Tourism to get a boost from Province

Tourism Prince Rupert most likely won't see any direct funding, but it may gain some spin off benefits from a new tourism funding program introduced by the Province of British Columbia yesterday.

The 1 million dollar program was introduced on Wednesday afternoon and is designed to help out forestry reliant communities fund tourism opportunities across the province including Northern BC.

The bulk of the funding will be put towards help out those communities across the region that have been impacted by the round of forestry mill closures over the last year or so, with Premier John Horgan noting how it offers a chance to diversify local economies a bit further.

“British Columbia is an amazing place with unparalleled natural beauty that we are proud to invite the world to come explore. This tourism investment will help bring new visitors to rural communities throughout the province, while also helping diversify and boost local economies.”

As for the program, 200,000 dollars will be earmarked for five regions around British Columbia, including Northern British Columbia.

Each of the regional tourism groups will work in collaboration with the affected communities and government to prioritize the needs of the people who live in the area and to determine how to invest the tourism money to realize the greatest benefit.

As it is forestry community based, the bulk of the 200,000 dollars for the North most likely will be distributed along the Highway 16 and 97 corridor areas.

For more notes on the governments plans see the launch statement here.

Further background on the Northern British Columbia Tourism Association can be found here.

Some of our past notes on provincial issues can be explored from our Legislature archive.