Exploring tourism strategies to drive economic development of Pinawa and build the necessary infrastructure

Travel Manitoba and media promoted the Pinawa Channel Float as a summer tourist destination in 2020 during COVID-19, resulting in more tourists visiting the area. One thousand tourists visited during the week, and up to two thousand during the weekends (Pinawa Proposal to Manitoba Infrastructure, 2020). This matched or doubled the resident population of this community of approximately one thousand and five hundred members. The amount of tourism created economic opportunities, which could not always be fully capitalized on, and limited parking combined with the popularity of the channel attraction created some logistical challenges. This research will support Pinawa’s planning goals by exploring and developing tourism strategies according to economic development goals and residents’ desires. Greater levels of tourism create new opportunities for strategic growth, new products and services for residents and will help to address Pinawa’s desire for more infrastructure which supports new opportunities for employment. Planning is needed to anticipate needs. The research work of Uriel Jelin will focus on meetings and interviews with key stakeholders, and Parinaz Shariat Zadeh will focus on green design for parking, traffic, and potentially other tourist infrastructure to develop a strategic tourist plan with Pinawa.

Faculty Supervisor:

Shirley Thompson

Student:

Partner:

Pinawa Community Development Corporation

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Public administration

University:

University of Manitoba

Program: