Tourism braces for a long summer

PRINCE GEORGE – The word yesterday that COVID-19 measures may remain in place until mid- to late-summer could mean a “tough” tourism season in the region.

“With recovery looking like it might be mid-summer, late summer, and a lot of that said to the end of June,” says Tracey McBride, the CEO for Tourism Prince George. “So what does that look like for many of our organizations that start in May, like campgrounds. It’s gonna be tough.”

She says there have and will be a series of meetings amongst tourism organizations and operators to plan for the future, identifying gaps and looking to future ventures.

“The first thing people are going to want to do is to visit friends and relatives. And can we wrap a campaign around that? To say ‘Come and stay but maybe come and stay in hotels, or accommodations, bed and breakfasts, Support local.’ We just don’t know what that looks like yet.”