By Chad Klassen

Closure of visitor centre in Merritt resulting in positive impact on local tourism

Jan 14, 2019 | 4:18 PM

KAMLOOPS — A year after Merritt’s visitor centre closed for good last January and travellers are still stopping by the site.

“We do just to stretch our legs,” says Don Henderson, who was driving home to Summerland from Vancouver. “But we rather there was a bathroom, so we could use it as well.”

The province shut down the centre officially last Jan. 13, noting it had simply become a bathroom stop without any demand for information.

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Former mayor of Merritt Neil Menard feared the closure would drive business away, but that simply hasn’t been the case. In the last 12 months the visitor centre’s been shut down, the city says it’s actually meant more traffic for Merritt. 

“A lot of our businesses have come up and told us that since the information booth has closed, there are more people downtown,” said Merritt mayor Linda Brown. “There are now people coming through downtown, shopping downtown, stopping to get a few things. It’s created a little bit of tourism.”

The downtown businesses CFJC Today spoke with said that while their sales aren’t up signficantly, they’ve noticed more foot traffic. 

The information centre at Baillie House has noticed the same and is significantly busier. 

“They saw just under 29,000 visitors in 2018, a 21 per cent increase from the year prior,” noted Kathleen Harvey from Destination BC. “So certainly people are venturing off the highway and into downtown Merritt.”

Destination BC has made a conserted effort over the last year to direct more traffic to Merritt through signage, and it seems all parties have seen positive results thus far.