ST. PAUL – On July 28, Town of St Paul council approved a strategic guiding document that is meant to help grow tourism in the region.
The Tourism Capacity Building Project, a document that is over 180 pages long, includes four strategies, each with distinct studies conducted over the years. The STEP Regional Economic Development Alliance conducted the project.
Tourism Accommodation Strategy
The first of the four is the Tourism Accommodation Strategy, which found that tourism in the region steadily increased. Campground visitations, for example, increased by about 50 per cent from 2019 to 2024, according to Linda Sallstrom, economic development officer with STEP.
"With almost 50 per cent increase over those years, [there is] a clear demand for what they call unique accommodations," such as yurts, geodomes, and short-term rentals, she said.
The strategy identifies three accommodation subsectors that could use some investment, including fixed-roof accommodations like hotels and motels; short-term rentals, which are seeing increasing demand for summer and weekend stays; and non-fixed-roof accommodations like campgrounds and glamping.
The strategy also identified some challenges, including heavy reliance on workforce accommodation instead of diversifying for leisure travellers. Aging infrastructure is also limiting the attraction of higher-spending visitors.
Many tourism-related businesses, of which there are 79 in the STEP region, also have limited online presence and marketing capacity. Seasonal demand fluctuations lead to the underutilization of tourism assets, according to the document.
Other recommendations include investment in year-round attractions and itinerary-based tourism to encourage visitors to explore more of the region.
Findings of the strategy indicate that there is an over-reliance on seasonal events, like rodeos or sports tournaments, and suggest the need to reduce that over-reliance to ensure more consistent demand throughout the year.
Arts and culture
The Arts and Culture Tourism (ACT) Strategy is the second area of opportunity, which recommends building on the region's local creativity, heritage, and identity.
"Community engagement," during development of the ACT Strategy, "included 12 stakeholder interviews and a roundtable of 23 participants [that] developed an inventory of cultural resources and opportunities," said Sallstrom.
"The outcome was focus on growth through cultural programming, revitalizing venues, new festivals and events focus, and stronger partnership positioning of culture as a tourism driver," she told Town council.
Westcove Municipal Recreation Area
The last two recommendations as per the tourism strategy document involve more specific recommendations, particularly the development of the Westcove Municipal Recreation Area (WMRA), and building a network for e-bikes on the Iron Horse Trail.
For the WRMA, the site has been identified as a year-round tourism destination opportunity to meet increasing demand for four-season camping and winter experiences, both for locals and visitors.
The document included a concept plan for a Westcove Winter Staging Area, which would involve building a 3,500 square foot central amenities building. This would be akin to a cozy lodge with a big social room for events, a commercial kitchen, washrooms, and showers.
"Without having some sort of amenities building in place, the idea of having visitors utilizing the site for overnight stays is feasible, but less appealing," reads the document.
The document does acknowledge this is going to be a significant development, estimating around $1.4 million for the building itself, and another $1 million for site development. It is ambitious and requires a user-pay system to indicate profitability and return on investment to the County of St. Paul or potential developers.
Improving Westcove may also lead to potentially hosting or creating winter festivals.
E-bike network
As for the "E-Bike Business Development Project," focus shifted from the initial plan of starting up a pilot project for an e-bike network between St. Paul and Elk Point due to lack of business interest, to figuring out on how to build a network and support e-bike-related businesses, said Sallstrom.
According to the document, while there were not enough businesses to support an E-bike network. E-bikes are booming in popularity as a way to explore scenic routes, making e-bikes a significant opportunity for entrepreneurs.
The idea is that building necessary infrastructure and services for an e-bike network could unlock new economic opportunities for the region.
Sallstrom told council that the document, which includes the studies conducted on the four priority recommendations, is ultimately meant to attract entrepreneurs to invest in tourism within the STEP region.
The reports in the document will be uploaded to the STEP website. "I think it's important the public see what opportunities do exist," she said.
