Innovative BC Visitor Centres Support Local Travellers

Despite 2020 being a challenging year for tourism in BC, visitor centres across the province still managed to serve over 613,000 visitors through face to face, social media, phone, email, and LiveChat interactions between April and September.

After initially closing their doors, nearly all 130 visitor centres reopened safely, following WorkSafeBC protocols created in partnership with Destination BC. A dominant trend this year was the marked increase in local British Columbians seeking the knowledge and expertise of visitor centre counsellors to explore their own backyard. These connections allowed for more than travel advice, they provided a valuable opportunity for travel counsellors to share important safety information.

While all visitor centres were required to pivot and adjust service delivery, here’s a few of many notable innovative approaches took place in Hope, where they implemented a Drive Thru Visitor Centre, and in Sicamous where counsellors were trained in invasive species and took their knowledge down to the marina to impart with boaters. The Tourism Tofino team partnered with a local surfing company and sent teams to the beach for Flash Clean Fridays to collect trash and engage with visitors, and counsellors in Chilliwack partnered with AdventureSmart to provide safety information at popular trailheads.

Visitor Centres play an important role in BC tourism by supporting businesses, communities, and visitors. We thank all the visitor centre staff and volunteers across the province for their continued dedication to providing exceptional visitor services to those exploring Super, Natural British Columbia.