After many years of active participation and investment, the Town of Altona has decided not to renew their 2024 membership with Central Manitoba Tourism.
Mayor Harv Schroeder says the decision was not taken lightly, and it comes after a thorough evaluation of the benefits and value that the municipality has received from its membership in the regional tourism agency.
“Unfortunately, despite our efforts to engage and collaborate, we have not seen the expected return on our investment in terms of tourism promotion, economic development, or enhanced community engagement,” he says.
In a letter to the organization, Schroeder noted that the town has been disappointed in the challenges that the organization has had in maintaining a positive relationship with the provincial tourism agency, in meeting quorum for board meetings, and with the lack of new content created in the past several years, both in print and digital media.
“When reviewing social media and website content from the past year, we were disappointed to see that our community was not featured aside from one or two ‘shares’ around the time of our festival. It has become apparent to us that fundamental improvements are necessary to ensure that Central Manitoba Tourism can effectively serve its members.
“We hope that Central Manitoba Tourism will take this opportunity to evolve and become a more effective partner in achieving our shared goals, and we remain open to reevaluating our decision in the future should Central Manitoba Tourism demonstrate a commitment to addressing these concerns and implementing meaningful changes.”
Representatives from Central Manitoba Tourism did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
Meanwhile, Schroeder says Altona will continue to find ways to promote local tourism and foster positive regional relationships.
“We’ve been members of Central Manitoba Tourism for a long time. While we are parting ways for now, we wish them well moving forward. We are looking forward to pursuing other ways of promoting tourism in Altona next year, including working with local residents on creating new content that highlights everything we have to offer.”
