InteriorNEWS THE
SMITHERS, B.C.
105th Year - Week 39
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
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TOUR DE NORTH Cops Ride for Cancer raises money for Camp Goodtimes.
SPORTS/A19
WALK FOR AIDS AIDS Walk for Life takes to the streets.
COMMUNITY/A9
COPS RIDE FOR CANCER The Cops Ride For Cancer, the Tour de North rolled into Smithers last week as they cycle from Prince George to Prince Rupert. Dan Mesec photo
Smithers tourism having great season By Percy N. Hébert Smithers/Interior News
MALLOW HEAVEN Kimberly sets her sights high for luxury marshmallows.
OUR TOWN/A11
INSIDE LETTERS A7 COMMUNITY A9 OUR TOWN A11 SPORTS A19 THREE RIVERS B1 CLASSIFIEDS B7
It’s been a good tourism season for Smithers, despite changes to fishing regulations. From the top of Hudson Bay Mountain to the streets of Smithers and the surrounding rivers, speakers at the Smithers Chamber of Commerce luncheon had nothing but good news. Tourism contributes an estimated $25 million to the Smithers economy, Gladys Atrill of Tourism Smithers said. One of the big smiles belonged to Chrissy Driedger from Hudson Bay Mountain thanks to the success of the summer chairlift program and renovations to the Skyline Lodge. “We saw a 63 per cent increase in chairlift rides this summer,” Driedger said. Trips up Hudson Bay Mountain
were filled with an equal mix of residents and visitors. Adding to the success of the chairlift was the popularity of the halibut and chips visitors to the top of the mountain could purchase, Driedger added. With this summer’s success and good progress being made on the real-estate project atop the mountain, Driedger said HBC had one main focus. “We’re looking to make the ski hill a year-round destination,” she said. Fergus Tomlin, director of the Bulkley Valley Museum admitted he couldn’t be happier with what turned out to be a busy summer, especially for the museum’s Culture Crawl activity. “It was very, successful,” he said. The crawl is a self-guided tour of Smithers featuring unique
architecture as well as small museum displays set up in various businesses around town. “It gets people out of their cars and into businesses and the museum,” Tomlin said. With the success there are plans for expansion. Tomlin is developing a FiveRiver Crawl, encompassing nine museums from Burns Lake to Hazelton. Fishing is a big part of the tourism market for Smithers and recent changes to fishing regulations regarding non-resident anglers have put Smithers Tourism to the challenge. The result is a campaign branded as Steelhead Paradise, aimed primarily at out-of-country salmon fishers. New provincial regulations prohibit non-residents from fishing for salmon on weekends and as such
can impact how long they spend in the Bulkley Valley. The Steelhead Paradise strategy has a singular goal. “We want anglers to know they’re welcome here,” she said. The challenge, Atrill said is to keep the non-resident anglers in the Bulkley Valley when they can’t fish. The Steelhead Paradise website showcases options for non-resident fishers, including identifying river locations where non-residents can fish on weekends and where to fish for other species of fish. The website also lists a variety of activities visitors can take in while staying in the region, such as golfing and rafting, in addition to the restaurants and lodging facilities. “It’s a strategy to keep [nonresident] anglers busy when they can’t fish,” Atrill said. For information visit www. steelheadparadise.com, or www.
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