Industrial Update
Spring 2013
Mountain biking is fast becoming a top tourism draw in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region. Here rider James Doerfling rides the Cariboo’s newest signature trail, Snakes and Ladders. The trail opens officially in May 2013. John Wellburn photo ridethecariboo.com
Tourism industry a driving force in the Cariboo Greg Sabatino Tribune Staff Writer There’s a lot happening behind the scenes in the tourism industry right here in our back yard, said Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association CEO Amy Thacker. That’s in part to the work they’ve been doing to market the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast to the rest of the world, with part of the association’s mandate to help foster the growth of tourism in the region. The first is a new strategy aimed at attracting travellers to the Gold Rush Trail corridor, from New Westminster to Barkerville. “About two and a half years ago we began trying to revitalize the Gold Rush Trail and move the corridor into more of a management, co-operative plan,” Thacker said. Last year the Vancouver Coast and Mountains, the Thompson Okanagan and the Cariboo Chil-
cotin Coast tourism associations put together a project with partners and consultants along the corridor. Thacker said the route is consistently a strong draw for the region, pointing to Barkerville as the anchor. “The route will really highlight the Fraser Canyon, as well as historic loops such as through Lillooet and Likely along the Cariboo Wagon Road,” she said. “It ties together the First Nations history, the Chinese history and the gold history with modern-day experiences to come on up and check out that anchor in Barkerville.” She added the Horsefly and Likely back route will be highlighted under the new strategy. The first marketing materials — a new website and a travel planner — will be out for late April, early May. “When we say corridor it’s not just Highway 97, it’s that reach all the way around it,” she said. “The
project’s really being watched closely by government because it’s an innovative approach and we’re trying to push it to the next step. It’s being looked at as the template for how we market and move travellers around B.C., if it works well.” Tying into that project coincidentally is a major motion production shot in the region last year — a German production titled, Gold. Geoff Moore, the CCCTA’s travel media relations manager, said the film — which debuted at the Berlinale International Film Festival this year — will have major spinoffs for the region. “It’s a German-speaking film that’s actually a western,” Moore said. “Five years ago we [the film office for the region] met with producers at a meeting in Vancouver who connected the dots and location ideas to a director named Thomas Arslan, who was looking at developing a project based on the Yukon gold rush. See MORE Page 3