Tourism Prince George is looking ahead to the future of local and regional tourism and is calling on residents for their thoughts on welcoming visitors back to the city.
The organization is also set to receive provincial and federal funding for its future operations and projects.
“Destination BC and Destination Canada have provided great support to the tourism industry during these challenging times,” said Tracey McBride, CEO of Tourism Prince George in a news release.
In March, the tourism industry came to an abrupt halt due to COVID-19 imposed travel restrictions, which includes the continued Canada-U.S. border closure until June 21.
“I also want to recognize the advocacy work of the B.C. Destination Marketing Organization Association, the Tourism Industry Association of BC and Northern BC Tourism Association,” adds McBride.
The funding that Tourism Prince George is to receive includes:
- A provincial grant for community Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) supported by the municipal and regional district tax (MRDT)
- Destination BC funding for physical modifications at the Visitor Information Centre
- Joint marketing funding from Destination BC and Destination Canada for BC’s largest community/city DMOs, including Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria, Kelowna, Kamloops, Tofino, Ucluelet and Prince George
“We appreciate this funding that will help to restart some of the tactics from our existing 2020 plan to hopefully encourage regional and eventually province-wide and domestic travel to our area,” continues McBride.
“We are working closely with our industry partners and Destination BC in messaging, tactics and marketing that will resonate with our locals as a staycation to explore their own backyard! Part of that is the Resident Sentiment Survey on tourism so we can help gauge our residents’ opinions on visitors and create awareness on the economic and social value of tourism for future planning.”
The Resident Sentiment survey was created to better understand the local community's perception of tourism's value.
Tourism Prince George says the responses will allow the organization to better advocate and align marketing strategies in bringing even more economic impact to the community.
The survey can be done online and consists of 10 multiple-choice questions.
