NEDC CEO says council ignoring core review with tourism change
NANAIMO — The CEO of the Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation (NEDC) is calling for transparency, saying he is perplexed about why city council has removed tourism from the organization’s mandate.
John Hankins has issued an op-ed titled Perplexed and Silent No More, defending the performance of Tourism Nanaimo and calling into question the decision to pull tourism from NEDC. The four-page piece references a record-breaking year for tourism locally. Hankins says he also finds the way the decision was announced disrespectful to his staff, his volunteer board and the city’s taxpayers.
“What has led council to make this decision? Because the core review does not suggest making this. The CBRE (real estate consultants) report does not mention doing this,” said Hankins. “So somewhere there’s an influence that’s driving city staff to come to these conclusions and recommendations to city council. I don’t know what that is, my board, I don’t believe know what it is, my staff certainly don’t know what it is.”
At the Oct. 17 council meeting it was announced that tourism would be taken away from NEDC at the end of the year to allow the corporation to focus solely on economic development. The decision was made by council during an Oct. 3 in-camera meeting. It’s unclear how tourism will be handled in the city past 2016, with the city’s chief financial officer Victor Mema saying staff are now exploring a more effective way to deliver those services. Mema says a destination management organization is a model that’s proving popular in other jurisdictions.