Selling the city: students elevate Vancouver’s tourism strategy

What is there to do in Vancouver, Washington? Before he took Associate Professor Bamboo Chen's International Tourism course in the WSU Carson College of Business, Ben Angelo, who was raised there, might have replied, "Nothing really happens here."

But his perspective shifted 180 degrees when Chen's mid-term project challenged Angelo and his classmates to identify organizations capable of hosting conference, events, or sports tournaments in the city. A final project had them developing strategic proposals for Vancouver's participation as a satellite Fan Zone location for the FIFA World Cup.

For both projects, students worked with Visit Vancouver WA, the city's official tourism organization focused on promoting local travel, outdoor recreation and cultural experiences. For the mid-term, Visit Vancouver leaders assembled and organized market data, sales tools, and hotel information into a dedicated webpage students needed for their analyses.

"As a marketing major, it really made the wheels turn in my head about how to 'sell' the city I have lived in my whole life," Angelo said. "I was surprised by the scale of events Vancouver can potentially handle. Before working with Visit Vancouver, I probably would have assumed major events would take place in Portland. But because Vancouver has grown so much in the 20-plus years I have lived here, that is no longer true."

Some of Angelo's classmates were similarly amazed about how much the city offers in terms of attractions, outdoor recreation, and local business.

"Vancouver has so much more going on than what you see on the surface," said Ruthy Fabyanchuk, who is also from Vancouver and works as a sales support specialist for Fisher Investments. "I learned Vancouver has a DMO-a destination marketing organization. Growing my knowledge to include DMO groups, FIFA Fan Zones and the impact of Visit Vancouver was valuable to my career."

Visit Vancouver collaboration highlights student excellence

Chen said he was inspired to create the projects in partnership with Visit Vancouver after joining the university's Community-Engaged Professional Development Program that connects students with local organizations.

Additional motivation was Visit Vancouver's long-standing relationship with WSU Vancouver. Jenni Sandstrom, WSU Vancouver academic director, is a board member. Delaney Gonzales ('22) is Visit Vancouver's group sales manager and played a key role in strengthening the connection and facilitating the partnership.

Students identify 68 potential clients for Visit Vancouver

As a result of the mid-term project, students identified 68 potential clients for Visit Vancouver, spanning professional associations, academic groups, sporting leagues and niche event organizers.

The students' list provided a broad pipeline of new, research-supported sales leads that can be incorporated into Visit Vancouver's group sales outreach strategy. Several of the prospects align well with Vancouver's venue capacities and hotel infrastructure, making them immediately actionable, Chen said.

"This experience will help me better understand the broader financial environment organizations operate in and how financial decisions can influence communities, local businesses, and economic development," said Lindsay Hayes, who is planning a career in public accounting.

FIFA Fan Zone project inspires marketing innovation

For the Fan Zone project, Visit Vancouver provided market intelligence and visitor data to guide students' target-market and promotional strategies for the city's designation as one of FIFA's nine official festival sites in Washington state.

One team's marketing campaign targeted millennial families, the World Cup's largest interest group. Promotional strategies included destination imaging for the city, targeted advertising through public signage and local media, and partnership marketing with Timbers and Thorns soccer clubs. They designed Fan Zone experiences around music and food, Indigenous art, multicultural performances and interactive events for the whole family.

Another team focused on young adult Pacific Northwest soccer travelers motivated by sports tourism, culture and group travel. Students developed a market persona "Sam the Sports Fan" and designed promotional concepts around cinematic, outdoor festival and citywide fan trail events leveraging overnight stays and local business patronage. Branding elements reflected iconic landscapes and waterways of the Pacific Northwest.

"This project strengthened my ability to analyze tourism opportunities, think strategically about event-driven visitation and consider operational realities behind large events," said Vy Tran. "These skills will be valuable in hospitality and event operations roles."

At the end of the semester, student teams presented their final projects during class. Gonzalez and Cliff Myers, Visit Vancouver CEO, offered feedback on the implementation feasibility of the student's proposed strategies.

"Partnering with the Carson College provided a meaningful opportunity to give students real-world insight into the industry and demonstrate how their skills can translate into impactful careers," Gonzales said. "It was exciting to see students take ownership of the project, apply what they learned, and provide fresh ideas that we could genuinely envision bringing to life."