Tourism is the cornerstone of a city’s economic growth and financial success, author Douglas Coupland said Wednesday.
The Vancouver writer delivered the keynote speech at the Cities Summit, a conference examining how city-building can be influenced by emerging technology, at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Coupland encouraged them to fight what he calls the “download revolution” by offering tourists and residents an experience that the Internet cannot offer.
He said that other cities are not the main competition when attracting tourists and residents; instead, it is the Internet — from World of Warcraft to downloadable TV shows and videos of cats playing the piano.
“People want to visit places that spark imagination,” he said during the luncheon. “Do you have a large Ukrainian community? Do you have lobsters? Do you have muscle builders? Take whatever it is you have and throw money into it — find your fringes and turn it into festivals.”
