WHEREAS the Province has committed to developing tourism as an essential part of a sustainable, vibrant economy for British Columbia; AND WHEREAS visitor centres are a vital part of attracting visitors to our small rural communities, helping them provide economic opportunity and diversity: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities lobby the provincial government to restore funding, directly to local communities, for the development and operation of effective and productive visitor centres.
Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts There are 108 community-operated Visitor Centres Centres in the Province of British Columbia Province owned by sponsor organizations such as Chambers of Commerce, regional districts, municipalities or historical societies. Tourism British Columbia has never funded community-operated centres directly but rather provided a fee-for-service for provincial and regional servicing of the traveling public. In 2005, Tourism British Columbia announced a new Visitor Centre Program in recognition of the key role these Centres play in generating real economic benefits for communities and the Province. Working closely with the BC Chamber of Commerce, Tourism British Columbia implemented the following: - Doubled the funding provided to community centres to approximately 3M. - Increased base funding by an average of 48 per community. Funding was changed to be measured by visitor volume and guaranteed for three calendar years. - Created a special project fund for new community initiatives up to 10,000 per community - Developed research tools to help communities benchmark the economic value of their operations. The program is being received as a welcome commitment to the future of tourism in the Province and a key contributor to the doubling of tourism revenues by 2015.