Autumn Leaves are Falling & the Thompson-Okanagan is Calling
Photo by Brandon Dyck
This proposed touring route was created in collaboration with four other classmates: Alexis Cadman, Tia Davison, Zoe Pereira, and Taylor Scoular for a tourism policy and planning class at Thompson Rivers University.
We decided to choose the Thompson-Okanagan with the goal to strengthen embrace the potential that the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) has by focusing on their regional priority of experience-based themes. We understood that it was crucial for tourism products within the TOTA region to align with this regional priority in order to offer the guests a cohesive, memorable, and rewarding experience. With that being said, our proposed route was in-line with this image and we designed it with the following themes at the forefront.
- Identifying the Iconic
- Enriching Local Flavours
- Revealing the Story
- Expanding Personal Horizons
- Building Authenticity
In addition to following these themes, we wanted to create a route that was accessible, easy to follow, and applicable for all seasons even though Autumn was the focus. We conducted a SWOT analysis in the process of creating this route which identified seasonality as one of TOTA’s primary weaknesses. With this information, our goal became to encourage guests to visit new destinations during a time they would typically not have gone. This route highlights some of the Thompson Okanagan’s best-kept secrets in an effort to encourage guests to venture to new places and experience new things.