By Adam Berls

tourism

Summer proved well for tourism in Prince George

Aug 24, 2023 | 2:01 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — Summer is unfortunately on its way out, which means tourists only have a few weeks left to enjoy summer in Prince George and the North before fall arrives. The tourism sector across the country has been recovering after the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, and for Tourism Prince George, 2023 has been a good year.

“Tourism has been really strong this year. 2019 was a very strong travel year for tourism and Prince George is we haven’t quite returned to 2019 numbers, but we have seen an increase year over year every year since, which is really positive.” – Rhea Stark, Director, Marketing & Visitor Experience, Tourism PG

Local travel has bounced back as well as international travel.

“There’s been less restrictions provincially, federally, which have made it easier to travel and enable people to have more confidence traveling and booking and going back out again. So we’ve definitely seen a strong return to local travel as well as international travel.” – Rhea Stark, Director, Marketing & Visitor Experience, Tourism PG

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This summer, smoke was ever present in Prince George and the North, but for some it didn’t deter their plans to visit Prince George.

“Many of our visitors are coming from other provinces or across Canada, and they’re doing really big road trips and are being through the province. So once they’re here, they really want to experience it. So thankfully, the smoke didn’t deter too many people, and if they weren’t already in the city, then they might have experienced a few delays, but still planned to reschedule or plan their trip for a later date. So that was really positive to see. People still really wanted to come.” – Rhea Stark, Director, Marketing & Visitor Experience, Tourism PG

Big events like Cariboo Rocks the North did manage to avoid the smoke, providing a better experience for all involved, and events like Cariboo Rocks the North provide huge benefits to the community.

“Having these events are so important, of course, not only locally for our community, but also for driving visitation to Prince George. People come to experience these really great events, but while they’re here, they’re probably taking advantage of shopping and eating out at new restaurants and really experiencing opportunities in our community.” – Rhea Stark, Director, Marketing & Visitor Experience, Tourism PG

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Twitter: @AdamBerls

Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com