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Tourism report gives White Rock high marks

Surveys indicate parking, walkability and restaurants are priorities for visitors
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Walking the beach, the promenade and the pier are still among the most valued assets of White Rock for visitors, according to a progress report to council on city tourism initiatives from Discover Surrey executive director Cathy James. (File photo)

White Rock is on the right track in enhancing its walkability – including current upgrades to the waterfront promenade and Memorial Park – and in supporting restaurant business, according to reports from Cathy James, executive director of Discover Surrey (contracted to run Tourism White Rock) at council Monday night.

And Mayor Wayne Baldwin – and other members of council – were not slow to take the reports as endorsement for council policy.

“I’m glad to see that we’re not entirely wasting all that money on the waterfront attractions,” Baldwin said. “That’s good to know.”

James was there to present a snapshot of the Explore White Rock campaign for the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2017, and the results of a survey conducted by Explore White Rock Street Team summer student workers to determine a ‘net promoter score’ for the city.

Crucial feedback from the latter was a survey result, for a sample of just over 1,000 visitors, that showed that some 87 per cent were “extremely likely” to recommend White Rock as a travel destination to a friend, family member or a colleague – the highest result, James said, that she has seen in such canvassing.

When people were asked what they liked best about their trip to White Rock, top responses included ‘fish and chips’ and ‘restaurants,’ the ‘ocean’ and ‘beach,’ the ‘pier’ and ‘walking the promenade’.

And when visitors were asked how White Rock could improve the visitor experience, ‘parking,’ a ‘playground,’ an upgraded ‘beach’ and ‘promenade,’ and ‘cleaner washrooms’ were among the highest priorities.

“Those are some exciting numbers there,” Coun. Grant Meyer said.

“Some of the things you’ve brought up confirm that council is on the right track – and staff as well – in terms of cleaner washrooms, that was definitely one of the top complaints I’ve heard over the years…parking, obviously, we’ve addressed with additional parking behind the Boathouse.

“It’s nice to hear that and gives us a little confidence as well.”

Of survey respondents, some 34 per cent were first-time visitors, but 60 per cent had been in White Rock previously, James said.

According to the results, more than half were from the Lower Mainland and the rest of B.C., with the remainder divided between the rest of Canada and other countries. The majority were staying for one to five hours or a day at most, planning to spend up to $100, and counted visiting the beach, walking the pier or promenade or visiting a restaurant among priority activities.

While Coun. Lynne Sinclair said that results appear to confirm the need for tourism infrastructure such as the Memorial Park upgrade (including new washrooms) and the waterfront parkade, she asked James what other priorities council could be setting.

In response, James said visitors have asked for more businesses down by the promenade, an extension of the promenade, and noted “a hotel with an ocean view would do really well” in lengthening visitor stays and increasing their spending while here.

“You can no longer say come to a community, you have to give them something special and something unique,” James said, adding that restaurants are also important to visitors.

“Everybody talks about the dining in White Rock – it’s a very large component of the visitor experience,” she said.

Website analytics included in James’ snapshot of Explore White Rock for 2017 show that more than 80 per cent of website visitors were first-time, and that more than 80 per cent are from Canada.

The website had a more than 67 per cent bounce rate, indicating that the majority of visitors were leaving the site after viewing only one page. Some analysts view a bounce rate above 50 per cent as an indication that entrance pages aren’t relevant to visitors.

The city made some gains in social media, however, gaining a total of 4,417 Facebook followers by December (a more than 30 per cent gain over January), a total of 1,314 Instagram followers (a 65 per cent increase) and a total of 2,539 Twitter followers (an almost 10 per cent increase).

Two video projects produced for Explore White Rock gained more than 32,000 and 36,000 YouTube views, respectively, James said.