
The loss of the Rocky Mountaineer’s season this year is a big blow to Kamloops, but not unexpected given the ongoing travel restrictions.
That is according to the Director of Industry Relations at Tourism Kamloops, Monica Dickinson, who says the train company is a big tourism partner for the city.
“While Rocky Mountaineer virtually delivers our population to us in a season and its effects will be greatly felt in the community, I feel that our plan for recovery of the industry in the short term is focused in the right direction, and that’s really to the drive market in the province,” she told NL News.
Dickinson says she feels for the hotels and restaurants that rely on tourists that come into Kamloops on the Rocky Mountaineer every day in the summer.
“Tourism touches all parts of our community and you know all of the businesses that spin off from Rocky Mountaineer and the employment of our residents and youth is a substantial blow obviously,” she added.
“What Tourism Kamloops has been focused on is hoping to help many of our residents support Kamloops businesses and rediscover our backyard.”
Those measures include attracting people from others parts of the province to Kamloops, as part of Phase 3 of B.C.’s COVID-19 restart plan.
“We’ve always been very well positioned when it comes to communicating and marketing our destination in the province, and so, its more of reconnecting with some of our audience out of the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan, and across the province to position Kamloops as a desirable getaway for this summer,” Dickinson added.
The luxury train operator relies heavily on international tourists and has an estimated economic spin-off of nearly $50-million in Kamloops in a normal year.