TOFINO – With the beach, surf, and great outdoors as its backdrop, one of Canada’s most renowned tourism destinations in the Pacific Rim, Tofino, is looking to become a national workplace location of choice by building a coworking community for both locals and visitors. It would be a first for Tofino, a village of about two thousand people that triples in population in peak summer season.
The Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce is collaborating with British Columbia’s coworking pioneer The Network Hub and innovation hub consultants Thrive Junction to test interest and demand with a crowd- sourcing survey.
“Tofino is truly unique in its location and lifestyle,” says Jen Dart, executive director of Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. “Coworking is a growing movement now commonplace not just in Canada but also around the world.
“British Columbia is one of the pioneering provinces in Canada to do so. We are setting out to determine if it is a concept that can be sustained in Tofino, by attracting more young entrepreneur, digital nomads, visiting creative and technology sector workers who can work from anywhere.”
Tofino is currently asking those interested to fill out a feasibility survey in order to gauge interest and demand. The results will be written into a report and shared with the public.
“Our town is thriving and looking for ways to innovate and diversify our local economy while supporting businesses, residents and visitors already here,” adds Josie Osborne, District of Tofino mayor.
“Opening a coworking space would help bring in a different business and creative population to complement Tofino’s already popular reputation. We want to be known as a place to not only explore nature, but also work within nature. I encourage everyone to fill out the survey to shed further light on what their needs are to progress from idea to commercialization.”
New ideas, new business attraction, and a diversified global network are just some of the innovative benefits that will derive from mixing locals and visitors in the anticipated Tofino and Pacific Rim coworking community. Tofino will also be a welcome addition to location- independent professionals, increasing the number of workplace destinations to The Network Hub-curated Coworking Visa Map.