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Promo Flight Great First Step: One Man's Opinion

By Ben Meisner

Thursday, July 19, 2007 03:45 AM

There is a group of people out there who believe you take baby steps in trying to promote your city and your region.  They don’t look for a home run every time, and it showed when the group announced yesterday a tour package to try and attract people from Alberta to come to PG for a couple of days and in the process, create a little buzz for the city and help a fledging airline flight from this city to Calgary.

Make that run profitable and we can move on to the next step, perhaps a flight to Seattle which would then allow us to access American airlines and some cheaper fares. It also would allow us to attract people from around the north using PG as the jumping off point in their yearly holidays plans; by alas I get ahead of myself.

I have to give credit to where credit is due; Air Canada Jazz, Tourism PG, the City of PG, and Prince George Airport Authority, Ramada, Coast Inn, Four Points Sheraton and Treasure Cove Hotels along with Uniglobe Travel, Doucette Realty, and Remax City Center Realty.

In some cases these people put up hard cash to make a flight that anyone could afford. For $319 plus taxes for a total of $ 370.04 you get an airfare and a couple of nights at these hotels. Now according to my figuring that isn’t a good deal, it’s a hell of deal!

Now you may say , it isn’t going to add much but think about it, a plane full of folks that arrive in the city spend a couple of nights here and, who knows, head back to Calgary saying, Hey Man , that’s a nice little city. Lots of water (which by the way they don’t have in Alberta) lots of greenery, a great place to bring my sled and 4 track, and a group of people that is easy to fit in with.

I hope it fills several planes; it deserves to be a hit and for those who put it togther,  a pat on the back.

You don’t have to have China arrive at your door step to get a start…. And this is a very good start.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.


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Posted on Thursday, July 19, 2007 03:45 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Comment Posted by: Chadermando on July 19 2007 6:29 AM
I agree, especially if they can make it work from Seattle.
Comment Posted by: southfortguy on July 19 2007 7:51 AM
Why not reciprocate the idea - I have family in Calgary. This should work both ways.
Comment Posted by: owl on July 19 2007 8:06 AM
As long as you promise to buy gifts for your family in PG, promise to stay with the family rather than spending the money in Calgary for a hotel, promise to buy no goods in Alberta to take back to PG, and treat your family only to take out pizza, then it should not be too much of a burden to the businesses in PG resulting from a person spending money elsewhere.

;-)
Comment Posted by: Bridge on July 19 2007 10:13 AM
Your a bit of a comedian Owl!

Cheers
Comment Posted by: southfortguy on July 19 2007 1:55 PM
Why not reciprocate the idea - I have family in Calgary. This should work both ways.
Comment Posted by: Gofaster on July 19 2007 2:20 PM
Oh, Owl, they have to make sure to submit the PST that they would have paid had they bought in BC....
Comment Posted by: Chadermando on July 19 2007 3:13 PM
This is a watershed moment in PG, as it is the first real attempt to put a reasonable package together that promotes tourism in this area.

There is a need for this kind of service IMO and it should be the provincially funded Northern BC Tourism Association that should be doing more in this area of brokering tour pakages. The other Regional Destination Marketing associations in other parts of the province like the Okanogan and Kooteny regions have been doing this for years.

NBCTA has a half million dollar fully staffed building in downtown PG and $2 million dollars in flex funds available for promoting tourism, so why is it they can not take on this responsibility? Is it because it is easier to just fund the marketing needs of their favored stakeholders and collect the provincial grant money for doing a minimal job for an organization most have never even heard of?