Tourism Dawson Creek reports increase in visitors for 2015

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — The B.C. government recently stated that visitors to the province were up 7.7 per cent overall in 2015, from data collected from January to November — equating to about 329,673 visitors. In the month of November 2015, that amount added 11.1 per cent to the year’s total accommodation of tourists alone.

Here in the Peace Region, Tourism Dawson Creek reported a 5.3 per cent increase for 2015, compared to the previous year. The data, which calculated numbers until From January until September 2015, showed the city had 18,860 visitors for 2015, almost one thousand more than the 17,855 seen in 2014.

Tourism Development Coordinator Austin Weaver said the mobile visitor center activities at the Rotary District Conference and at the U-17 World Hockey Challenge engaged with 1,397 different visitors, which he calls ‘a significant increase’ to this quarter from previous years.

Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, says the high number of visitors in November means B.C. is a ‘year-round tourism destination’ for visitors around the world.

“The positive trend we have seen all year has continued into fall 2015. By late 2015, there were over 300,000 more international visitors to our province than the previous year,” Bond said.

“Clearly the desire to visit British Columbia spans the season and has become a priority for many international visitors.”

In 2013, the tourism sector generated $13.9 billion worth of revenue. That amount directly contributed to B.C.’s GDP, with $7.3 billion.