A familiar face has taken over marketing for Hope’s tourism and businesses.
Amanda Figlarska, a resident of Hope for four years, is the new marketing manager for AdvantageHOPE. In a recent interview with The Standard, she said she couldn’t be more excited for the community to get to know her in this role, and to hear people’s thoughts on how they’d like to see Hope grow.
“I’m very excited because I’m getting back to what I love,” Figlarska said. “And I’m also putting all the pieces together. Marketing plus tourism, plus travel, it’s something I really enjoy. Even just being in the visitor centre and meeting people.
“My one number one priority for the next couple months is to get out and meet business owners, partners, and the whole town.”
Tourism and travelling are big passions for the new AdvantageHOPE manager. Originally from Poland, Figlarska has spent most of her life gaining the skills, experiences, and knowledge that makes her well-suited for her new role. She is an experienced and professional traveller who spent most of her time visiting and working in over 70 countries, and documenting her travels.
Figlarska’s first move to Canada began 15 ago years when she made the decision to live in New Brunswick. Though the move was originally intended to be temporary, she wanted to see the diverse landscapes that Canada had to offer and began to gradually make her way to the “best province.” She moved from New Brunswick to Ontario, then Alberta, before finally arriving in B.C.
In 2015, she made the decision to hitchhike with her best friend across the country. Starting in Tofino, the two made it all the way to Newfoundland. During this time, Figlarska began recording and uploading video/travel blogs about her Canadian adventures for the European community.
“In the eyes of many Europeans, Canada is so expensive and they cannot afford to travel. So, I wanted to show them how beautiful Canada is,” Figlarska said. “We got to know lots of people, including the many Indigenous communities that took us in. And that was nice, getting to experience people’s kindness first hand.
“That’s what made me fall in love with Canada. Because we met only kind people picking us up, while hitchhiking. People from different backgrounds, different histories, and different nationalities.”
Figlarska said hitchhiking across Canada was an interesting and an important experience as it helped her understand the country better. It was also eye-opening to experience how long the distance between cities and provinces could be compared to Europe.
After her hitchhiking journey, Figlarska between dividing her time visiting other countries and spending summers working in Canada. During one of these summers, she met her future husband, Samuel St-Laurent, on her last day of work. The two would meet up again in Ecuador, for a second date, and begin a year-long courtship before getting married in 2016. After marrying, the two would move to Fort St. John.
Figlarska worked for WestJet for a while before taking a two-year trip with her husband around the world. During this time, Figlarska would put her background in marketing and content creation to good use. She and her husband would team up with various companies, especially diving companies, around the world and provide them with promotional video and photography.
In addition to her travel and work experience, Figlarska also has a bachelors in international relationships and a bachelors in marketing. She was in the middle of her master’s degree in tourism before dropping out when she got the opportunity to move to Canada.
Her other work experience includes working in marketing for Phantom Screens in Abbotsford.
Eventually, Figlarska settled down with her husband in Hope in 2021. Since then, she’s had two children and she plans to raise them in the community. Moving to Hope, she said, has allowed her to understand the beauty of Hope and all its opportunities. This understanding has only grown since she’s had her kids and found herself becoming more ingrained with Hope, especially through community events.
“Hope is a great place. And there’s so much more here than gas stations,” she said. “You just need to give Hope a little bit of time. People need to see that they can come and explore and do so many great activities like rafting, fishing, biking, and hiking. And Hope is an amazing place to raise kids. That’s something I discovered as being part of the community here.”
As the new marketing manager, Figlarska said she really wants to expand visitors’ understanding of Hope as a noteworthy tourist destination. She sees a lot of opportunities for growth in the town that both honours previous cultural markers (like the Rambo series’ First Blood), and provides space for new tourist attractions.
At the same time, she wants to foster community connections, especially between AdvantageHOPE and the town. She also wants to ensure that the area has plenty of economic and social opportunities for residents.
“I want Hope to know that I’m gonna give my 100 per cent in this position,” Figlarska said. “I’m really open. It’s a fresh start for myself and for the organization. I’m happy to collaborate and my doors are always open. I want to get to know people, and businesses, and I want to listen. That’s the most important part of learning. It’s listening to other people’s experiences and what they think we could do better to support them.”
link