The Visitor Information Centre at the Baillie House had its busiest year ever in 2013.
A total of 17,573 people visited the booth in 2013, which is nearly 2,000 more people than in 2012.
That boost in the number of visitors is the biggest for the historic downtown Merritt property in the last five years.
The summer was the busiest season, but the visitor information booth also experienced its busiest fourth quarter since the Nicola Valley Heritage Society started operating it eight years ago.
In presenting the year-end report to council at the regular meeting on Tuesday, chairperson of the Nicola Valley Heritage Society Pat Weston said the Baillie House information centre gets lots of repeat visitors because people make a point of stopping there for homemade baking and visits with volunteers.
Over October, November and December of 2013, the visitor info booth recorded a 41 per cent increase in the number of visitors over the same period in 2012 — from 2,196 to 2,581 people.
That’s also up 67 per cent over the 2011 number of visitors, which was just 1,541.
“We constantly hear that the visitor information booth is unique,” she said.
The majority of visitors are from B.C. (70 per cent), followed by Alberta (11 per cent), Europe (seven per cent), the rest of Canada (five per cent), Asia and Australia (four per cent) and the U.S. (three per cent). Most of the visitors in 2013 stayed for a day or less (60 per cent), while 26 per cent stayed one night, 11 per cent stayed two nights, and two per cent of the visitors stayed for three nights. Only one per cent stayed for more than three nights.
The report to council calls these trends “relatively stable from year to year. The ‘average’ tourist continues to be a British Columbian who spends one day (or a few hours) in Merritt.”
The proposed 2014 budget for the Baillie House is staying roughly the same as the 2013 budget, which includes about $75,000 in revenue (including City of Merritt payments and income from sale of products).
Expenses are pegged at the same $75,000, including wages for the manager, advertising, office supplies, site maintenance, insurance, groceries, purchasing of items, and heating and cooling. Expenses ran slightly higher in 2013 ($86,758), mainly because painting of the Baillie House and the barn came in at about $13,000. That cost was totally covered by fundraising efforts by the Nicola Valley Heritage Society.
Even the Baillie House’s twice-a-year fundraising garage sales have become tourist attraction, Weston told council, noting volunteers speak with people who make sure to stop in downtown Merritt when the sales are on.
Weston attributed much of the information booth’s success to Baillie House manager Sandy Curnow, summer students and volunteers, many of whom are in their 70s and 80s.
Volunteers maintain the grounds and supply homemade baking, among many other duties. They put a total of 3,122 hours into the Baillie House and property over 2013.
Council commended volunteers and staff for their efforts, and Weston closed her presentation with an open invitation to “check out the best little visitor information centre in the West.”
