It’s the city’s road map into the future. The Lethbridge 2042: Our Economic & Tourism Vision is zeroing in on the framework needed to build a plan to move the city forward.
“It’s really about setting up a story, what do we want to be in 20 years? What’s important to Lethbridge, how do we want people to come and experience Lethbridge, what is life like for people living in Lethbridge going to be like?” Abby Slovack, with Opportunity Lethbridge, said in front of the Economic Standing Policy Committee Wednesday, where she presented Phase 1 of the Regional Economic Development & Tourism Strategy.
She added it’s important to share this plan so organizations can work together to better the community.
“If you don’t have your vision, you are just stuck in your day-to-day,” she said. “But when you create that forward-looking focus, it gives you something to drive towards, some goals.”
The 20-Year Economic and Tourism Vision is made up of three themes.
Theme 1: Southern Alberta Feeds the World
Theme 2: Southern Alberta Leads the World
Theme 3: Southern Alberta Welcomes the World
The draft of the strategy can be viewed here.
The plan was crafted from feedback given through stakeholder engagement, representing 27 different organizations and more than 20 one-on-one sessions with industry representatives and community leaders.
“Now that work has been done, we will go away and will work with our partners to say, ‘Ok, how do we bring this vision to life?'” Slovack added.
Phase 2 will entail an implementation plan with specific recommendations and actions over time to bring the vision to life.