Flush with $78,000 in new revenue from their dual-sided digital billboard, new Innisfail and District Chamber of Commerce president Doug Bos says it's time for local businesses to bind together in a bid to double tourism spending in town.
As owner of the Discovery Wildlife Park for over 20 years, he found a metaphor from the animal kingdom most fitting.
“One single wolf can't pull down an elk,” Bos said, noting a family of four typically spends $250 in the community over a weekend. “But if they hunt in a pack they have no trouble pulling down that one elk.”
No single business or tourist facility can create the kind of buzz needed to double revenues, he said.
“But if everybody hunts in a pack for all these tourist dollars and collectively work together then we can achieve that.”
With 3.2 million eyeballs on the QEII sign per month the digital billboard is not only a cost-effective way for local businesses to advertise, but also a way for Innisfail businesses to promote local events.
But the most immediate effect of the sign, which bills out at $300 per month for businesses that advertise, is the new cash coming into the chamber. The cash influx from the LED sign is expected to reach $100,000 gross next year and will be used to extend executive director Jane Duncalfe's position to a full-time job, first and foremost, he said.
“It has kind of a triple bottom line,” he said. “It's the envy of all the chambers of commerce in Alberta.”
The big challenge for Innisfail is to stand out from all the other stop-offs along the Calgary-Edmonton corridor, said Bos.
“The people on Highway 2 drive by so many communities,” he said. “A lot of them couldn't tell you where Innisfail is.”
But with a new bypass to the south of town, new lodging options and a fresh look to the downtown thanks to revitalization, Bos says the town has a lot of things we can build on.
“There's a whole bunch of new opportunities,” he said. “And if we focus on taking advantage of those opportunities it will make us much more prosperous and make us stand out.”
Bos plans to work on getting chamber membership to 75 per cent of area businesses, up from less than 50 per cent. He also wants to find more cost-effective ways of managing some chamber activities, he said.
With the upcoming Olds College centennial and his plan to restart the Scarecrow Festival next fall, Bos will have his hands full.
“It's going to be an exciting year for the chamber,” he said. “It's not easy to pull everyone together.”
