Destination BC is putting the call out for a service provider to manage the BC Visitor Centre at Highway 5 exit 286 in Merritt.

A request for proposals is being issued in mid-October for a two year contract to operate the facility with three one-year extension options, said Ninette Ollgaard, Destination BC director of visitor experiences and industry development.

The current agreement with the company Adventure Management Ltd. is expiring in December, Ollgaard said.

Destination BC, the provincial body that manages the government-owned facility, is responsible for finding a third party provide visitor services at the Merritt Visitor Centre.

Last November Destination BC launched a new corporate strategy, Ollgaard said, and part of that was reviewing all its programs.

She said from January to July 2015, Destination BC conducted 20 community workshop consultations with communities that have visitor centres.

“How do communities best serve visitors to their community was the nub of the conversations when we were going around the province talking to all these different visitor centre managers,” she said.

Ollgaard said that in this day and age visitor services can’t be focused merely on a static visitor centre.

“They very much still play a critical role in visitor services, more in some communities than others, but it’s also about having a presence on social media, attending festivals and events, being more mobile,” she said.

She said in some communities, the visitor centre serves the needs  of the community and in others it is one component of a multi-pronged visitor servicing strategy.