The provincial government has released its strategy that will help guide the tourism sector over the next several years.

Government says the strategy, also known as Vision 2026, will help transform the province’s tourism landscape.

It is broken up into three phases.

The first is Transition for 2022-2023, which aims to build capacity to grow visitation to pre-pandemic levels.

The second phase, Transformation 2024-2026, will consist of a comprehensive medium/long-term strategy to establish consistent annual visitation, spending, and employment growth.

The third phase is Thrive 2026 and Beyond. That will include a long-term strategy focused on something government calls “regenerative tourism,” which essentially means putting a focus on tourism development, economics, and supporting people and places.

A number of initiatives are already underway for the first phase of the plan, including investments in air capacity development, development of a tourism research plan, and an exit survey—which Minister Steve Crocker explains.

He says an exit survey hasn’t been completed since 2016. The new survey will be completed next year and will give them information on how tourists have changed.