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The Okanagan Cultural Corridor Newsletter
Click on the dates below to read the Newsletters of the Cultural Corridor Project.
No. 1
January 2001
A communiqué from Steven Thorne, Executive Director
The Okanagan Cultural Corridor Project
Dear Friend,
The Okanagan Cultural Corridor Project is now six months old. Thank you for supporting this important tourism initiative.
On the occasion of this newsletter, I'd like to talk about the growth of cultural tourism in North America, and about how the Okanagan Cultural Corridor Project is progressing.
For all we hear of the New Economy, we seldom hear reference made to the "New Tourism". And yet, a New Tourism is emerging across the continent. Given that tourism is now the single largest industry in the world (and the second largest industry in BC), it's important that we understand this New Tourism.
The story begins with the baby-boom generation. Comprising almost a third of the North America's population, boomers - the best educated and salaried generation in history - wield most of North America's purchasing power. As consumers, boomers are discerning and demanding. They seek quality goods in the marketplace, along with quality service. Moreover, boomers demand choice. A mix-master may have sufficed 40 years ago, but today's kitchen shopper expects an array of blenders, juicers, and food processors from which to choose.
The boomers' demand for quality and choice is no less evident in the travel market. The growth of eco-tourism, adventure tourism and cultural tourism speaks to the increasing differentiation of travel products - each catering to the preferences of a different "market segment".
Among the many segments that comprise today's travel market, cultural tourism is often seen as the new kid on the block. But cultural tourism is hardly new. Throughout the twentieth century, generations of travelers flocked to Europe. Renowned for its historic sites, architecture, museums and galleries, cuisine, arts events and festivals, Europe is the single most popular tourism destination in the world. Its success is built upon cultural tourism.
What is "new" about cultural tourism is its remarkable growth across North America. Although such cities as Montreal, New York, New Orleans and San Francisco have long been destinations for culturally oriented travelers, countless other communities - large and small - are now realizing that their cultural assets are also tourism resources. In fact, the market demand for cultural tourism is so significant that, in the U.S., more than 50 arts or tourism agencies now employ cultural tourism specialists. Closer to home, the Canadian Tourism Commission - the tourism agency that markets Canada to the world - is implementing a strategy to encourage cultural tourism initiatives nationwide.
Why is cultural tourism becoming so popular in North America? To begin, well-educated boomers are seeking experience that provides learning and enrichment - the travel rewards that cultural tourism provides. Equally, as boomers continue aging, passive travel activities are gaining in popularity. Yesterday's ecotourist (who hiked through the rain forest) has become today's cultural tourist (who prefers a forest museum). Cultural tourism is also a predictable reaction to the "homogenization" of North America: similar architecture, the same stores and restaurants, identical strip malls, indistinguishable downtowns. Increasingly, travelers are seeking unique, memorable, one-of-a-kind destinations.
Tourism, boomers, and the Okanagan Valley
"A major short-haul destination for western Canadian travelers". Inside Canada's tourism industry, that's how the Okanagan Valley is commonly described. Best known for its beaches, campgrounds, outdoor recreation and hot, sunny summers, the Valley has appealed to generations of Albertans and British Columbians seeking affordable family vacations. The aging of the baby boom, however, is eroding the Valley's traditional tourism markets. Increasingly, mom and dad have become empty nesters, the kids have gone to college, and the market demand for family vacation products is waning.
How can the Valley's tourism industry respond to a declining market demand for family vacation products? By doing what other industries do when faced with declining markets: develop and market new products that customers want to buy.
Wine industry leads the way
Winery tourism. It's an unintended benefit of the Valley's burgeoning wine industry. And it's a benefit that's helping transform the old "beaches and peaches" tourism of the Okanagan into a tourism that's more cultural in its appeal. Boasting more than 40 wineries, the Valley is catching national attention in a growing number of lifestyle magazines and travel publications. Appealing to well-heeled, aging boomers seeking a cultural experience - and to travelers from beyond the Valley's traditional Albertan and BC markets - the 40-plus wineries of the Okanagan are an enormous tourism asset.
Although Okanagan wines are garnering international acclaim, from the standpoint of the winery tourist, wine without the complementary experiences of cuisine, art or music could be likened to drinking Chardonnay from a paper cup. Wine is diminished without an aesthetic environment to maximize its enjoyment. Knowing this, a growing number of Valley wineries - including Quail's Gate, Summerhill, Mission Hill, Sumac Ridge, Haile Vineyard, Lake Breeze, Hillside, Tinhorn Creek and others - are incorporating cuisine or arts into their visitor experience.
This direction is a crucial one - both for winery tourism, and for the Okanagan Cultural Corridor. Our wineries are the most developed cultural tourism offering in the Valley. They are the primary tourism product around which the Okanagan's New Tourism will evolve.
The Kelowna Cultural District
Complementing the cultural experience of winery tourism is the emerging Kelowna Cultural District. An initiative of the City of Kelowna, the Kelowna Cultural District encompasses a two-block radius surrounding the Grand Okanagan Hotel. Home to the Kelowna Art Gallery, the Kelowna Community Theatre, the Wine Museum, the Orchard Industry Museum, Kasugai Garden, the Kelowna Library, Skyreach Place, and a soon-to-be-built community arts centre, the Kelowna Cultural district is being developed as a centre for arts and entertainment in the Interior of BC Aided by substantial public investments by the City of Kelowna, the Cultural District - with its critical mass of theatres, arts galleries, museums, arts festivals, and works of public art - will form the arts and entertainment "heart" of the Cultural Corridor experience.
A provincial pilot project in cultural tourism
Along with most other Canadian provinces, British Columbia has a weak cultural image in its tourism export markets. Recognizing the need to develop and market BC as a cultural destination, and acknowledging the emerging Kelowna Cultural District and the growth of winery tourism, Tourism British Columbia and the provincial government selected the Okanagan Valley for a pilot project in cultural tourism - the Okanagan Cultural Corridor Project.
The Project is a unique opportunity for the Valley. It will help to diversify the Valley's tourism industry, increase visitor revenues, and grow the Valley's long-haul markets. It will also position the Okanagan at the vanguard of cultural tourism initiatives in Canada - a positioning that, among other benefits, should aid the Valley in securing federal funding for other arts and cultural projects (a category of federal investment that BC seldom enjoys).
Progress to date
As of January 2001, the Okanagan Cultural Corridor Project is six months old. To date, some 80 cultural tourism products - arts, heritage, and agri-tourism attractions - have been inventoried and catalogued. By the end of the Project's first year, the number of inventoried products will have doubled. During this first phase of the Project, an equal number of winery managers, gallery owners, museum directors and agri-tourism operators will be introduced to the Cultural Corridor concept.
It has been a pleasure for me to travel from one end of the Okanagan to the other, exploring the culture of this remarkable Valley. Along with my work in compiling the inventory, I've also introduced the Project to city councils and regional district governments, and made contact with tourism professionals in chambers of commerce from Enderby to Osoyoos. In a related effort to make the Project more widely known, Okanagan Life magazine saw fit to profile the initiative in its November / December issue.
Looking ahead
Although the second phase of the Project - the development of a Cultural Corridor Marketing Plan - will not begin until later this year, preliminary research has already begun. The marketing of the other cultural tourism corridors in North America is being examined, and, in my capacity as the Project's executive director, I travel to cultural tourism conferences and confer with colleagues who are stewarding similar projects elsewhere.
In closing, I encourage you to pass this communiqué to someone else who may be interested in the Project. Of course, please contact me should you have any questions about cultural tourism, or about the Okanagan Cultural Corridor.
Warmest regards,
Steven Thorne
On the following, you'll find compelling evidence that aging baby boomers will accelerate the market demand for cultural tourism products. ...I hope you'll find this "food for thought" intriguing. F.Y.I., you'll also find answers to frequently asked questions about the Project.
Food for Thought...
What can demographics tell us about tourim in the coming decades?
Consider the following. ...Today, there are approximately 42 million Americans and 5 million Canadians in the 55 to 74 age group. By the year 2025 - because of the aging baby boom - there will be 75 million Americans and 10 million Canadians in the 55 to 74 age group. The additional 38 million North Americans in the 55 to 74 age group by the year 2025 will be fully 80 percent above current levels.
What are the implications of this remarkable growth in the population of 55 to 74 year-olds?
Today, the second most popular activity among American travelers over 55 is visiting hiistorical sites or museums (see table, below). Only shopping is more popular. The third most popular activity among American travelers over 55 is attending cultural events.
The leading edge of the North American baby boom (born between 1946 and 1964) enters the 55-plus age group this year. With a increase of 38 million North Americans in the 55 to 74 age group over the next 25 years - 80 percent above current levels - the implications for tourism are clear: market demand for heritage attractions, cultural events, and other cultural tourism products will grow significantly.
TOP TEN ACTIVITIES AMONG DOMESTIC AMERICAN
TRAVELERS, 55+, 1999
| Activity |
% who participate |
1. Shopping
2. Visiting Historical Sites / Museums
3. Cultural Events
4. Gambling
5. Outdoor Recreation
6. Visiting Parks
7. Enjoying Beaches
8. Night Life
9. Sports
10. Amusement Parks |
29%
15%
12%
11%
11%
8%
7%
5%
4%
4%
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Source: Tourism Industry Association of America, 2000.
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The aging of the baby-boom generation presents tremendous opportunities. But the Canadian tourism industry's success depends on how well its stakeholders ... undertand the market and adapt to change.
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Canadian Tourism Commission
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The key to success is to find out where the people are going and get there first.
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The Project - FAQ's
What is the Okanagan Cultural Corridor Project?
The Project is a BC pilot project in cultural tourism, supported by Tourism BC. Its purpose is to package and market the Valley's arts, heritage, and agri-tourism attractions as a "corridor of cultural experiences". The idea behind the Project is simple: by linking individual attractions to form a larger regional entity, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
What are the Project's objectives?
In the first year of the Project, the Valley's cultural attractions will be inventoried and catalogued. In the second year of the Project, a marketing plan will be developed in cooperation with Tourism BC and the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA). In the third year of the Project, the marketing of the Cultural Corridor will commence. The marketing campaign will include marketing vehicles designed for BC's export markets, and a Cultural Corridor web site with links to the web sites of Corridor participants.
What attractions will participate in the Corridor?
The Corridor will include wineries, other agri-tourism attractions, museums and art galleries, artist studios, arts events and cultural festivals, heritage attractions, and First Nations' cultural attractions. As the most developed cultural tourism offering in the Valley, the Okanagan Wine Route will form the backbone of the Corridor. Hoteliers, chefs, and tour operators will also work in association with the Project.
Are cultural corridors found elsewhere in North America?
Yes. Examples include the Oregon Trail, Los Caminos del Rio (Texas), the Art Museum Trail (Maine), the Louisiana Music Trail, and the Illinois and -Michigan Heritage Canal Corridor.
Why is this Project important to the Okanagan?
By addressing the rising market demand for cultural tourism products, the Project will help to diversify the Valley's tourism industry, grow its long-haul markets, and increase visitor volume and revenues.
How is the Project funded?
Tourism BC is the Project's principal funder. In support of the Project, Okanagan University College has contributed office space on its north Kelowna campus.
How is the Project managed?
The Executive Director of the Project is Steven Thorne. The former Arts Development Officer for the City of Kelowna, Steven spearheaded Kelowna's cultural tourism initiative. He is a member of the cultural tourism committee of the Canadian Tourism Commission, and the U.S.-based Cultural Tourism Alliance.
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Cultural Tourism - FAQ's
What is cultural tourism?
Cultural tourism is tourism motivated by an interest in other peoples, other places, other cultures. Typically, this interest focuses on museums and art galleries, arts events and cultural festivals, historic sites, heritage attractions, architecture, and local customs and cuisine. Travel to Europe has long been synonymous with cultural tourism.
Who are cultural tourists?
Although dispersed throughout the travel population, cultural tourists tend to belong to older age categories. More highly educated than most travelers, cultural tourists earn more, spend more, and stay longer in the places they visit. Among North Americans, baby boomers are the cohort most associated with cultural tourism.
Why is cultural tourism on the rise?
Increasingly, today's older, well-educated travelers are seeking learning and enrichment - the travel rewards that cultural tourism provides. With a growing population of aging, well-educated boomers in the U.S. and Canada, interest in cultural tourism continues to rise.
How significant is cultural tourism?
In 1998, Canadians traveling in Canada took 4.6 million trips that included an historic site, 4.4 million trips that included a museum or art gallery, and 3.4 million trips that included a performing arts event. By comparison, 3.3 million trips included golfing, 2.2 million trips included casino gambling, and 2.1 million trips included downhill skiing. Total spending by Canadian cultural tourists at home and abroad is approaching $4 billion annually.
In 1998, 46 percent of Americans included culture on a domestic trip. Historic sites were the single most popular cultural attraction (included by 31 percent of travelers), followed by museums (24 percent of travelers), art galleries (16 percent of travelers), live theatre (14 percent of travelers) and heritage/ethnic festivals (13 percent of travelers).
Among out-of-province visitors to British Columbia, 51 percent report that cultural attractions are "somewhat important" or "very important" when choosing to visit the province. This figure is only five points beneath the percentage who report that outdoor activities (i.e., skiing, golfing, hiking, biking, swimming, boating, etc.) are important when choosing to visit BC
What is the future of cultural tourism?
By the year 2025, when the entire North American baby boom is retired, there will be 85 million individuals in the 55 to 74 age group - an increase of 38 million. Possessing health, leisure time, and the financial resources to enjoy both, boomers are expected to travel widely, further driving the market demand for cultural tourism products.
Copyright © 2000, Steven Thorne. All rights reserved. Please contact Steven Thorne for permission to reproduce this speech in whole or in part.
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