Kelly O’Brien, Centretown News
Catherine Frechette is currently preparing for Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017.A new executive position at Ottawa Tourism filled by a Lisgar Collegiate Institute grad shows the city’s efforts to prepare for Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017.
Catherine Frechette returned home from British Columbia this fall to take on the job of director of destination development at the city’s main tourism-promotion agency.
The 39-year-old says she’s excited to be back in the community after spending 14 years working in B.C.’s tourism industry, with 12 of those years as the communications manager at Tourism Kelowna.
Her role is to create the best experience for everyone visiting the nation’s capital by uniting different groups who have a stake in Ottawa development.
“No matter what their niche area of interest is, whether they’re families or millennials, couples or delegates who are here on business, culturally-minded people, foodies or adrenaline-junkies…we want to cater to them and make sure they get the Ottawa experience they were expecting,” she says.
Collaboration between private and public businesses, as well as providing Ottawa visitors with an experience that meets their expectations, is what separates destination development from standard tourism promotion.
One such project is the makeover of the National Arts Centre. The high-profile concert and theatre venue is launching a $110-million renovation this month, with the overhaul of the 45-year-old building scheduled for completion by July 1, 2017.
Frechette says the renovation is important for the community as well as its visitors.
“One of Ottawa’s key strengths as a destination is its high-quality cultural offerings, and the NAC is a prime example of this,” says Frechette.
“The renovation planned for the NAC will contemporize the building that houses this strong asset of Ottawa’s cultural experience, and once complete, the architecture will reflect the same level of modernity and approachability that the NAC’s vision proposes.”
Ottawa 2017 is also working hard planning monthly events for Canada’s big birthday year. “We’re working closely with them to support the visitor experience of Ottawa for the 150th celebrations,” says Frechette.
She says the city is anticipating an influx of 1.75 million more visitors in 2017. Currently, Ottawa sees about 10.5 million visitors a year with just less than half of those numbers staying overnight.
Kira Panta, a Hungarian student who spent last year in Ottawa on exchange, says she hopes to return in the summer of 2017.
“During my exchange I became a person whose heart is at two places at the same time,” she says. “Now, some of my values are Canadian but I didn’t lose my Hungarian identity either. I feel the importance of this event, which marks the 150th year of Canada being a country.”
Panta says she’s looking forward to the Canada Day fireworks in 2017.
Frechette says,“we want to make sure a visitor’s experience is a seamless as possible.”
This includes getting them around town and providing user-friendly information about local activites and businesses.
Frechette says destination development is a growing trend in the tourism industry and an exciting opportunity for Ottawa.
“It is terrific that Canada’s 150th anniversary can be the milestone . . . but I think the bigger picture is that this is an improvement to their capital that we can all enjoy for years to come, even after 2017.”