Two Shuswap visitor centres are among the 20 to receive funding from Destination BC to enhance local tourism.
In an April 15 media release, Destination BC announced the $526,000 for Visitor Experience Enhancement Grants to “encourage visitors to travel further, stay longer, adopt responsible travel behaviours and connect meaningfully.
Recipients of the grant, the Sicamous and Chase visitor centres have similar projects planned for the funding, including self-guided walking tours, improved visitor information displays and updated maps.
“It’s been very hard being quiet; we’ve known for about a month,” Chase Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Centre manager Christina Lutterman said of their $40,000 grant. “We are so excited, it’s going to be great for our little community here.”
She added the self-guided tour they’re looking to develop will have signs and enlarged photos at different locations in the village, describing what used to be there in the past. As an example, Lutterman said the Visitor Centre would be included as it used to be the train station that connected Chase with the rest of Canada.
The funding will also be used to create rotating public art displays that will include indigenous work, and signage for the Community Food Forest in Wilson Park.
“We have a busy summer ahead of us,” Lutterman said, adding they have a year to use the funding on these projects.
The Sicamous Visitor Centre also plans to use the $15,330 it received to develop a self-guided walking tour with an audio component explaining the community’s indigenous and non-indigenous history.
“The Sicamous Heritage Trail and Walking Tour will provide visitors with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the rich history and culture of Sicamous,” chamber executive director Sheila Devost said in a media release. “Together with our partners… and our Indigenous community, we hope to share stories, develop a guidebook and a map that will include audio links and offer hands-on activities that will ensure visitors feel-inspired and connected to the community.”
In a release announcing the funding, Destination BC described the chosen projects as encouraging interaction between visitors and locals, supporting stories about local culture, and providing enhanced understanding of Indigenous culture, and are supported by signage and technology.
“This inspires visitors to keep coming back to discover more of the incredible places and experiences B.C. has to offer, strengthening travel appeal in all regions and seasons,” the release reads.
Tourism Minister Lana Popham reaffirmed that statement, saying these experiential projects help people connect to the destinations they visit.
“When visitors understand more about the places they visit, they want to come back time and time again,” she said in the release. “Which benefits communities and the tourism economy all year round.”
The full list of recipients and projects can be found online at www.destinationbc.ca.
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