The Fraser Valley Group is a collaboration of destinations: Tourism Langley (Erinn Kredba), Tourism Abbotsford (Craig Nichols), Tourism Chilliwack (Allison Colthorp), Tourism Mission (Clare Seeley), Tourism Harrison River Valley (Robert Reyerse), and Tourism Hope, Cascades & Canyons (Shannon Jones). The group benefits from a collaborative approach to marketing and social media, but more importantly, their
strong relationships have proven essential during a year of natural disasters.
Shannon, Robert, Allison, Craig, Erinn, and Clare have one another on speed-dial – coordinating successful regional marketing campaigns and more recently, rapid covid recovery efforts. They have developed important and impactful ways to provide support and, in some cases, lead community response efforts in the midst of a crisis.
The experience of the Fraser Valley Group is transferable as unfortunately, other communities in BC can expect to have disaster visit their community. Tourism organizations are no longer in the business of simply welcoming vacationing guests but may be faced with welcoming stranded and/or evacuated visitors. Below are some lessons learned:
• Emergency Response Planning
The wildfire and flooding events of 2021 have reiterated the need for stronger emergency response plans at both the local and regional levels. The Fraser Valley Group has committed to refining their plans and ensuring that tourism continues to play a valuable role in emergency response.
• Volunteer Management
One of the things that become readily apparent during the flooding was the need to connect volunteers with those in need. Tourism Abbotsford connected their App provider with a volunteer group and an App prototype was developed in days at no cost to the group.
• Facilitating Support
During the flooding, a hotel in Chilliwack recognized the difficulties faced by a hotel in Sumas Prairie. After reaching out, Tourism Chilliwack hosted a call between the Chilliwack and Abbotsford hotel managers to coordinate the sharing of clean-up equipment, a temporary employee exchange program, and a Christmas party for their staff! This is a true example of how competitors can become allies during a crisis.
• Communications Support
As the flooding crisis lasted weeks, the City of Abbotsford’s communication team was growing tired from the 24/7 media needs. Tourism Abbotsford arranged to have their media partner as backup to City staff in the event they needed some time off.