YORKTON — Tourism Yorkton says it has been a busy season as the city welcomes visitors from across Canada, the United States and Europe.
More than 300 guests have stopped at the community’s information centre so far this year, representing every region of Canada along with U.S. states such as Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New York, Oklahoma and Texas. Travellers from France, Switzerland and Germany have also passed through.
“Tourism Yorkton is very pleased to provide many times the first impression for visitors who are coming into the area,” said Tourism Yorkton’s Executive Director Randy Goulden. “It’s been a very busy season as we welcome people from around the world who are coming in or passing through the Yorkton area.”
The information centre promotes local attractions such as the Western Development Museum, the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery, the Painted Hand Casino and the “Crops of the Parkland” display, which features plots of local grain and oilseed varieties.
“Our information staff is trained to bring hospitality forward, but also to provide details on what we have to do in Yorkton,” Goulden said. “We’re finding now that visitors more than ever want to know about their food products and where they’re coming from.”
Goulden says the summer has been extreme for tourism, in part because Canadians are choosing to travel domestically.
“Canadians are now choosing to stay within Canada, and it might be for several reasons,” Goulden said. “One might be the currency returns in the United States, and the other might be just the whole change that’s going on in the United States right now, so they’ve chosen to stay in Canada and see their own country. We’re hearing the same thing from the people from Europe who are travelling. They’re choosing to stay either in Europe or come over and see Canada.”
She adds that it has meant a good year for the tourism industry, locally, provincially and nationally.
“Our main role is to provide economic generation of revenue for the businesses and services we have in our city. If we can stop people for a couple of hours, they may need lunch, they may visit an attraction and they may even stay overnight.”
With still a month left in the summer, Goulden said Tourism Yorkton has been busy promoting upcoming events, including a gathering at the city’s flour mill on Aug. 16.
