April 20, 2005

MERRITT – Canada’s Country Music Capital will be the home of B.C.’s newest and biggest Gateway Visitor Centre, Premier Gordon Campbell announced today.

The Merritt Gateway Visitor’s Centre will showcase the Nicola Valley and British Columbia for travellers making their way through Merritt on their way to the Coast, the Interior, the Okanagan and points beyond.

Merritt’s Centre will advance the BC Liberal’s fifth Great Goal – to create more jobs than anywhere else in Canada – by opening up new opportunities for growth and job creation in the tourism sector.

“The new Merritt Gateway Visitor Centre will be a state-of-the-art facility that will give people exploring this great province a glimpse at why BC is the best place on earth,” said Campbell. “We will work closely with the city, the Lower Nicola Indian Band and Tourism BC to ensure that this benefits the City of Merritt and all residents in the region by creating new opportunity for jobs in the tourism sector. 

“The Nicola Valley is one of the most unique and spectacular parts of our great province and we want people from all over the world to stop here and soak it in." 

Premier Campbell noted that 5,000 vehicles a day go through Merritt – making it a hub for tourists travelling between all regions of the province. The new Gateway Centre will be located at the site of the existing tourism centre on the corner of Highways 5 and 97C.

The BC Liberal government is also working toward the goal of doubling tourism revenues by 2010 by:

• Doubling the marketing budget of Tourism BC from $25 million to $50 million to promote BC across the globe as a tourist destination;
• Adding $14 million for regional tourism promotion, including new Gateway Visitor Centres in Osoyoos, Golden, and at Peace Arch, and new gateway signage at 13 different entry points into B.C.;
• Investing $25 million with the Union of BC Municipalities to support tourism promotion by communities across BC; and,
• Development of Circle Route tours throughout BC and the Spirit of 2010 Trail System that connects and unites 18 communities with trails.
• Premier Campbell noted that Gateway Visitor Centres are a key component of BC’s Asia-Pacific Gateway Strategy to take our products to the world and open doors for new cultural exchange, new relationships, and new partnerships in education.

“Every dollar spent marketing our province to British Columbians, Canadians, and the world helps us build an environmentally sustainable and wealth generating tourism industry that benefits all the citizens of our province,” said Campbell. “This Visitor Centre is going to put Merritt at the heart of building a bright future for BC tourism as we move forward toward 2010.