Tourism Winnipeg

45 2018 Annual Report One of Winnipeg's greatest strengths is how the city comes together to create the conditions for economic growth. A key component of our city's advantage is our collaborative environment – it takes a village to raise a business. As the city's lead economic development agency, Economic Development Winnipeg is part a larger network of stakeholders who are collaborating on growing Winnipeg's economy, and EDW is well-placed to guide the direction and coordinate this unified strategy. Growing Winnipeg's economy starts with providing the best possible climate for businesses to thrive, and recognizes that businesses may be at different stages of their growth trajectory. Organizations like North Forge Technology Exchange, which helps startup companies develop market-ready ideas, are key to fostering that local innovation. If a company needs help scaling up its product or service offerings, they can turn to the Manitoba Technology Accelerator. When a business is ready to sell their products to the world, they can turn to the World Trade Centre Winnipeg, who can help direct business owners to markets around the globe. For transporting goods and products, our city's central geographic advantage is best exemplified through CentrePort Canada, North America's largest tri- modal inland port. A strong business climate includes a public and private sector that work closely together. That's another advantage for Winnipeg, through its Team Manitoba initiative which comes together to work on bids such as Amazon's 'HQ2'. To bring a regional focus to the city's business opportunities, the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region provides a platform to address economic issues both inside and outside of the perimeter highway. Collaboration is key in Winnipeg's tourism sector as well, to showcase the very best our city has to offer. That's why Tourism Winnipeg works closely with Travel Manitoba, maximizing the effect of both organizations' promotional budgets to attract visitors here. Meetings and conventions require the city to come together as hosts. That includes superior travel planning with the Winnipeg Airports Authority, and accommodation planning through the Manitoba Hotel Association. Providing world-class meeting venues involves the RBC Convention Centre, as well as dozens of other potential locales. Economic Development Winnipeg works closely with all these stakeholders. Within all these groups and industries, we are best-placed to provide the needed support and resources to allow Winnipeg to compete on the world stage. We are working with all our stakeholders to build a strong local ecosystem, and to create the conditions for economic growth. Building an Ecosystem Coming together for economic growth Elizabeth Tran

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