The committee includes representatives from council, administration, Parks Canada, Tourism Jasper, Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce, the Jasper Hotels Association and Marmot Basin.
“This will be the first time all of these organizations are at the same table,” said Nadon, noting that meeting together will help the community to align its activities.
An example of how the committee will be utilized is in planning the anniversary celebrations that will be taking place next year.
“Marmot Basin is turning 50. The Tramway is turning 50. The [Visitor Information Centre] is turning 100 and Jasper in January is turning 25, all within the coming year, so with everybody who’s coming to the table as a partner, we’ll be able to have a unified community celebration that involves every sector of the community,” said Pattie Pavlov, general manager of the chamber.
The partnership isn’t just meant to organize events, though. It is putting together a unified vision for the future of Jasper. That includes developing a statement of Jasper’s economic goals, priorities and targets, as well as identifying the current and anticipated economic trends, challenges and opportunities that will affect Jasper.
Of the partnership, Pavlov said it’s a win-win for the entire community.
“We’re all trying to grow the community and get to economic sustainability, and we’ve all got our ways and means, so let’s combine and not duplicate efforts. If we’re working together, it can only be a win-win situation for everybody.”
Council was presented with the terms of reference for the partnership at Tuesday’s council meeting. A decision will be made as to whether council endorses them on June 18.
The partnership was a recommendation of the Structural and Services review completed last month and it was also included in the 2011 Jasper Community Sustainability Plan—although within that document, it was referred to as the Jasper Tourism Industry Council.
During his state of the municipality address to the business community last month, Mayor Richard Ireland referred to the partnership as an opportunity for the municipality to act as “a facilitator in our community’s economic prosperity,” and he noted the importance of working collaboratively to achieve that prosperity.
“We have one community and we have, effectively, one industry. It is imperative that we work together.”
