The CEO of Tourism Kamloops thinks many Canadians will choose to travel within Canada this year instead of overseas due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Beverley DeSantis admits it is hard to gauge where the international travellers will go this year, but she’s hoping Canadians choose Kamloops and the B.C. Interior to spend their holidays.

“People are just a little nervous about, if I book a flight internationally, will I be able to travel there? What are the cancellations like? We were talking to some folks in Calgary that are shifting their trip to Thailand to actually stay in Canada,” she said.

“We might see a little bit more of this sort of behaviour and postpone that trip and just wait and see what happens.”

DeSantis says tourism is huge for Kamloops and the B.C. economy, as it affects a wide variety of other local businesses including the retail, hospitality and the oil and gas sectors.

“We truly do need to support our Canadians. So if you are not going to go to Thailand, if you’re not going to go wherever it is that you were planning to go this year, get in the car or get on a flight and stay within Canada and support local,” DeSantis added.

“We do need to keep this industry moving forward.”

Like health officials have said to this point, DeSantis notes the risk of COVID-19 in Canada is still low at this time.

“I mean we’ve got some interesting learning from SARS and H1N1 that experts and pulling on what we can expect,” she said. “In Canada, we really are focusing on how we will deal with the virus both from a health perspective and from an economic perspective.”

At Kamloops Airport, there hasn’t been in a noticeable decrease in passengers at the airport so far, but it is expected to happen as the B.C. Government is urging people to avoid international travel over spring break.