Tourism Experience Development Program (TED) & Workshops

Captivate locals, wow visitors, and create fresh revenue streams for your business!

Unlock the full potential of your tourism business with our dynamic workshops led by industry experts. These intimate and interactive sessions will equip you with practical strategies to elevate your visitor experience year-round.

FAQ

PREVIOUS WORKSHOPS

STOREFRONT DESIGN & MERCHANDIZING

November 24 & 25, 2025

This session examined the impacts of storefront design and immersive merchandizing to influence visitor behaviour and keep your customers coming back to see what's new. Participants spent one day focusing on theory and developing concepts for their businesses, and the following day received individual coaching sessions with workshop facilitator from Firecircle.

DOWNLOAD STOREFRONT DESIGN GUIDE

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Think of tourism products as the "things to do" in a destination. These can be food experiences, outdoor experiences, cultural experience, and pretty much anything else you can imagine! The sky's the limit and it comes down to your creativity, the big ideas you have, and how you can offer something really special in your business' niche.

When we talk about experience development, we're talking about shifting our mindset from selling products to visitors, to creating engaging, memorable, experiences for visitors to engage in as activities.

These become the cornerstones of the visitor experience and iconic elements of the destination.

How about some examples?

Instead of selling local craft beer, consider a Brewery Tour experience where visitors can taste the beer, see how its made, interact with the brewer and ask questions to engage in the science behind the beer.
Instead of a trail map, how about a 3-Hour Hike and Cave Tour led by a knowledgeable guide who is able to safely take people to the best viewpoints for photos and engage in local historical storytelling?
Instead of selling paintings, what if visitors could participate in a Paint Night, or visit your Artist's Studio with a Live Demonstration?

It's all about inviting people in to walk in your shoes and show them the connections between what you do and the place and people involved in it.

Here's what is means for you - The key is to engage visitors in the richness of the experience that builds both people's appreciation for place, and creates a truly hands-on environment. The outcome? Better quality visitor experiences, more things to do, and more revenue to businesses who can sell experiences at a premium price!

Benefits of experience development for businesses:

attracts higher value customer markets and higher per person spend
creates new revenue streams for the business
increases length of stay and per person spend
attracts a more responsible visitor who learns to care about the local community
results in higher rated traveler reviews
increases (free!) word of mouth promotion
generates sustainable, repeat demand year over year
becomes an iconic inspiration behind your brand and business

The Town of Sylvan Lake is investing in the TED program to support and encourage more tourism business startups, to enhance the visitor experience, and to generate more productive visitor markets that are higher spending and have a more positive impact on the destination.

The TED program is for businesses who want to level up and create new revenue streams by developing rich tourism experiences.

All participants must apply using the registration form at the bottom of the webpage.

Businesses must be members of the Tourism Partnership Program (TPP) to be eligible to participate. If your business is not already a Tourism Partner, you will be asked to register upon acceptance into the TED program. The TPP is FREE for Sylvan Lake businesses. There is a $65 fee for businesses located in Red Deer County or Lacombe County.

All participants must register in order to participate in the workshop session.

You can have multiple people from your business attend under the same registration.

Workbook summary sheets will be shared with the Town of Sylvan Lake to signal completion of the program and measure program outcomes.

After the workshops, businesses are encouraged to implement the ideas they formed in the TED program! Additional coaching or assistance is available through the Town of Sylvan Lake or Firecircle as needed.

All communications received about the program will be via email to the email address used on your application form.

Firecircle is one of Canada's leading training organizations for tourism entrepreneurs and has worked with Tourism Saskatchewan and Destination BC to provide tourism operator training through hands-on coaching and mentorship.

Sylvan Lake's TED program will be led by Firecircle Founder and CEO, Deneen Allen and her team. Deneen is a tourism and hospitality specialist and founder of both Firecircle and Pure North Canada with 30 years experience in the industry and a background in rural and remote tourism.

The Firecircle team are passionate about empowering business owners, sparking their innovative spirit, and encouraging businesses to excel in competitive environments to deliver on Canadian tourism excellence.

Learn more...