Signage study underway

I saw this post on the BC Rural Network post today:

"HOW DO TOURISTS FIND THEIR WAY IN YOUR COMMUNITY?  Be part of the review of service and attraction signs and way-finding in B.C.  Tourism British Columbia (part of the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation) and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure are conducting a review of the Provincial Service and Attraction Signage Program and tourism-related signage within municipal boundaries. As part of this review, incorporated municipalities will receive an email from NRG Research Group with an invitation to participate in a survey. We encourage each municipality to complete the survey as your input and participation is vital to help inform future directions of tourism service and attraction signage in B.C at both the provincial and local levels. Please watch your email inboxes for more information and a link to the survey during the week of April 10th, 2012. Questions about the project or the survey can be directed to: Amber Crofts, Senior Tourism Development Officer - Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Phone: 250-356-6976 Ross McLean, Manager Provincial Sign Program - Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Phone: 250-371-3808".

This is a topic that I have worked on over the past few years after rating it as the most pervasive issue for rural tourism in BC after years of consecutive fieldwork around the province.  In 2006, we decided as part of the TRIP project to develop a manual for communities to enhance their signage and pointed out mechanisms, like doing an audit, to help them improve wayfinding.  This manual, more than any other piece of work of TRIP perhaps, was taken up by communities across the province and beyond. Since then, with partners from UNBC and TRU, we have developed assessment tools to perform community audits of signage. In total, I would estimate that we have done about 15-20 of these ranging from business site signage to islands, small communities and regional routes.

This year, I was asked to work with the MJTI to update the manual and turn it into a Tourism BC manual. I look forward to this happening and to those communities that haven't read our manual or taken advantage of the audit expertise at the Universities and Colleges - you may want to grab it free off the TRIP site at http://www.trip-project.ca/ (see resources, manuals).