Thanksgiving Back brings in ‘value aligned’ tourism

Thanksgiving Back is giving visitors a chance to connect with local organizations and put a little bit of volunteer hours back into the community during their stay. Provincial, national and even international guests have the chance to experience a unique part of Revelstoke’s community.

“We’re really focused on attracting those value-aligned visitors,” Taniell Hamilton, Tourism Revelstoke destination and sustainability manager told Revelstoke Mountaineer

Launched in 2021, the program is part of Tourism Revelstoke’s travel offers and connects visitors with a range of local non-profit and volunteer opportunities. Running for three weekends in September, visitors can volunteer with the Local Food Initiative, Community Connections, Columbia Shuswap Invasive Species Society, Arts Revelstoke and more. Eligible volunteers receive a maximum $400 reimbursement towards their accommodations while staying during their volunteer weekend.

The program is based on the concept of regenerative tourism, building off the concept of sustainable tourism, Hamilton explained. Instead of focusing on limiting the impact tourists can have on a region, regenerative tourism focuses on how tourists can positively impact the spaces they’re visiting.

“They can give back while they’re traveling, but also to have a deeper, more connected experience while they’re visiting Revelstoke,” Hamilton said.

While there have been criticisms in the past regarding the program only being available to those visiting from outside Revelstoke and not offered to local residents, Hamilton pointed out that Revelstoke’s non-profits are grappling with resource needs that are outpacing community capacity. Outsourcing volunteering to those visiting town and eager to give back is one way to add to the resource pool.

“Our community is really good at turning out and showing up when asked. I think where the challenge lies is that we have so many nonprofits that it’s hard to be able to fulfill the needs for all of them. That’s a lot of volunteer demand.”

Oftentimes Thanksgiving Back volunteers are also helping maintain many of the resources tourists explore such as mountain biking trails, local museums, snowmobile runs and more.

“Visitors and volunteers do get to reap the benefits of what those nonprofits are doing. So, this is another way of visitors also being able to give back during their experience and contribute,” Hamilton said.

Thanksgiving Back volunteers must submit records of their spending during their visit, providing Tourism Revelstoke with data on how the program is supporting other organizations and businesses in town. In 2024 the Thanksgiving Back program brought in an estimated $34,000 for local restaurants, coffee shops and other local businesses during what is oftentimes a quieter part of the year.

Volunteers have 72 hours after registering for Thanksgiving Back to submit proof of their accommodations booking to receive up to $400 reimbursed from Tourism Revelstoke. Hamilton encourages visitors to book directly with the accommodation so businesses don’t lose out on fees from booking sites, a push that is seeing results with 100 per cent of bookings made last year directly to local hotels and accommodations.

Visitors interested in learning more about Thanksgiving Back and registering for an event can check out the See Revelstoke website.