Kudos to Olds town council, the Olds Institute and others for working on the creation of Destination Olds – a strategy to develop tourism in the community.
Encouraging people to come to Olds and spend some of their hard-earned money is a good thing at any time.
But this is not just any time.
We're in the midst of an economic downturn, which affects virtually every business and resident in Olds and surrounding area.
So that makes it that much more urgent to bring in more dollars from outside the community to prime the economic pump.
The strategy, which would be funded by municipal taxes raised from student dormitories and the Pomeroy Inn & Suites – also located on the Olds College campus, was outlined during a meeting of the town's policies and priorities committee on Sept. 19. Student dormitories were previously exempt from those taxes.
In a nutshell, the idea is to bring in more conferences, sporting events and festivals to the community.
That would be done by marketing some of the major facilities in town like the Sportsplex, those on Olds Regional Exhibition (ORE) and college grounds, as well as hotels, restaurants and the golf course.
Not only would marketers try to attract people to these events, but try to get them to stay longer, and thus spend more money here.
The strategy goes beyond there to encourage people to spend more money when they're here to shop, to have surgery or obtain other services in the community.
The concept fits in well with an exciting idea currently in the works that would see the Olds and District Chamber of Commerce working more closely with Olds Institute and the Uptowne Olds Committee.
The vision is a kind of one-stop shopping facility that could perhaps house chamber of commerce staff, Olds Institute staff and a tourist information booth. That would be efficient for all involved, including visitors and the business community alike.
So keep working on Destination Olds – it's in the best interest of all of us.
