Participants listen during a tourism roundtable hosted by Destination Battlefords and Tourism Saskatchewan at the Chapel Gallery in North Battleford on May 7, 2025. The event brought together local organizations to discuss ways to strengthen the region’s appeal to visitors. (Kenneth Cheung/battlefordsNOW staff)

By battlefordsNOW staff

LOCAL TOURISM

Community roundtable explores ways to boost local tourism

May 8, 2025 | 2:24 PM

Community groups from across the Battlefords say strengthening the region’s identity and working together are essential to drawing more visitors.

“I think from what I see here, you see a lot of different interest groups that their main goal is to promote tourism and the Battlefords,” said Tim Schultz, secretary-treasurer of the Battlefords Trail Breakers Snowmobile Club.

“Everybody has that goal here, and what mechanisms that we can use in order to help with that and to make a group, that’s what I’m hoping to get out of this.”

Schultz was one of about 30 people who attended a public roundtable hosted by Destination Battlefords and Tourism Saskatchewan at the Chapel Gallery Tuesday night. The event brought together local organizations to share ideas on how to attract more interest to the region.

He said the club is in one of its strongest positions in years, partly due to renewed interest after the pandemic.

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“And part of it was that the Provincial Snowmobile Festival did help us… but I’ve just seen the interest in the sport has really grown,” he added.

READ MORE:

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The club maintains more than 450 kilometres of groomed trails stretching from the Battlefords to Denholm in the east, the Whitkow Hills to the north, and west along the North Saskatchewan River, reaching as far as Jackfish and Murray Lakes through communities including Cochin, Meota, Aquadeo, Edam, Vawn and Glaslyn.

Support from Destination Battlefords, Tourism Saskatchewan and local businesses has helped expand their reach. To tap into their full potential, Schultz said the club has embraced social media to showcase trails and shelters.

“That’s really helped our club immensely, and it’s the younger generation that understand that and really react to it,” he said.

They’ve also used drone footage to film warm-up shelters and events, and continue to rely on community outreach. The club distributes trail maps with local ads and sets up a booth at the Saskatchewan Snowmobile Show in Saskatoon each year.

Schultz said staying active and visible is critical—not just for the club, but for any group wanting to put the Battlefords on the map.

“If you got some momentum that’s going, you have to keep building on it and keep pushing it out there.”

North Battleford Coun. Kent Lindgren, who chairs Destination Battlefords, said the roundtable was part of a broader plan to bring people together and shape the region’s future.

“Tourism is a huge industry, and just also such it can be such a positive storyteller and sharing that with people.”

Lindgren added that many local agencies and organizations have a role to play—even if they don’t always realize it.

Leah Garven, curator of the Allen Sapp and Chapel galleries, said cultural institutions are vital to showcasing the region’s identity.

“We have a tremendous gift in this area of rich heritage, diverse communities that have a long history together.”

“I like to think that at the galleries, we are good community ambassadors for promoting our neighbours and our partners and light and the life here,” she said.

She believes the region’s greatest challenge may be how locals view themselves.

“We are our own worst enemies,” Garven said. “We always think of Saskatoon or Edmonton and the community is quite empty on the weekends because everyone goes somewhere else, and we’re hard on ourselves and we don’t talk positively about ourselves and about our community.”

Schultz agreed that local pride and teamwork will be essential going forward.

“We focus too much on the negative. We have to tell the good stories and focus on the positive and not the negative.”

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com