You state the issue beautifully. I've raised this point countless times since "Capital Regional District" suddenly became a designation over at TripAdvisor.com. The political interference is obvious and very clumsy and confusing. I suppose political interference always is clumsy and confusing, but I digress...
What they SHOULD be doing is the exact opposite of what they are doing. They SHOULD be emphasizing the fact that all of those "other" destinations are in fact Victoria, one and the same. Thus, you need only one clear and unconfusing/undiluted brand: "Victoria".
In other words, don't confuse the hell out of people by presenting the singular city as if it were some massive multiplicity of destinations. Keep things simple and tell the truth: it's Victoria.
We were in Victoria recently and we loved it.
Oh? Where were you staying?
In Brentwood Bay. It was so relaxing.
etc.
Anyone who has ever been anywhere knows that you don't care one iota about the political/municipal designations in the places you're visiting unless those designations have some practical impact on your visit: a controlled border to cross, an additional fee or tax, etc. If everything is seamless then you don't care. You WANT everything to be seamless. So what is Tourism Victoria doing? They're trying to foster the false impression that things aren't seamless, and that the various parts of Victoria are actually completely different places. Maybe I need to change hotels for the day I plan to go see Hatley Castle? I'm not sure! Maybe I need a Visa for the day I plan to visit Sooke?
Seriously, none of this has any benefit for anyone. It's just incredibly stupid. It makes sense for an actual region (like California's Central Coast, for example) to market itself as a region. But cities should not be marketing themselves as regions. It's a classic example of that flip-flop that Victorians do all day every day. One moment the city is a tiny town that you need a microscope to notice, and the next moment the city is a megalopolis with enormously complex and convoluted issues.
FYI: this summer in particular I've noted many travel reviews in which the travellers finally seem to be getting it, that Oak Bay is actually just one of Victoria's neighbourhoods, and that Oak Bay is actually quite close to downtown. It would be funny if the effort to convince tourists otherwise goes into overdrive right at this same moment.
Edited by aastra, 14 September 2018 - 12:00 PM.