Supporting BC’s Visitor Services Network

Over the last few weeks, Destination BC’s Visitor Services team has held one-on-one discussions with visitor centres across the province, as part of its work managing the Visitor Centre Network Program. The program consists of 134 Visitor Centres across the six tourism regions in BC. The Visitor Services Team holds annual engagement calls twice a year, in the Fall and Spring, to connect with all participants and facilitate collaboration.

These calls provide an opportunity for each visitor centre to share an overview of visitation to date, any notable circumstances, key learnings, changes to visitor services during the shoulder season, and upcoming community events. These calls are a valuable opportunity for visitor centres to connect with others in their region, share ideas and key learnings, and continue to strengthen the network. Some notable takeaways from these most recent calls include:

• Sunshine Coast Tourism piloted its Tourism Ambassador Program this summer, placing staff on ferries travelling between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale to promote and provide information on the tourism opportunities on the Sunshine Coast to travellers. The pilot was considered successful, connecting with roughly 7,000 visitors throughout the summer travel season.
• As part of the Visitor Centre Indigenous Learning & Projects Grant, which funded 82 projects across the province, the Whistler Visitor Centre had the opportunity to attend the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre Feast and gained a greater understanding of the Indigenous Tourism experiences available in the community which they could then share with visitors.
• The majority of Visitor Centres across the province noted stronger visitation numbers in September and into October compared to previous years. This is encouraging to see and supports Destination BC’s strategic goal to see more people travel beyond the summer months and to less mature destinations.
• Many Visitor Centres rely heavily on grants to support staffing needs, especially in the summer season. One of these funding programs is Propel Student Work Placement Program which has an upcoming information session on November 21: https://tourismhr.ca/programs-and-services/propel-student-work-placement-program/