If economic development was a hockey game, Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism is reading the ice, and positioning Winnipeg for success in a competitive game. That was one of the lessons learned by more than 200 delegates who attended City Nation Place Americas April 22 and 23 in Vancouver. This global forum brings together destination leaders and place marketers to explore the innovative ways cities, regions and nations are upping their economic growth game and improving quality of life for their residents.
Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism’s President & CEO Ryan Kuffner was asked to speak and participate in a panel titled Bringing tourism, economic development, and place development together into one organization to deliver a place-led vision alongside leaders from Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and OneSpartanburg, Inc.
Winnipeg’s lead economic development and tourism agency was selected because of the work it’s doing to bring together all aspects of economic development — positioning our city as an amazing place to live, work, invest and visit — into one strategy under one organization, which is a rarity among economic development or tourism entities across North America. In fact, Winnipeg is the only major city in Canada to have this unified model.
“For the very first time in the economic development and tourism space, Winnipeg is truly leading,” says Kuffner. “There are jurisdictions, not just across Canada, but across North America that are very interested in what we're doing in Winnipeg, in terms of unifying economic development and tourism under one roof. It's really exciting to see the level of interest.”
Kuffner says there’s growing recognition that this model is more efficient and effective at enhancing a city’s competitiveness in a changing world.
The role of a forum like City Nation Place, which is based out of the U.K., is to bring together a wide array of places to learn from each other and it was important to have Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism present as an organization at the forefront of what’s ahead, according to Clare Dewhirst, Director at City Nation Place.
“We've been running this conference for 10 years and we've been talking about how places can bring tourism and economic development closer together,” says Dewhirst. “In particular, and I'd say across North America, the organizations are quite siloed. So for me, it was brilliant that in our 10th year, we could have Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism alongside OneSpartanburg and Greater Oklahoma City Chamber on the stage, three different models all with the same objective.”
As they’ve conducted research with present and future delegates, Dewhirst says more place leaders want to understand how to break down those silos and work better together across economic development and tourism or even find ways to bring those organizations under the same brand and strategy.
Another hot topic of the conference was the innovative ways organizations are working to address fiscal pressures amid tightening government budgets. Dewhirst sees a lot of opportunity in the various private sector program models that were presented, including Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism’s partner program.
“We talk quite a lot about the private sector role and how it's often untapped. And it's not just to give you that security of funding, it's to create more ambassadors for your place,” says Dewhirst. “They're all stakeholders in your city or your county or your region, and if they all want the same thing and they're all working together towards a vision, then you're more likely to achieve it."
Whether it’s for our unique organizational model or our partner program, any time we have the opportunity to put Winnipeg, literally, on a global stage, is a win, says Kuffner. But it’s also important to make sure that message is received in our own city, by everyone in our community, from residents to business leaders to politicians.
“I want our local community to know that what Winnipeg Economic Development & Tourism is doing right now is gaining national and global profile [for Winnipeg],” says Kuffner. “We are leaders, particularly across the communities that are here this week. Sometimes in Winnipeg, we need others to validate that we're on the right track. And what I want Winnipeggers and Manitobans to know is that we're doing something really exciting here.”
Having a unified economic development and tourism organization and a robust strategy for economic growth is just the beginning, says Kuffner. With those pieces in place, it means we can collectively start building momentum for the future and get more wins for Winnipeg.
“Tourism and economic development are a team sport, and this is a time for us all to lean in to ensure the future sustainability of our economy for our kids and our grandkids.”
