Comments on: Shiny and New http://victoriaopencoffeeclub.com/2009/06/23/shiny-and-new/ Entrepreneurs, developers and investors meeting regularly for coffee Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:44:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: jenn http://victoriaopencoffeeclub.com/2009/06/23/shiny-and-new/comment-page-1/#comment-9 jenn Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:44:22 +0000 http://victoriaopencoffeeclub.com/?p=56#comment-9 Hi Janis, I read a number of websites and other information sources about Victoria prior to moving here. Almost all of them credited tourism as the number one economic driver for the city. And, with Victoria being the capital of BC and the HQ of Canada's Pacific Fleet, one could suspect government and military would be fairly omnipresent also. I believe I first heard that the technology sector was number one during a <a href="http://viatec.ca" rel="nofollow">VIATec</a> gathering, so I don't have the exact source of that information. But I suspect the three engines you list have a more established lobbying presence with the local and regional government and economic bodies and a certain mindshare with the residents due to history. I think there's a lot of money spent to attract tourism dollars, but because of the real physical infrastructure limitations of being an island city, growth is probably capped at the current levels and those dollars are really addressing maintenance. I'm not certain that government and military are "growth" oriented at this time, either. I think return on economic investment could really be maximized by investing in growing a thriving tech industry. Hi Janis,

I read a number of websites and other information sources about Victoria prior to moving here. Almost all of them credited tourism as the number one economic driver for the city. And, with Victoria being the capital of BC and the HQ of Canada's Pacific Fleet, one could suspect government and military would be fairly omnipresent also.

I believe I first heard that the technology sector was number one during a VIATec gathering, so I don't have the exact source of that information. But I suspect the three engines you list have a more established lobbying presence with the local and regional government and economic bodies and a certain mindshare with the residents due to history.

I think there's a lot of money spent to attract tourism dollars, but because of the real physical infrastructure limitations of being an island city, growth is probably capped at the current levels and those dollars are really addressing maintenance. I'm not certain that government and military are "growth" oriented at this time, either.

I think return on economic investment could really be maximized by investing in growing a thriving tech industry.

]]> By: Janis http://victoriaopencoffeeclub.com/2009/06/23/shiny-and-new/comment-page-1/#comment-8 Janis Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:05:57 +0000 http://victoriaopencoffeeclub.com/?p=56#comment-8 It's interesting to note that traditionally sources have cited tourism, government and the military as the key economic engines of the CRD (Greater Victoria area). It would be interesting to compare stats on dollars created annually by existing businesses within those sectors versus new economic development in technology. And, is there new economic development within the big three traditional sectors? It's interesting to note that traditionally sources have cited tourism, government and the military as the key economic engines of the CRD (Greater Victoria area). It would be interesting to compare stats on dollars created annually by existing businesses within those sectors versus new economic development in technology.

And, is there new economic development within the big three traditional sectors?

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