MBiz

26 SPRING 2018 << CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS Chamber members got to experience some of that buzz for themselves when the AGM kicked off with an opening night reception at the Lakehouse. It featured cuisine prepared by chefs from several local restaurants as well as samplings by Farmery Estate Brewery in Neepawa and performances by area musicians. One of the keys to the success of CLC and its marketing efforts has been its partnership with Travel Manitoba as part of its destination brand campaign, developed with McKim Communications Group. CLC was one of the first groups to take part in the program, which is aimed at creating lifestyle brands for participating communities. One of the taglines for the Clear Lake campaign is, 'In a place this big and beautiful, it's easy to find yourself.' "We wanted it to be more than just your typical tourism video or pretty photo of a beach. We wanted our whole campaign to be emotionally compelling to showcase what it means to not just visit Clear Lake but to experience everything it has to offer," McRae says. "It's really resonated with people and I think it's more compelling than the traditional tourism marketing stuff you see. Travel Manitoba has been awesome to work with … and so has Riding Mountain National Park in supporting everything we do." The numbers appear to back that up. Tourism at Riding Mountain has increased in each of the past three years, from 287,550 visitors in 2014-15 to 355,520 in 2016-17. McRae says it's particularly encouraging that many of them were first-time guests. "We've seen a ton of visitors who have never been to Riding Mountain National Park before which is really exciting," she says. CLEAR LAKE

• Cover