FVC Perspectives—July: Tourist attractions

If you build it, they might actually come. It just depends on what you build.

With an Abbotsford councillor suggesting his city look to spur the creation of a large indoor attraction that could bring tourists to the valley, we asked you whether you whether a city should try to create tourist attractions and what you would build if you were put in charge.

You came through with your ideas big and small—and your general thoughts on tourism in the Fraser Valley.

With enough focus and determination, you can manufacture tourist attractions for a community. Agree or disagree?

53%: Yes!

25%: Probably given the right circumstances

18%: Maybe, but most tourism attractions occur organically

4%: No, and it’s a waste of time for a city to even try.

We asked…

What tourist attraction should your community consider building? Serious and wacky suggestions accepted. (List your community too.)

Rick Thiessen: Abbotsford needs a tourist focal point like a Great Wolf Lodge, indoor sports facility (think LEC), river walk or canal slicing through the city

Patricia Cohen: Winter carnival and lights - Christmas Market at Mill Lake - Free entry like Europe's

Leanne Witherly: Abbotsford is well positioned to host an Indigenous interpretive centre, with facilities for hands-on learning and cultural opportunities. Work with the many indigenous groups throughout the Fraser Valley to showcase the diversity of their history, culture and art through an activity and workshop based interpretive centre, to give people a chance to experience first hand the variety of indigenous cultures in BC. Focus on demonstrations, entertainment, making experiences rather than just static displays. Give tourists a chance to DO as well as see. (Think beading, weaving, dying, foraging, nature walks, demonstrations of dance and storytelling, food, etc.)

Rob Maksymetz: Mountain biking resort on Sumas mountain and water slide/pool park like Aldergove's somewhere in town.

Stephanie: People from metro Vancouver love coming to the Fraser Valley for instagrammable countryside experiences, e.g. pumpkin farms, lavender farms, etc. I think the main issue is the infrastructure - how can you support bringing people out there via public transport? Some kind of public transport access over the weekends would significantly help - at least a train coming out in the morning and returning maybe 2pm.

I think anything that is like "a break from the city" kind of theme would be a hit - farm events, outdoor craft breweries, wineries, outdoor festivals. But I genuinely think the missing piece here is having a train station in downtown Abbotsford as that would help connect Abbotsford to other areas of the lower mainland. I have many friends in Vancouver, Langley, Burnaby, Chilliwack, who want to attend Abbotsford events but do not have a car and this is their only barrier.

Clint Nelson: “In Mission: Downhill Biking at Sasquatch; White water kayak training park at Stave Dam outflow (engineer the currents ... they do this in the US); A man-made lazy river to ride on tubes (2-3 hours to do one loop); and a Sasquatch Interpretive Centre (with old men telling stories to kids of sasquatch sightings) and Recreation Gateway at Stave Lake boat launch.”

Iris Panasiuk: Let Sumas revert back to a Lake & build up the area with different tourist attractions, a mini resort city.

Karen Jackson: Used tires can make great flower planters that look like tea cups etc. and could be used in the local parks to enhance attractions and reuse the tires.

Natalie Virginia Lang: Abbotsford could be a great ecotourism location, if we do it well. Keep the trees. Protect the environment. Support hiking, biking, walking. Keep biodiverse areas alive and well, including water ways, and densely treed areas like Sumas Mountain, the last biodiverse ecosystem of its kind in this area. Especially in years to come, as the climate continues to change, and populations grow, this is going to be more and more valuable. It will become a proud marker for the residents of this area that are here because they love the environment.”

Salim Jaffer: “Fruit Tasting (Farm Tours)”

Glyndŵr Merriman: 

• Affordable housing (lol)

• An impressive bus and train system

• World’s most abundant public food gardens (notice plural)

• *Not* another berry statue

• Canada's most sophisticated library system (build new libraries)

• Local ravines that are not left neglected, in destitute condition, polluted with garbage and needles

• A truly appreciated cultural/arts scene

• Community gardens and bike/walking infrastructure would change this city

• A network of transit-reachable campsites

Chandy: “I live in Abbotsford. If they promoted and added extra amenities to some nature features of Abbotsford like trailheads (like the Abby Grind), Mill Lake, or a community forest like Chilliwack, it might work! Teapot Hill and Lindeman Lake in Chilliwack are some examples I can think of that attract Vancouverites on the weekends.

Or maybe if they preserved a series of historic buildings and zoned the surrounding area to create a trendy shopping area like Fort Langley or District 1881, they'll have the same success as those.

The city could invest in user-generated content to promote things within Abbotsford that already exist -- I'm a 20 something that sees Instagram reels all the time for restaurants/cafes/walks/hikes closer to Vancouver, but never things within the Fraser Valley. Someone like Bob Kronbauer does an excellent job of promoting things within small towns in BC that I would never have known about.

Nichole M: “The city should look at a strategy to purchase the lands on Sumas Mountain to protect and conserve greenspace and trail systems. This is the biggest potential for tourism in our city! Sumas Mountain is a gem. Instead of developing it for high end housing, we should save the lands for conservation and recreation.”

Johnny Astorino: “Sports teams tournament capital of BC.” (Editors note: Kamloops might take issue.)

Cindy Brown: “Abbotsford: In one of the fall or winter months, have a Hot Chocolate contest amongst the various coffeeshops/restaurants in town (they have this in Vancouver).”

Andrew: “I live in Abbotsford and I’d love to see more bike paths especially if they connect to destinations people would want to bike to! I also think Abbotsford would really benefit from a paved pump track. I’ve travelled to the one in Chilliwack and to others and I think people would use it as a destination especially if it was adjacent to other park facilities.”

Sarah Macintosh: “Make it a “family reunion” locale. With facilities. This will reliably draw people. And will generally be wholesome. “

Malcolm McKay: “Greater Vancouver needs a facility like Great Wolf Lodge. Indoor water park, hotel, restaurant and lounge. A group of us went to the one with all our kids down in Washington. Aside from the drive it was a fabulous trip!”

Casey Rempel: “Promote our trail networks of all skill levels and expand them. From challenging single track (ie, sumas, McKee peak, to easy gravel and paved trails (ie, discovery trail, Matsqui dike) . Chilliwack and mission are far ahead of us promoting their outdoor spaces and adding more as well as making them gathering places with permanent and changing food trucks etc…

Brian: “I'm not in favour of a tourist attraction. Let's be real. We have wineries, cider, local agriculture that attracts people from all over Metro Vancouver.”

Bob Fitzsimmons: “A tour de Valley I miss the races that were held in Delta and White Rock with one offs sometimes at UBC, Burnaby and New Westminster. Gas Town, I think, is back but we have a great opportunity here with our physical terrain. Road races with a criterium and maybe a hill climb. easier to get to than downtown Vancouver.”

Ernie: Mill Lake goose poop tour

Bradley Por: “I think tourism, and all industry, should be led by the Indigenous communities whose land it is on. We have seen recent examples of communities in Sto:lo territory devising their own plans for tourism. The city government should respect Indigenous authority over the land and yield to Indigenous interests in development, something it has shamefully failed to do with the approval of the McKee Peak development project that is opposed by the Sumas Nation.”