Tourism

Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport Lana Popham (front row second from left), Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Future Skills Selina Robinson (front row third from left) and Okanagan College President Dr. Neil Fassina (front row right) were on hand for the announcement for a new food, wine and tourism centre for the college. (Photo/Gaary Barnes)

Province cooks up new centre for tourism, culinary arts at Okanagan College

The province is providing OC with $44.8 million for the centre

 

Raylene Watts, left, and Alex Tuele, both from Fanny Bay, visit the Port Alberni waterfront looking for treasure on Wednesday, March 9, 2023. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

Treasure seekers scour British Columbia for pot of ‘gold’

B.C.-based scavenger hunt offered $1,000 if someone could solve five riddles

 

People walk past carnival game stands below a ferris wheel during the Pacific National Exhibition Fair, in Vancouver, on Thursday, September 1, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. introduces $30M fund to support festivals, events over next 2 years

One-time grants come as event organizers cite increased costs, supply chain issues, trouble hiring

 

The empty streets of Banff are seen as Parks Canada is restricting vehicles in the national parks and national historic sites in Banff, Alta., on March 24, 2020. Banff tourism officials are joining the call for better management of visitor traffic in the most heavily visited parts of the national park. In a document outlining its development plans for the next decade, Banff and Lake Louise Tourism says it wants to reduce damaging traffic bottlenecks through improved public transit and fewer private vehicles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Banff tourism report seeks fewer private vehicles, more public transit in park

‘Vehicle traffic is one of the single biggest challenges in terms of…our ability to be sustainable’

The empty streets of Banff are seen as Parks Canada is restricting vehicles in the national parks and national historic sites in Banff, Alta., on March 24, 2020. Banff tourism officials are joining the call for better management of visitor traffic in the most heavily visited parts of the national park. In a document outlining its development plans for the next decade, Banff and Lake Louise Tourism says it wants to reduce damaging traffic bottlenecks through improved public transit and fewer private vehicles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
The playground in Nanaimo’s Maffeo Sutton Park installed ‘we-swings’ which allow someone in a wheelchair to swing with another person. (News Bulletin photo)

Kootenay Rockies Tourism invites those with ideas for accessible tourism projects to apply for Spark Program

Three finalists will receive mentorship and financial support

The playground in Nanaimo’s Maffeo Sutton Park installed ‘we-swings’ which allow someone in a wheelchair to swing with another person. (News Bulletin photo)
A young boy who arrived on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong wears a face mask and face shield at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Hopes high in B.C. as China lifts border rules, but tourism recovery may take months

Chinese travellers were the second biggest international market for B.C. in 2019

A young boy who arrived on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong wears a face mask and face shield at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A woman checks out a jobs advertisement sign during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Statistics Canada will release its latest reading on the job market on Friday. The agency will release its labour force survey for April. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

FINLAYSON: A post-Labour Day review of B.C.’s job market

‘The province’s economy is now losing steam amid a turbulent and uncertain global backdrop and decelerating growth in both the U.S. and Canada’

  • Sep 7, 2022
A woman checks out a jobs advertisement sign during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Statistics Canada will release its latest reading on the job market on Friday. The agency will release its labour force survey for April. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
West Kelowna wine country, pictured in October 2020. (Phil McLachlan - West K News)

B.C. wine industry still recovering, looking to return to pre-pandemic boom

The wine industry contributed $3.75 billion to the province economy in 2019

West Kelowna wine country, pictured in October 2020. (Phil McLachlan - West K News)
An Ottawa Police Service (OPS) office, Ministry of Transportation (MTO) officer and employees from Lady Dive Tour look at the aftermath of a single-vehicle accident involving an amphibious Lady Dive Tour vehicle which crashed into the 24 Sussex Dr. in Ottawa, Ont. on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

VIDEO: Tour bus crashes into gates of 24 Sussex, PM’s vacant official residence

No injuries were reported

An Ottawa Police Service (OPS) office, Ministry of Transportation (MTO) officer and employees from Lady Dive Tour look at the aftermath of a single-vehicle accident involving an amphibious Lady Dive Tour vehicle which crashed into the 24 Sussex Dr. in Ottawa, Ont. on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
The Enchanted Forest. (Facebook photo)

Top 10 things to do in the Kootenays for the summer

Variety of attractions, activities for visitors of all ages

The Enchanted Forest. (Facebook photo)
Squamish B.C. landscape (pixabay.com photo)

Visitors urged to love Sea-to-Sky region, but @dontloveittodeath

Awareness campaign aims to get residents thinking about litter, environment degradation and more

Squamish B.C. landscape (pixabay.com photo)
Leafy puts Washington’s wholesale Cannabis revenues at $653 million, making it the state’s fourth most valuable legal crop, behind only apples ($2.1 billion), wheat ($949 million) and potatoes ($753 million), but ahead of cherries ($562 million) and hay ($501 million), according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Leafy puts Washington’s wholesale Cannabis revenues at $653 million, making it the state’s fourth most valuable legal crop, behind only apples ($2.1 billion), wheat ($949 million) and potatoes ($753 million), but ahead of cherries ($562 million) and hay ($501 million), according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Black Press file

Kootenay Rockies Tourism and Selkirk College research cannabis tourism opportunities in the region

As a regional destination marketing organization, Kootenay Rockies Tourism is always seeking…

Leafy puts Washington’s wholesale Cannabis revenues at $653 million, making it the state’s fourth most valuable legal crop, behind only apples ($2.1 billion), wheat ($949 million) and potatoes ($753 million), but ahead of cherries ($562 million) and hay ($501 million), according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Leafy puts Washington’s wholesale Cannabis revenues at $653 million, making it the state’s fourth most valuable legal crop, behind only apples ($2.1 billion), wheat ($949 million) and potatoes ($753 million), but ahead of cherries ($562 million) and hay ($501 million), according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Black Press file
Tofino has been named one of the world’s most extraordinary destinations by TIME Magazine. (Westerly file photo)

TIME names Tofino one of world’s top 50 ‘extraordinary destinations to explore’

Tofino ranks among Galapagos Islands and Nairobi

Tofino has been named one of the world’s most extraordinary destinations by TIME Magazine. (Westerly file photo)
A community of 1,396, Galiano Island saw an estimated 80,200 visitors in 2007 (John McKinley file)

Galiano Island’s ecological footprint swells from tourism: study

Community’s footprint ‘much larger’ than other B.C. locales

A community of 1,396, Galiano Island saw an estimated 80,200 visitors in 2007 (John McKinley file)
Dick Brown at 16. (Submitted photo)

Victoria man surprised to learn he authored 1966 note in B.C. beach time capsule

Letter found 56 years later by Rathtrevor Beach tourists

Dick Brown at 16. (Submitted photo)
Leah discovered a small glass cream bottle that contained a note written more than 50 years ago. (Submitted photo)

B.C. family discovers 56-year-old message in bottle on Vancouver Island beach

Buried treasure inadvertently dug out of 4-foot deep hole in sand

Leah discovered a small glass cream bottle that contained a note written more than 50 years ago. (Submitted photo)
Tim Sangha, a member of the Nanaimo-based business partnership that has owned the Scarlet Ibis Pub and Restaurant since November 2020, presents a carving by woodcarver Rick Rotar of the Ibis business logo to Patricia Gwynne who owned and operated the Island’s most remote pub for more than 40 years. (Scarlet Ibis image)

New business partners breathe new life into Vancouver Island’s most remote pub

Scarlet Ibis Pub and Restaurant in Holberg is edge of civilization for wilderness adventurers

Tim Sangha, a member of the Nanaimo-based business partnership that has owned the Scarlet Ibis Pub and Restaurant since November 2020, presents a carving by woodcarver Rick Rotar of the Ibis business logo to Patricia Gwynne who owned and operated the Island’s most remote pub for more than 40 years. (Scarlet Ibis image)
Spinal Cord Injury BC will be conducting in-person assessments of different tourism businesses in the Lower Mainland, Sea-to-Sky and Sunshine Coast, giving advice on how they can improve access and inclusion for disabled folks (PattiRey/Pixabay.com)

New partnership looks to make B.C.’s tourism industry more disability-friendly

Spinal Cord Injury BC working with tourism businesses to help them identify accessibility gaps

Spinal Cord Injury BC will be conducting in-person assessments of different tourism businesses in the Lower Mainland, Sea-to-Sky and Sunshine Coast, giving advice on how they can improve access and inclusion for disabled folks (PattiRey/Pixabay.com)
Sunny days are back again for businesses feeding off Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail and the other attractions of Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim. (John McKinley photo)

`Life is getting back to normal’ for tourism on Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim

Residents remain cautious with COVID as businesses struggle with staffing as visitors flood back

Sunny days are back again for businesses feeding off Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail and the other attractions of Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim. (John McKinley photo)
FILE - Elvis impersonator Brendan Paul, right, walks down the aisle during a wedding ceremony for Katie Salvatore, center, and Eric Wheeler at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Authentic Brands Group (ABG) sent cease-and-desist letters earlier this month to multiple chapels, saying they had to comply by the end of May, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Company to Las Vegas chapels: No more Elvis-themed weddings

Authentic Brands Group sent cease-and-desist letters in early May to multiple chapels

FILE - Elvis impersonator Brendan Paul, right, walks down the aisle during a wedding ceremony for Katie Salvatore, center, and Eric Wheeler at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Authentic Brands Group (ABG) sent cease-and-desist letters earlier this month to multiple chapels, saying they had to comply by the end of May, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)