Prince George, B.C.  – When it comes to tourism in B.C.   this summer,   it is still not clear just  how  the  wildfires  are  impacting  the  tourism sector.

Visitor numbers to B.C.  for the month of July  won’t be available for  another couple of months, says Destination BC ‘s  Maya Lange “Currently we just have anecdotal information, we are collecting information around the Province, but at this point it’s just anecdotal” .

Lange says  so far, numbers  of visitors would suggest  “We are still on track”  for  typical  numbers, but she says some regions and communities  not  impacted by fires  are feeling the pain .”Some of our regions and communities that  may be hundreds of miles away from the impacted areas have  reported cancellations from Canada,  the U.S.  and overseas.”

Yet   she says  some areas are seeing an up-tick in visitors  “Again, anecdotally,  we are hearing people are travelling to other areas of the province.  Also, so far,  the information we are  seeing is that tourism numbers are on track, but  the data is not in real time, so we are monitoring it week by week but it looks like  we are on track without any major significant  impact, so we will see how things  will play out , but  it looks like most trips are being re-routed within the Province.”

Lange says Destination B.C. has been doing what it can  to  ensure  potential tourist have accurate information   “so they can make an informed decision.”

From a recovery perspective,  Lange says Destination B.C.  has  a plan  “We will ensure impacted areas receive  additional  marketing support once it is safe and capacity has been established.”