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Q&A Marsha Walden – CEO Destination BC

New CEO says tourism is about creating experiences
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Super natural B.C.'s tourism industry is built on authentic experiences, says Marsha Walden. Photo BY Mike Crane / Tourism Whistler

Seven months after taking the helm of Destination B.C., new CEO Marsha Walden is all confidence.

"Whistler seems to be having a good season so far from some of the early indicators," she said.

"The province is doing well, the hotels seem to be doing well, so all signs are up."

But when the province you're marketing contains coastlines, mountains and unprecedented Canadian beauty, it's easy to be confident — even in the face of mounting competition.

After making her inaugural address to the Vancouver Board of Trade recently, Walden spoke to Pique about marketing, Whistler and how to stay competitive in an increasingly connected world.

Pique: Seven months on the job so far, what would you say is the current state of the tourism industry in B.C?

Marsha Walden: "Well I guess I would say the prospects are excellent. There's lots of really encouraging signs. The rate of growth is improving, the U.S. dollar is strengthening, which is always good for tourism in our province, the overseas market is continuing to grow, China in particular is just growing exponentially, so all signs are up and extremely positive."

Pique: How big of a role does Whistler play in B.C. Tourism?

MW: "Well it's really an iconic experience for British Columbia, certainly post-Olympics and even prior. It's very well recognized globally, continues to be one of the world's top resorts, and is part of what we call the golden triangle — a vast number of our visitors really want to see Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler, and that's a really popular route for touring, and now that Whistler is an all-season resort, it's just growing and growing in visitor interest."

Pique: What do big projects like the new Sea to Sky Gondola do for tourism and marketing?

MW: "They do an awful lot, because coming to any destination is all about the experiences that you can have, and when you have remarkable ones like the new Sea to Sky Gondola, it really enhances the overall appeal of that route, and of everything up and down the golden triangle and beyond. The media and trade tours that we've done of that site so far this year have just garnered incredible enthusiasm and interest from not only media such as Esquire and Calgary Herald and Globe and Mail and all the others that have seen it, but the trade overseas that brings tours here, so I think it has excellent prospects for becoming part of an overall experience when people are in and around this part of the province."

Pique: Festival season is right around the corner, how do events like the Pemberton Music Festival and Squamish Valley Music Festival benefit the province?

MW: "Those particular ones are huge draws. Events and festivals are a critical part of animating the experience of being in B.C., and it's also hugely appealing for the locals. Most of the attendance, I think, is drawing people from around the province to come and visit some exceptional experiences, but for those that have come from overseas, it really animates and makes the overall package just that much more appealing."

Pique: How can B.C. stay competitive against other tourism markets?

MW: "There's two things I think. We have to worry about the demand generation side — the way that we market ourselves to the world, because it's become a very competitive world. Governments all over the globe have awoken to the power of the visitor economy and their overall economic mix, so they're starting to pump a lot of money into marketing, and so we need to be differentiated and stand out. But we also need to worry about the supply side of our business, so that is, what are the experiences we offer, and are they offering exceptional value to our visitors? We're not an inexpensive location to come to. It's fairly expensive to get here and it's fairly expensive to be here, so we need to really be focused on how much value we are providing our visitors, and the more that we are injecting into superb experiences, the better."

Pique: What are some of the challenges you see facing tourism moving forward?

MW: "I think it's the competitive challenge. It is this fact that the globe is that much more competitive, humans are that much more mobile, and as we see China's and India's middle class explode, they now have the world at their fingertips, that's where the huge growth is going to come from over the next 20 years primarily, and we need to make sure that British Columbia is positioned well as a really exciting place to visit, and something that should be on their must-see list right now."

Pique: What do you think some of the trends will be moving forward for B.C. tourism?

MW: "More visitors are really looking for that out-of-the-bus experience. The trend is for more independent and exploratory travel, and people want experiences that they can share with their friends and talk about when they get home, and so they're really keen to do some of those outdoor adventure things. Nothing too crazy, like rock climbing for most people, but things like the Sea to Sky Gondola where they can really experience outdoors and be in these spectacular landscapes without having to put the crampons on kind of thing. It's very much about feeling a part of where they are and having a chance to enjoy nature in a real way, not just from the interior of a bus, so that is really about us continuing to create those experiences on the ground, where people can live the wonderful life we live, for a couple of weeks anyway."