By Cheryl Jahn

PG Tourism on the hunt

Mar 6, 2023 | 3:48 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – The Visitor Information Centre is currently located on First Avenue and is a popular spot for tourists to stop, pick up some brochures and see a friendly face and helpful information.

The First Avenue location has been the third in twenty years. But it’s not an ideal location, according to one City Councillor, who regularly broaches the subject.

“Councillor Glenn “Moose” Scott, when he was on Council, brought up the issue of are we going to move the tourism booth?,” said Councillor Brian Skakun. “If you look at the logistics [of First Avdenue], it’s you have trains going back and forth behind here. You feel the building rumbling. It’s just it’s really not tourist friendly. So, you know, we’ve been pushing it for years and it sounds like there’s some work going on behind the scenes to actually secure location, you know, and go from there.”

Things happening behind the scenes are indeed happening, as was the latest update to City Council.

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“Last year our Board of Directors kickstarted a task force to look at the location and try to evaluate some other options of ways we could be operating a little differently,” explained Colin Carson, CEO of Tourism Prince George.

“So I think that that’s where we’re at right now and the reports been given to our board of directors and now we’re kind of still in the investigation standpoint, but, you know, we’re progressing, looking at different options and trying to find a suitable long term home for tourism Prince George and for the visitor center.”

“Well, I think I mean, you know, the online stuff is really important, but we can’t forget, you know, they meet in person or person. And I think that’s really important as well. So when we had it at Highway 16 and 97, it was a high-traffic area. So I’m hoping that we get it. So we can, you know, at least a real visible spot.”

In the meantime, Tourism Prince George is getting ready for the summer … its busiest season. And, as Council recently heard, destination tourism will be a focus this year.

“We have a lot of people driving through in the summer months, especially going north through Alaska. They stop in Prince George for one night. How do we get them to stay two or three nights?” says Carson. “And it really comes back to creating more products. We’ve got some great attractions right now that people can do. They can stop at the exploration place. They can stop at the Railway Forest Museum, and Two Rivers Gallery. Those are all great activities for them to do. And at this point, we’re still looking at things to make them stay even longer in the community.”

And that includes the potential for things like mountain bike rentals for the likes of Pidherny and Tabor Mountain Recreation.