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It was a busy summer for the Prince Rupert Visitors Bureau
and for tourism on the North Coast |
Some preliminary numbers are in for the 2022 Tourism season for the North Coast and for those in the industry in Prince Rupert and Port Edward, the year Wass a welcome return to more normal times and more anticipated visitor counts.
We contacted Ceilidh Marlow, Executive Director, Tourism Prince Rupert to get a sense of how the summer went and she provided a snapshot of the season from the early review of their data.
The Atlin Terminal Visitor Centre has realized 22,242 total visitors in 2022 to date
The Breakdown by month:
June: 4,394
July: 5,157
August: 5,745
September: 4,229
It has also been a strong year for the Cruise Industry, which returned to the North Coast following a two year COVID pause.
Cruise Passengers passing through the Northland Terminal this summer made for 42 Tota Vessel calls and a possible passengers (ship capacity): 55,208
Of that potential amount of visitors, the (actual) count of passengers came in at 39,987
"Overall, we experienced an extremely busy year, rebounding easily to pre-covid levels, and even surpassing them. Hotels, charter operators, tour operators, and other businesses in the tourism sector are all reporting a very busy season with a high volume of bookings." -- Ceilidh Marlow, Executive Director | Tourism Prince Rupert
While Tourism Prince Rupert reviews their data and make plans for what they no doubt hope will be a 2023 that builds on their work of this year, their next Prince Rupert makeover is underway.
As we noted on Wednesday, the way Prince Rupert says hello to visitors is marking a change, first with the Two Entry signs on Highway 16 ad BC Ferries and at Butze Rapids.
Also underway is the start of the installation for new way finding signage for the community, with some new visuals set to put an Indigenous stamp on helping tourists and even locals find their way around the city.
The work of preparing for the installation of those signs is now underway, with crews putting in place the foundations for the new directional guides, with a number of work sites to be found across the downtown area.
This project will see the installation of two new welcome signs at each main entrance to the community off Highway 16, as well as the installation of new wayfinding and informational signage throughout the downtown and main tourism areas, highlighting our community's main attractions, activating the new City districts identified in the Prince Rupert 2030 Vision, showcasing the work of local artists, and including Sm'algyax language.
Funding for this project has been provided through the Province of British Columbia’s Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program, the Prince Rupert Port Authority’s Community Investment Fund, and Tourism Prince Rupert Society Funds.
Tourism Prince Rupert notes that residents can expect to see the new signage up and in place by the end of the year, with a number of Thank You's to go out to their partners.
Tourism Prince Rupert would like to thank our partners at the Province of BC, the Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure, the Prince Rupert Port Authority, the Prince Rupert Community Arts Council, and the City of Prince Rupert for their support of this project.
We would also like to thank all of the incredible local artists who contributed their work to this project, as well as the Ts’msyen Sm’algyax Language Authority for working so closely with us to include Sm’algyax Language on all signage.
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