VANCOUVER – A businesswoman from Bellingham, Wash., says she hopes to educate consumers from Metro Vancouver and southern Vancouver Island about the small businesses in her community.
Marisa Papetti says she’s launching The Crossing Guide Magazine online Boxing Day, and plans to distribute 30,000 copies of a print version throughout Metro Vancouver, BC Ferries’ terminals and border crossings in early January.
She says she got the idea because Canadian shoppers were always asking her and others questions about where they could shop and eat at places other than big-box stores and chain restaurants.
But Anita Huberman of the Surrey Board of Trade says the market is already competitive and any increase in U-S advertising will only compromise local businesses.
She notes that six businesses in south Surrey recently closed shop due to a drop in foot traffic and says others will need to think creatively about marketing their products and services — possibly even south of the border.
A recent survey by the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University found that 30.5 per cent of motorists who were crossing the border were heading south to shop.
