Building a three-storey parkade, implementing a post-secondary education facility, and marketing Jasper as a green destination were some of the ideas passed around at a sustainable tourism workshop held last Thursday at the Activity Centre. 

The Oct. 16 workshop, held the day after the initial community engagement session of the Community Sustainability Plan, was led by Ted Manning facilitator and president of Tourisk Inc., an organization which guides destinations through the sustainability planning process.

Manning’s focus was addressing the future of tourism in Jasper, including what factors must be considered. 

In the morning, Manning presented information to the group of 30 attendants and raised questions such as “What is your image for Jasper?” and “How many tourists are too many?”

Following his presentations, the attendants broke off into groups. Each group took on a theme such as housing or recreation and members raised issues relating to the theme and offered solutions to the problems. 

The solutions were reported to those in attendance, and will be noted by the eight volunteers that comprise the Working Group as they continue to host initiatives to engage the community and collect input.

Stakeholders in Jasper’s tourism industry were invited to the event. “That’s everyone,” said Manning. “I can’t think of anyone in a town like this who’s not a stakeholder. Without tourism, there wouldn’t be much else.”

He said he knew that people directly in the industry would be more likely to attend, despite the fact tourism affects everyone. “Whether that old lady smiled at you in the street or those kids threw garbage at you,” he said. “Everyone is a component of tourism.”

Working Group member Chris Garnham said Manning had a lot to offer. “Some stuff was new even to die-hard Jasperites,” he said.