People living in the Athabasca region and those traveling through now have another resource to finding out more of what the area offers.
VisitAthabasca.ca was officially launched yesterday, with the website promoting area events, amenities and its history.
“Our hope is that VisitAthabasca.ca helps increase tourism to the region by providing knowledge of the many types of experiences our region offers,” said Laura Barfoot, Athabasca County’s tourism and economic development officer.
“An increased number of visitors can mean increased spending at local businesses, increased utilization of campgrounds and other public amenities and greater numbers attending events and attractions hosted in our region.”
The website has an events calendar and videos of different experiences and events from around the region. There’s also an entire section for motorcyclists.
“One of the areas we’re focusing on now is attracting more motorcyclists from Edmonton to come to our region for a day trip or overnight ride, so we’ve created brochures and maps that feature suggested motorcycle routes and amenities that are available along the way,” added Barfoot.
Although Athabasca County has had a tourism website before, it was several years ago.
Barfoot believes that it’s important that there’s a continuously updated website, specifically one that can be viewed on any device.
“One-third of people will access a website for the first time from a mobile device and lot of people use mobile devices while they’re traveling to find out information about the local places they’re visiting,” she explained.
And basically, most people will go on a website before they go somewhere just to find out what’s happening in the area.
Barfoot also mentioned there will be several places for the public to add information to the website.
“We’ve tried to provide lots of opportunities for the public to be involved in making the website truly a community website,” Barfoot explained.
For example, there is going to be a monthly photo draw where the winners will be awarded a $50 gift certificate to a local business of their choice. People can also add events to the calendar.
“Local contributions are very important to keep the content fresh and interesting for local people and for visitors,” she said.
“We have an events calendar, so contributions can be made at no cost, and they’re critical to showcasing what we have to offer. When you share information with us, it allows us to promote it in a variety of ways, including through social media.”
She hopes the website will be a method of truly tracking who comes through the county and showcases the Athabasca region.
“VisitAthabasca.ca is a website that promotes the Athabasca region, the communities within it and its strengths from a nature, history and events perspective,” she said.
“The goal for the website is to provide a hub for both visitors and residents to find up to date information about local events, attractions and amenities.”
