Growing Fernie's Ecomony...

Tourism Fernie is the Destination Marketing Organization for Fernie. It consists of 11 elected board members, and employs an Executive Director who is responsible for carrying out the marketing plan and day-to-day operation of the organization.
And what exactly does Tourism Fernie do? Our mission statement says it best:

Tourism Fernie works collaboratively with partners and leverages its resources effectively to execute strategic marketing and sales programs that deliver an increasing number of overnight visitors to Fernie throughout the entire year who stay longer, spend more, and return and recommend Fernie again and again.

Simply put, we carry out strategic marketing initiatives in order to bring more visitors to Fernie on a year-round basis. Small tourism centres like Fernie are mainly comprised of small to medium sized businesses. On their own, and often with limited marketing budgets, it’s difficult to reach potential customers. This is where Tourism Fernie comes in. An organization such as ours uses combined funding from local businesses as well as provincial funding and hotel room tax revenues to promote Fernie on levels that individual companies could rarely achieve.
We’d like to see Fernie’s off-peak seasons become as bustling as the winter. What restaurant owner wouldn’t want to see more patrons walk through their doors in January? What retail store wouldn’t want to sell more goods to visitors in September? What rafting outfit wouldn’t want to take more boaters down the Elk in June?
When everyone pulls in the same direction, the extraordinary is possible…

Vision: Tourism Fernie is the most efficient and effective destination marketing and sales organization in the Canadian Rockies. It works in a fair and unbiased manner to grow Fernie's mountain resort economy while being respectful of community values.

Why do we need Tourism Fernie?

Tourism is a global industry with fierce competition for travellers and spending. The most successful destinations around the world act in a unified and collaborative manner by selling their destination first then the individual products. A critical mass of funding is necessary to be heard in the market place, which is often beyond the means of an individual business. Pooling the financial resources into a strategic marketing and sales program will maximize results. Consistent and persistent messaging from a DMO heightens interest and ultimately visitation.

To strengthen the tourism economy, Fernie needs more visitors that stay longer and spend more. A diversified economy supports overall community prosperity in keeping with the values of the City of Fernie Official Community Plan.