Those in the know about local tourism say there are over 100 lakes in the Lac La Biche area-and Lac La Biche County’ s politicians have almost as many ideas when it comes to updating visitor information services.
Those in the know about local tourism say there are over 100 lakes in the Lac La Biche area-and Lac La Biche County’ s politicians have almost as many ideas when it comes to updating visitor information services.
County officials have been reviewing those services for over a year now, conducting stakeholder interviews and holding public consultation sessions. The next step in the process was reached last week, with councillors voting to have terms of reference drafted for an official Request for Proposals for providing visitor services.
There’ s already a Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in the hamlet of Lac La Biche, located in McArthur Place and operated by the local Chamber of Commerce, but the $65,000 contract enabling that arrangement comes to an end in May.
The POST asked Mayor Omer Moghrabi why alternatives to the current situation are being considered. He said there’ s no guarantee a change will be made immediately, but nobody can say for certain what the future holds in the longer term.
He said visitors’ expectations can change, and whatever information services the community has to offer need to be relevant in the digital age.
“People go on Google. They’ re always on the Internet, getting that information,” Moghrabi said, adding that there are other considerations like location and accessibility of services. “Do we continue with the status quo? Possibly for another one or two years, but we’ ve got to start looking at these things.”
County council held a strategic session last Tuesday and spent the morning discussing what visitors to the Lac La Biche area need to know in order to make the most of their time here. Councillors also talked about what amenities need to be provided for visitors, like parking for RVs.
There has been talk of building a whole new VIC. A consultant’ s report from 2014 identifies a number of suitable locations for one, but it concludes that McArthur Place would still be the best fit.
The county has a number of plans for McArthur Place and the surrounding area in various stages of completion. Changes to the Recreation Grounds as well as the neighbouring Jubilee Hall are being considered, and McArthur Place itself will be renovated and converted into the municipal civic centre.
With so many different pieces in play right now, it’ s hard to tell where the VIC might fit, Moghrabi said, adding that it’ s necessary to figure that out before other plans are formed.
“That’ s why the discussion is happening now,” he said.
There was a lot of discussion in council chambers last week. Councillor MJ Siebold said visitor information services need to be regional, encompassing not just Lac La Biche but also Plamondon and other areas, but then the rest of council wasn’ t sure how that would work.
It was Siebold who suggested issuing a Request for Proposals, saying even more ideas on how to proceed might come to light that way. Councillor Robert Richard, however, said the request can’ t be too vague. The county as an organization needs to be sure of what it wants and expects first, he said.
“A regional system-what does that mean?” asked Richard.
Speaking to the POST later, Moghrabi said final decisions are still a long way away but one thing is already clear: the importance of having a good centralized VIC in this community, where tourism can play a significant role in the local economy.
“There are very few municipalities in the province that have what we have,” the mayor said.
Even with the Internet readily accessible to so many people, you can’ t compare that to a building staffed by real people, he said.
“A lot of people like to be able to talk to somebody,” said Moghrabi. “VICs are essential.”
The terms of reference for the county’ s Request for Proposals should be ready in time for a council meeting in March.
The Chamber of Commerce talked about the current VIC at a board of directors meeting later in the week. The organization’ s leaders said they want to bid on the VIC contract when it’ s put out to tender later this year.
Although he wasn’ t at the directors’ meeting, Chamber president Ron Briscoe told the POST the VIC has been an integral part of the Chamber’ s operations.
“It’ s been a great partnership between the Chamber and the county, which benefits us both,” he said.
