destination and market development components.
26. Strengthen visitor services on and off the islands.
27. Develop a better understanding of local visitor markets on which to base product and market programs.
28. Provide assistance to new and existing tourism businesses to encourage more product development and professional service levels.
29. Assist in the development of the arts sector.
30. Package and promote existing artists.
The Haida Gwaii Community Tourism Plan was completedin 2009 and is a valuable resource for MIEDS and the Haida Gwaii Tourism Advisory Committee (HG TAC). It addresses the following topics:
-
An assessment of tourism markets geographically and by activity motivators using market research provided by Tourism BC Research Services
- An understanding of Haida Gwaii’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
- A review of current visitation to Haida Gwaii and an assessment of potential target markets for proposed marketing and sales strategies/tactics
- As assessment of tourism product development opportunities
- Recommendations for the governance and role of the HG TAC to MIEDS.
- Proposed marketing/sales strategies and tactics
- Recommended measures of success to be monitored as the plan is implemented
The priorities for the Community Tourism Foundations Program were articulated by all participants with a great deal of consistency. There is a desire to grow awareness of Haida Gwaii as a destination for high yield, low impact visitors, particularly in off-peak seasons (other than July and August) and recognition that this might best be achieved within the context of destination-wide marketing and sales effort.
The following key issues were identified for further exploration during the planning process:
- There is a need for all tourism stakeholders on Haida Gwaii to work collaboratively together in order to effectively attract high yield learning and adventure travelers
- A destination marketing organization that takes the lead on marketing/sales of the destination of Haida Gwaii and works together with individual businesses to promote the entire destination is required
- This new destination marketing organization requires a funding model that provides a sustainable stream of annual funds for investment in marketing/sales strategies
- There is no clear brand messaging for Haida Gwaii
- There are strong seasonalities that must be addressed
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
Strengths:
- Haida history and living culture
- Haida Gwaii natural beauty – wilderness, wildlife, unique ecosystem
- Gwaii Haanas/World Heritage Site/ village sites/ Hotspring Island
- Haida Heritage Centre
- Activities available – fishing, kayaking, hiking, etc
- Remote, isolated, serene – relatively undiscovered
- International recognition of ‘Haida’ culture
- Islands (people want to visit islands)
- In tact ecosystems
- Beaches
- People – interesting stories, artists
- Uncongested
Weaknesses:
- Lack of cohesion, cooperation among stakeholders
- Access – difficult and expensive
- Highly seasonal/weather issues
- Lack of infrastructure – accommodations, restaurants
- Staff shortages
- High cost of operations; limited capital for new business ventures
- Customer service levels
- Lack of business expertise
- Lack of trained outdoor recreation guides with safety certification
- Cost of business liability insurance
- Haida Gwaii is perceived to be expensive
- Infrastructure improvements required (eg. Tow Hill road, Rennel Sound, Grey Bay)
- Car rentals not permitted on back roads due to potential damage
Opportunities:
- Growth in learning/experiential travel sector in all geographical markets – ideal fit for Haida Gwaii products
- Defensible unique selling proposition – combination of living vibrant Haida culture and spectacular nature
- Many new product opportunities
- Packaging of experiences
- Increased aboriginal participation in business ventures and visitor experiences
Threats:
- Lack of community support/understanding of value of tourism
- Limited access – ferries/planes and cost to access
- Decline in fish stocks
- Limited access to Gwaii Haanas
- Fiercely competitive global marketplace
- Stronger Canadian dollar
- Higher fuel prices
- Logged landscape detracts from pristine imagery
- Need to ensure that volume of tourists doesn’t change what makes Haida Gwaii special
- Some locals do not respect the environment – litter, ATV’s on the beach, etc.
Conclusions and Implications
There remains a significant opportunity to create a sustainable tourism economy on Haida Gwaii in keeping with the principles of the Heritage Tourism Strategy. The Haida Heritage Centre and Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve are anchor elements for most markets although certain niche markets will have a narrower activity based focus such as fishing, kayaking or bird watching.
Key markets for Haida Gwaii must focus either on those travelers seeking eco-tourism, learning and experiential vacations – growing markets, well suited to the Haida Gwaii experience or on specific activity driven travelers.
Leisure travelers represent the most significant opportunity for Haida Gwaii
The proposed target market mix and associated marketing/sales strategies should target regional BC/AB market and the longer-haul domestic market of Ontario
The U.S. market should be considered (WA, OR or CA) but there should not be an over reliance on the U.S. given its current declines in visitation and its recent unpredictability
International markets should be pursued beginning with the U.K., Germany, Netherlands, Austria/Switzerland, and eventually including Italy, France, and Australia. The Haida Heritage Centre has noted strong European visitation in May/June and September/October which supports the objectives of growing off-peak visitation.
Day excursions from cruise ships remain a potential niche market although Haida Gwaii will have to compete with other shore excursions. Other niche markets include bird watching, educational/alumni institutions, ocean fishing and kayaking.
Marketing and sales strategies must recognize the importance of the internet and must also provide opportunities to book elements of the Haida Gwaii experience in advance. Multiple distribution channels must be pursued to reach various target markets.
Despite its remoteness, many travelers do spend long enough touring in order to incorporate Haida Gwaii into their travel plans. Ferry access will be vital to the touring segment. Other visitors will arrive via ferry, airplane, or floatplane. These access considerations must be addressed and strategies and tactics must recognize the potential negative impact of these access limitations.
Current estimated visitation to Haida Gwaii is over 50,000 visitors annually. Area of origin statistics for 2005 from the VIC’s indicate Haida Gwaii receives a similar proportion of its business from BC, rest of Canada as compared to travel to British Columbia generally. However, Haida Gwaii has proportionately more international visitors and fewer US visitors than the rest of British Columbia.
Visitor data specific to Haida Gwaii is collected at a variety of points such as the BC Ferries, Haida Heritage Centre and Gwaii Haanas Administration Office. In future, this data along with statistics from the Visitor Centres should be combined and reviewed regularly to track visitation trends.
Product Development/Capacity Building Opportunities
A number of product development and capacity building opportunities have been identified as a result of this review of market research:
- Additional 3-4 star accommodation
- Improved hours of operation in the retail and restaurant sector
- Understanding of tour operator markets and the willingness/ability to contract with overseas tour operators and offer net rates
It is recommended that the Tourism Advisory Committee function in a support role related to product development rather than as an actual owner or producer of products or events to ensure that its limited resources remain focused on marketing and sales and its primary objective of generating incremental visitation and tourism spending. For example, the Tourism Advisory Committee may act as a catalyst to new and improved tourism product by facilitating service training sessions offered by others, or providing an umbrella for existing businesses to package themselves, as occurred with The Art Route project. Further, the TAC can facilitate product development by gathering like interests and working together to identify priorities, secure funding and then transferring responsibility for implementation to the gathered interests e.g. hiking trail development.