Sustainable tourism in the Elk Valley is getting some love, with the Regional District and other funding partners coming together to fund an $800,000 three-year program starting this spring aimed at making tourism more sustainable in the valley.
“Fernie and the surrounding Regional District of the East Kootenay region have continued to see growth in both tourism and recreation over the past decade and longer,” reads a Tourism Fernie Press release.
“This growth in use of area trails, lands, lakes and rivers has given rise to the need for better amenities, education and management though a collaborative effort for long-term sustainability.”
Funds have been allocated to sustainable tourism in the RDEK Area A around Fernie.
Among other things the program will focus on improved signage, a communications program to support responsible travel and recreation, improved boat launches and amenities.
The program is set to be managed by Tourism Fernie, which previously identified sustainable tourism as a priority and secured funding for a pilot project to gather research on what areas of tourism needed more attention.
The pilot project, which included a survey of Area A and Area B residents identified a number of needs for sustainable tourism across the region, including safety and education around user etiquette (for trails), maintenance of and responsibility for local attractions, infrastructure and amenities, capacity, enforcement and land use management and conservation.
“The goal was to find initial priorities to help manage locations important to residents and visitors where usage is growing but lack management and infrastructure to handle the growth,” reads the release, listing well-used locations around the valley such as access points along the Elk River, trails such as Heiko’s and Silver Springs, and the ammonite fossil.
The three-year program will be managed by Tourism Fernie with partners such as the Elk River Alliance, Fernie Trails Alliance, BC Rec Sites and Trails, College of the Rockies MAST Program, Coal Creek Heritage Society, Ktunaxa Nation, Landowners and others.
Besides principle funding from the RDEK, the program will also receive funding from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture & Sport and Freshwater Fisheries Society, with others being confirmed. The initiative begins this spring/summer with a variety of key actions.
READ MORE: Tourism numbers edge back up on 2020: Tourism Fernie
scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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