No wildfires, no problem.
That’s been the key so far when it comes to the spike in the number of tourists visiting the northern capital this year according to Tourism PG.
CEO Erica Hummel recently spoke about the latest numbers with MyPGNow.com.
“We were up 15% in May and 20% in June over last year and year-to-date numbers were up about 19%. The weather has been good, a little bit of rain but I think what happened last year was that the smoke made people want to keep moving and not stop.”
Because of the improved conditions, visitors are more willing to stay and play in the northern capital.
“With no fires, people are stopping in the visitor centre and staying a little longer in town rather than just heading into Alberta and other places.”
Hummel states we continue to hold great events each year, which attract athletes, coaches, and business professionals.
“I mean we’ve had great events every year, for example, the 2019 World Para Nordic Skiing Championships held in February brought in a lot of international visitors and we continue to bring in events that attract a lot of athletes and coaches as well as volunteers and things like that.”
Speaking of international tourists, even with the back-to-back record-setting wildfire seasons, the numbers remained unaffected and 2019 is certainly no exception even with the lack of blazes in the region.
“When they are doing their planning it’s usually a year out and they are not really in tune with what we are doing on the ground in terms of weather so often times they are quite surprised when they come to see us struggling with the wildfires so it’s an interesting one for sure.”