I took a trip out to the far end of Vancouver Island this week and landed in the much loved and organically grown Tofino, B.C. Having lived in Tofino in the past, I found it comforting to visit with friends and travel to well known shops and restaurants that I went to while a member of the Tofino community.
I would also like to mention a pretty amazing discovery that I came across while visiting this once quiet and technologically-free town. Walking down main street, I came across what I thought was a typical “hippie van” parked on the side of the road as this is something not uncommon to Tofino. To my surprise and amazement (as an aspiring PR practitioner and follower of social media) this van was not just a “hippie van” at all. In fact, this van was a travelling carrier of “The Tofino Ap”, an application based service (ABS) providing information about Tourism in Tofino for the iPhone, Balckberry and various other application devices. The Tofino Ap provides real time information about
restaurants, tours, wildlife (both land based and aquatic,) surfing and so much more.
Now, no longer can island inhabitants claim that they are completely cut off from the rest of the world with regard to technology. Barcodes have expanded to the very edge of Canada
This may seem like an excellent way to advertise and promote Tofino as a tourist town. But how do Tofino inhabitants feel about their once quiet logging and fishing town becoming a member of this technological network? Employers and entrepreneurs in favour of tourism may find that it helps there business, but how do other inhabitants feel about the increased use of technology in Tofino? After doing more research on this topic, I was able to come across a Tofino based blog written by inhabitants. I found that it provides insights on the developing tourism industry surrounding Tofino, wildlife and forestry (to name a few) and I enjoyed what bloggers had to say. http://tofino-bc.com/blog/
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