The Burns Lake & District Tourist Centre has seen a significant pick up in visitors this year, compared to last year, and the Centre is expecting more visitors to come through, said Meghan Olson, tourism coordinator with the Village of Burns Lake.
“We have had a busy year with a significant increase of international travellers returning and the resurgence of tourism and travel after the pandemic has shown to be a great benefit to us in our community,” she said.
The tourism centre had 1,077 visitors from May to July 2022, up from last year’s 808 visitors, during the same time frame.
“We are expecting to see more visitors come through even in the shoulder season as well,” said Olson.
This year, the most popular questions from visitors were about recreation and accommodation in the area.
To help out during the summer rush, the visitor centre had five students this year.
Two returning students, Adrienne Bender and Hannah Zayac and three new students Taylor Lutick, Ema Culberson, and Tero Akehurst. Adrienne Bender graduated from LDSS this year and will be attending VIU in Nanaimo for the Tourism Management program and Hannah Zayac graduated from LDSS this year and will be attending UBC in Vancouver for the Bachelor of Science program.
Ema Culberson will be attending the Okanagan College in Revelstoke this September for the Tourism Management program, Taylor Lutick graduated from LDSS this year and will be attending UNBC in Prince George for the Nature-Based Tourism program, while Tero Akehurst will be continuing their education at LDSS this September.
“We appreciate all efforts put in by our Visitor Centre staff this year and hope to see some returning faces for our 2023 season!” added Olson.
According to Olson, staff and volunteers at the visitor centre have been encouraging visitors to stop in and stay a while.
“Burns Lake offers world-class mountain bike trails, and endless lakeshore to swim, paddle, and fish; or take some time to rest, relax and take in all the natural beauty that surrounds us. We have over a dozen free campsites, endless amounts of area to explore, adventure is right around the corner and there is something for everyone,” she said, adding that as the summer season comes to a close the Village is ramping up for winter activities, snowshoe trails, snowmobile trails, fat biking, cross-country skiing, indoor and outdoor skating rink, and so much more.
She especially wanted to express gratitude towards the community, for “continuing to make our Village of Burns Lake a wonderful and welcoming place for guests and friends to visit on their travels.”