WHEREAS Visitor Information Centres provide a valuable service to visitors to our communities and also to local residents who wish to access information prior to traveling to other areas of BC; AND WHEREAS the Visitor Information Centres are in a constant struggle because of limited funding available: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities urge the provincial government to provide increased funding for community Visitor Information Centres, via Tourism BC, from 1.15 million per year to at least 3 million per year, in accordance with the recommendation of the November 2004 review of VICs undertaken by the BC Chamber of Commerce.
Ministry of Tourism, Sport the Arts The provincial government recognizes the importance of Visitor Info Centres in strengthening tourism and attracting tourism dollars to our communities. Tourism BC has been working closely with the Chamber of Commerce Task Force and has initiated program improvements, which were announced last February at the Annual Visitor InfoNetwork Conference. The changes initiated by Tourism BC for the Visitor InfoNetwork program has increased its support from 1.5 million to approximately 3 million.
TOURISM BRITISH COLUMBIA Tourism BC has been working closely with the BC Chamber of Commerce Task Force to address this issue and I am pleased to report that in February 2005 at the Annual Visitor InfoNetwork Conference, Tourism BC announced an enhanced Visitor InfoNetwork Program which addressed the Task Force recommendations and strengthened the program by increasing funding provided directly to community Visitor Centres for operations and capital expenses. In addition, Tourism BC increased financial support for Value of the Visitor Info Centre research which assists communities in quantifying the economic value of their operation; doubled the number of Quality Service Evaluations which gives benchmark feedback to Visitor Info Centres on their performance; and added a dedicated resource to manage the Community Visitor Info Centre network to further strengthen the program. The BC Chamber of Commerce wholeheartedly supported the changes and congratulated Tourism BC on their responsiveness. Total value of Tourism BCs support to the Visitor InfoNetwork program is approximately 3 million. Tourism British Columbia recognizes the tremendous value the Visitor Info Centres provide to the economy of British Columbia and we are proud to increase our support.