What is the Department of Economic Development & Tourism?
January 8, 2021
The Department of Economic Development & Tourism is responsible for economic development initiatives in the City of Miramichi. It assists in the development of planning and execution of strategies that align with the priorities of Council and satisfy the needs of developers and the business community.
The Department consists of three full time employees dedicated to various aspects of economic development. A Director, who oversees the operation of the entire Department, as well as an Economic Development Officer and Tourism Administrator. The Economic Development arm of the Department oversees the establishment of the City of Miramichi brand and develops marketing programs that target several key sectors of the development community to position Miramichi as a place to do business. In addition, they work with local businesses to assist them in the issues that affect them specifically and support community based organizations that contribute not only to the business community of the City, but also to the residents who enjoy the quality of life that Miramichi has to offer. The Department also works with other municipal departments to offer its expertise in various areas.
The Department is the principal policy adviser on business attraction and retention issues that includes the development and management of programs that assist in the increase of the tax assessment base within the City as well as create potential employment opportunities. To accomplish this, it has established strong working relationships with community business partners as well as key government departments at both the provincial and federal levels.
An example of a targeted marketing approach that was used by the Department, can be seen in the attraction of two cannabis operations that are currently in various stages of development in the City. At the request of Council, the Department concentrated on this fast growing sector. It established a strong Miramichi focused brand (see above) targeting this market segment; created dynamic marketing collateral; worked with provincial level partners and utilized incentive programs that it had created, as tools to attract the developments.
The Department continues to focus its energies on relationship building as we move forward into today’s ever fluid, future dynamic.