March 3, 2005 for immediate release

A survey on the attractiveness of Prince George as a tourism destination has shown that Prince George could improve its status as atourism destination by cleaning up the downtown and increasing the number ofcultural and historical attractions.

The survey was conducted by fourth-year students in the UNBCResource Recreation and Tourism (RRT) program. Over a two week period inOctober and November of 2004, 129 residents of Prince George and 82 visitors to the citywere surveyed.

Among visitors, the following results were found:

• Most were visiting family and friends, or here for business and entertainment. Many visitors had been to Prince George multiple times, and were staying in hotels, or with family and friends;
• Visitors supported the development of a major focus or attraction for Prince George;
• Visitors felt that a clean-up and revitalisation of the downtown core is needed;

The survey results have also shown that local residentssupport tourism development:

• Tourism is perceived to play an important role in the Prince George economy;
• The most unattractive qualities of the city (from a tourism perspective) were identified to be the downtown core and the local air quality;
• Residents believed that Prince George could improve it status as a tourism destination by cleaning up the downtown and increasing its cultural and historical attractions.

Two weeks ago, the results were presented to officials inthe local tourism community.

“The key finding from my perspective is that there issupport for further tourism development in Prince George, particularly in theform of improving the downtown and establishing Prince George as a destination knownfor cultural and heritage tourism,” says RRT professor Anne Hardy. “With the 2010Games approaching, Prince Georgehas a real chance to further develop its tourism products and infrastructureand increase its profile.”

Contact:

Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC - 250.960.5622