By Vanessa Ybarra

New slogan hoped to further increase city’s tourism numbers

May 17, 2017 | 5:00 PM

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — It’s a move that is hoped will boost the city’s tourism numbers.

Earlier this week Tourism Kamloops announced it has changed the city’s slogan from ‘Playtime Redefined’ to ‘Boldy Unscripted.’

It’s hoped the new slogan will attract more people to Kamloops and change some people’s perceptions of what our city has to offer.

But if you look at the number, the reality is the city is already attracting more international and local visitors every year, with hotel revenues jumping 10 per cent in 2016.

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Tanja and Oliver’s are first time visitors to Kamloops.

“I saw Kamloops Lake and it was pretty impressive,” said Tanja. “There are some really nice views, nice setting in the hills. I love it.”

The German couple is spending three weeks touring B.C’s National Parks.

While Kamloops scenery may be impressive, it was it was free services that lured the two to the city.

“We saw Kamloops had an Information Booth and free dump stations,” said Tanja.

“We saw it on the map and thought it was a nice place to stop,” said Oliver.

According to Tourism Kamloops, 1.6 million people visited the city in 2015, with the city seeing a six per cent increase in 2016.

In an effort to heighten awareness, Tourism Kamloops is changing its branding and marketing slogan.

“It was just time for a refresh,” said Beverely DeSantis, CEO of Tourism Kamloops. “We want to have our marketing messages be ‘bold’ and get people to come off the highway. We chose ‘unscripted’ because Kamloops is one of those places where you can stop for a night and find yourself in an amazing experience.”

Hosting more than 100 sporting events a year provides steady business for the hotel industry.

“The sports business is about 10 to 15 per cent so that’s kind of the number around town that we get,” said Tim Rodgers, President of the Kamloops Accommodation Association.

And then there’s the Rocky Mountaineer.

“The Rocky Mountaineer brought almost 100,000 last year and they’re up 10 per cent this year,” said Rodgers. “They bring international visitors who do come back.”

While international and local tourism numbers continue to climb throughout the city, downtown businesses say there are areas that can still use improvement.

“The number one feedback we get from visitors is that our businesses aren’t open late enough,” said Mike O’Reilly, President of the Downtown Business Improvement Association. “We are working hard to take a gamble this year and have businesses try and be open later into the evening so people can have an evening experience.”

As for the RV couple, their stop in Kamloops may be brief but it’s one they intend to make the most of.

“I saw Riverside Park in my information book, so we’ll go there and have a quick stop in the city,” added Tanja.