News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes 

New CEO of Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association Amy Thacker is moving to Williams Lake in a few weeks from Cache Creek, where she lives with her family. 

She said that she is eagerly looking forward to getting to know her new community, although she is no stranger to life in the Cariboo. She has lived in Cache Creek for three-and-a-half years, has family background throughout the interior and the Cariboo, including Quesnel, the 100 Mile House area, Lac La Hache and Horsefly.  

Amy grew up with a dad who ranched and was a working cowboy. “My dad grew up in West Vancouver, with a background in accounting and in cadets,” she explained. “He came to the Cariboo on a summer vacation as a kid and fell in love with it. He worked through his teen years during summers on a ranch---he always wanted to be a cowboy.” 

 A 4-H alumnus, Amy said that she rode a horse before she could walk, and is a great lover of the outdoors. With a professional background in marketing and business, she is looking forward to bringing her ranching upbringing, and her vision, passion and skills to her new position with the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association.   

“When I heard about this position, the potential inspired me. I’m excited to take all the diversity and see where we can go,” she said. “Industry and the economical environment are all in a state of change: what people are looking for when they travel, how they travel and what they want to get out of it.” 

She said that tourism has changed 100% in the last 10 years. “Our older population is hitting the age where they want to fulfill their lives, want to travel, and have the money to do it,” she explained. “I see a lot of multi-generational family travel. People are taking their grandkids on trips with them and sharing that time and connection together---and there is far more focus on discovering your own ‘backyard.’ 

“Another change in tourism that I see is that people have different priorities when they travel,” she continued. “They want to really learn about and discover the area where they travel and want to make a connection with people. 

“We need to find ways to give this to them,” she said, “and it can be done. I love to create and I love a challenge.  I have an agricultural background, and I know that you don’t have to give up the history, value and integral foundations of where we came from and who we are.”

Read more about this HERE

| More...