GOALS

This intriguing looking vehicle is a snow bug – a 1950’s era Bombardier snow machine that was used by the Westside Métis to take their children to school and travel out to fishing cabins. Just  few of these remain in operating condition, but they represent a compelling Indigenous Tourism experience that can be offered today.

We were invited to develop a local + regional tourism strategy for the Westside, a predominantly Métis corridor of 22 communities in NW Saskatchewan. The objective of the project was to develop the strategy and, equally importantly, to engage and inspire the communities. So we went on a 3-day field trip. Travelling up and down Highway 155, eating Bannock and moose stew, we got to know the region and continued the work with local tourism operators and community leaders. We benefited from the wisdom and leadership of an Elder and a Steering Committee of regional community representatives throughout the process.

Our engagement was supported by thorough research, through which we developed an asset map to capture the region’s existing tourism assets. This was to both inform the local and regional strategy and support the development of experience itineraries. See the below page for an example of how this materialized.

The tourism strategy had a balanced approach of profit and purpose, culture and commerce. Strategies were designed for the regional and local levels.  This provided unity and alignment among the region, and autonomy for each unique community..

A governance structure was created at the regional level under two umbrellas: Destination Westside & Destination Tours – the former operating as a DMO, the latter operating as the public-facing tour agency selling experiences.

Community capacity building was postponed to the fall due to the forest fires that raged through the region. Dealing with adversity is nothing new for this region and the tourism strategy is resilient enough to help the communities thrive. You can read the strategy here.

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