Seeing is believing as Tourism Prince Rupert ramps up the 2020 visitor program

As we cross over the mid-way point of July, those wandering through the Cow Bay District, along Third West and around the downtown area may have noticed a slight uptick in the number of new faces and out of area vehicles, a sign that the city's tourism sector is starting to show some life.

The signs are much more visible along George Hills Way, where a growing number of boat trailers indicate that visitors, an increasing number from out of province, seemingly have pointed their compass or punched in the location of the North Coast into their GPS system.

The increase in tourism in whatever its form comes as this summer's Tourism Prince Rupert See For Yourself Program continues on.

Launched in early July  at the same time that the Province of BC entered phase three of the provincial restart plan, the local initiative has put the focus on some of the participating shops and services in the community, partners in the tourism rebuild for the season.

And while Tourism Prince Rupert continues to share word of the natural wonders of the North Coast with those from far away, they also have a few special notes for local residents as well:

To make it easy, we’ve shared all of the exclusive welcome back offers in one place, so all you need to do is click the button below to check them out, then tell us which ones you’re into and we’ll send you a code that you can use when booking with our partner businesses. 

 What's even better than that? Before we invite our friends from out of town, these first few offers are available for a limited time only to our local community (that's you!).

The opportunity to grab some local deals can be found here.

The See For Yourself program will expand a bit next week, with more homegrown offers to come.

You can keep up with the progress and get the heads up on the deals from their Facebook and Instagram page.

Prince Rupert's Visitor Centre and the Port Interpretive Centre
opened for the 2020 season on July 2nd.

Those arriving from out of town (or locals looking for some ideas to explore their own hometown) can now get information from the Prince Rupert Visitor Centre.

The Tourism centre and Port Interpretive Centre both opened for the season on July 2nd, though there are a few measures in place in compliance with COVID protocols.

You can learn more about the Cow Bay Centre's twin operations here.

For more notes on the North Coast Tourism Sector see our archive page here.

"See For Yourself" ... Tourism Prince Rupert launches summer initiative to showcase region to locals and visitors alike

Tourism Prince Rupert has launched a new marketing campaign today

Tourism Prince Rupert is putting out the welcome mat for visitors in support of local businesses and services that rely in Tourism, launching  a summer tourism campaign called See for Yourself.

The new focus for the 2020 tourism year was outlined today in an information statement from Tourism Prince Rupert which notes how the program will look to encourage travellers to come explore the region.

Intended to help support Prince Rupert’s local small business and accommodation sector by once again encouraging both locals and visitors to explore the city and its offerings. 

This campaign will bring the magic of Prince Rupert to both locals and travellers by sharing exclusive and limited-time offers from over twenty local businesses, from accommodation providers and dining establishments to retail boutiques and outdoor adventure operators.

The program which runs from today through to August 17th, comes following the findings of a recently completed survey showing that even as Prince Rupert residents had their own plans to travel out of the region this summer; they still had some hesitancy towards the idea of folks from elsewhere dropping in for a visit.

"Tourism Prince Rupert has been carefully listening to the needs, desires, and concerns of our stakeholders, who range from Prince Rupert residents and business owners to tour operators and regional tourism organizations. In order to support our local tourism economy through this challenging time, this campaign has been developed not only to drive new business to our local tourism and small business sectors, but also to create new opportunities for local & regional residents to safely explore our magnificent region once again.” --  Ceilidh Marlow, Executive Director, Tourism Prince Rupert

Towards the launch of the initiative, Tourism Prince Rupert outlined how they plan to move forward with their initiative through the next month.

From July 19th – August 17th, we will open up select offerings to our nearby neighbours across the Northern BC region, inviting them to experience a change of scenery in Prince Rupert with exclusive accommodation deals & discounts on outdoor adventure offerings such as golf and flightseeing.

The intention of the See for Yourself campaign is to encourage travel to Prince Rupert in a way that is both sensitive to the concerns of residents and supportive of our local small businesses who rely on the tourism sector to bolster their annual revenue.

The campaign will be delivered in completely digital formats, with sponsored social media, online advertising, and email newsletters translating the unique promotions we’ve secured aimed at supporting Prince Rupert’s tourism sector.

Local residents as well can be a part of the See For Yourself campaign, with Tourism Prince Rupert making note of some of the feedback they received from the recent survey.

In light of this, we recognize that a number of Prince Rupert residents remain tentative about visitors to Prince Rupert this summer, and therefore the campaign will kick off with two weeks of promotions aimed specifically at encouraging locals to explore their own backyard. 

This could be through a promotion for a dining experience that they’ve been missing, or the opportunity to win local prize packages. 

Before expanding our reach to welcome other travellers to Prince Rupert, we want to welcome our local friends, family, and neighbours to see the city with fresh eyes.

For a review of the full project launch see this information piece from Tourism Prince Rupert, the details to the See for Yourself program can be reviewed here.

An archive page of all resources from Tourism Prince Rupert is available here.

For further background on Tourism in the region see our archive page here.