With the recent fire activity throughout B.C., the number of visitors at the Burns Lake Visitor Centre has seen a spike in the past two weeks.
“The visitors stopping by are seeking information on the fires and updates on the road closures and detours,” explained Randi Amendt, manager of the Burns Lake and District Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Centre.
Amendt said this year the Visitor Centre has been focusing on keeping visitors in the community longer.
The number of overnight visitors (those who are spending one night or more in the community) has also seen an increase this year during the months of April, May and June compared to the last four years.
“So far in 2017 we are happy to say that 46 per cent of our visitors that stop by the Visitor Centre are staying in the Lakes District for at least one night, and many of them for much longer,” she said. “With visitors staying longer in our community we hope to see an increase in revenue throughout the businesses in the Lakes District.”
During the same period last year, the percentage of overnight visitors was 30 per cent while in 2015 it was 43, and in 2014 it was 35 per cent.
For April, May and June of 2017, 978 visitors came through the Visitor Centre, slightly lower than last year’s 1040 visitors.
The top two visitors so far this year are from other B.C. municipalities (25 per cent) and Europe (18 per cent). This has been consistent in Burns Lake for the past five years.
