By Jackie Tegart, MLA for Fraser-Nicola.

Throughout COVID, our tourism sector has been one of our province’s hardest-hit industries. For our communities that depend heavily on tourism, this impact has hit home for many of our businesses and families. 

Luckily, some forms of outdoor tourism are still able to be experienced, given the ability to stay socially distanced from one another. I hope many British Columbians have developed a newfound appreciation and love for the beauty to be found in our own backyards during this period of isolation. Fraser-Nicola in particular has fantastic scenery and wildlife to take in, in ways that are COVID-safe of course.

As the year unfolds, we hope it will be one of recovery for B.C.’s tourism industry and other struggling sectors. Our communities are asking government to commit to two key actions that will ensure our tourism industry can make a full recovery as soon as our communities are open to travel once again.

Firstly, we need to do everything we can to promote B.C. tourism as soon as it is safe to do so in order to grow the demand for local, inter-provincial, and international travel to B.C. as soon as our borders have re-opened.

Secondly, our communities need to have the necessary supports so they can survive this season and will be ready to accommodate and benefit from the growing demand for B.C. tourism once the industry is free to safely operate at pre-pandemic levels.

I maintain my commitment to local businesses to hold government to account and ensure the needs of our region are met. 

As soon as our tourism industries can safely welcome visitors once again, our businesses must be ready to meet the growing demand for tourism so we can put our communities on the road to recovery as quickly as possible. For those of us who live here in Fraser Nicola, we know it is a fantastic place to visit, but an even better place to call home.