Travel Drumheller sees potential in a recent round of new funding to help support tourism infrastructure.
    On November 8, the Alberta Government introduced Bill 30: Investing in a Diversified Alberta Economy Act. This rolled out two proposed tax credits. This includes the Capital Investment Tax Credit, which would offer a 10 per cent non-refundable tax credit of up to $5 million to Alberta Companies involved in manufacturing, processing and tourism infrastructure.
    Alyssa Berry, of Travel Drumheller says their organization has had some discussions about the proposal.
    “The next step is we are going to look at how, as an organization, how operators locally can access some of these tax credits and what that exactly looks like,” said Berry. “It’s a good step for the government to do that and obviously tourism is a big economic driver in the province.”
    “It makes sense that with tourism being such a big economic driver tourism would be looked at in the forefront of diversifying the economy.”
    Travel Drumheller is looking forward to the coming season. Last year it took time to work on building its brand story and focusing on its goals.
    “Our key 2017 initiatives are creating a better communication infrastructure between our stakeholders and really increasing the level of stakeholder engagement between Travel Drumheller and local tourism operators and educate around the tourism industry and what it means,” said Berry. “We are looking at hosting a few networking events.”
    They are also looking at professional development for operators such as customer service or creating marketing plans.
    “We really want to be more connected and create more opportunities for learning and professional development and be the leader in that,” he said.
    Marketing wise, they have a new focus of storytelling. To that end, the 2017 tourism guide will be revamped as more of a magazine sized publication focusing on storytelling. This is complemented by a new updated website and digital guide that can be leveraged through social media.
    “The next step is to get Travel Drumheller integrated into the digital landscape, which in 2016-2017, is definitely important as an organization. We need to have a greater presence in the digital landscape, not just through social media but content creation,” said Berry.
    Going forward, they are targeting their marketing to the shoulder season. The key targets they are looking at are families as well as the millennial market.
    “Millennials want to focus on what is new, what is interesting, what is different. And we want to create experiences in those areas, especially since that demographic will travel in these shoulder season,” said Berry.

    Eric Dahl’s latest random act of kindness received media attention over Remembrance Day for cleaning veteran’s graves in the local cemetery but it goes much farther and deeper than that.
    Dahl said to The Mail, “It doesn’t matter, the media attention. It doesn’t make a difference to me, I would still be out there doing what I am doing. Nobody even caught on for a couple of weeks.
    We all get so wrapped up in our own little worlds and we just don’t think outside the box or for others. It’s a shame when good deeds make the news because it should be like this all the time.”
    Dahl explained to The Mail that his act to honour veterans came about after he was asked to visit a friend who was struggling adjusting back into civilian life after serving in the Canadian Military. When Dahl arrived at his friend’s apartment in Edmonton he found that all the man had was an air mattress and a backpack full of clothes and that was it.
    “This man’s apartment was a tiny, tiny place with only an air mattress in the corner. This didn’t sit well with me, not as a veteran of our country,” Dahl said, “I came back to Drumheller and wondered what we could do. I knew the people of Drumheller were very giving and so I went back the next weekend and someone from Drumheller went with me with his truck full of stuff. The people of Drumheller filled his truck with stuff like a dining room table and a few chairs, new toiletries, new dishes, a futon and other goodies. When my friend found a bag of homemade cookies someone in the community had sent, he just said, ‘Thank you. You have restored my faith in people.’”  
    The first time Dahl was given much attention for his random acts of kindness was the acts he committed as The Sticky Note Bandit which turned to handing out roses to strangers. Since then he has spread more kindness in the community and also brought honour to Veterans through his out of the box thinking.
    Dahl said, “It really bothers me when people tell me that we need more people in the world like me. That really bugs me because, well, you’re like me, she’s like me, the lady sitting across from you is like me. You’re all like me. It could've been anyone that thought of this and acted on it. If you wish there were more people in the world like me, stand up and be one!”
    Dahl explained that spreading kindness doesn’t have to be complicated. You can buy the next guy in line’s coffee, smile at someone or say something nice to a stranger. According to Dahl we are all part of the human family.
    “Just don’t let it stop. Keep spreading the love. Don’t just take and not give back, you kill it by not giving back.” Dahl said, “You might be passing by your next best friend and you wouldn’t even know it. You never know unless you talk to them.”
    Dahl told The Mail that he has plans for another “random act of kindness” that he will be putting in place soon within the community. He hopes that others will also think outside the box to keep it going.