Numbers of visitors to Powell River increased this summer, but fewer people relied on BC Ferries to get here.
A total of 3,949 visitors came in to Tourism Powell River’s visitor information centre from June through August, up almost 7.5 per cent over last year’s total of 3,674, said Tracey Ellis, centre manager.
“That number does not include the 426 visitors that our roaming ambassadors served at events and in popular tourist locations,” she said.
Tourism Powell River collects statistics on visitors’ nationality, how long they plan to stay in Powell River and what kind of tourism information they request.
Visitor demographics (compared to June, July and August 2013) included:
• Locals, 584, increase of 3.18 per cent;
• BC, 585, decrease of 2.44 per cent;
• Alberta, 80, decrease of 2.44 per cent;
• Rest of Canada, 117, decrease of 44.80 per cent;
• US and Mexico, 215, increase of 59.26 per cent.
She said there has been particular interest in Duck Lake recreation area and Sunshine Coast Trail as well as Powell River’s heritage attractions, which she added have become increasingly popular for tourism in communities across the country. Visitors also made more requests than last year for information about Savary Island and Desolation Sound.
“There’s keen interest in our heritage attractions,” she added.
Bert Finnamore, heritage manager at Powell River Historical Museum and Archives, said the museum saw significantly higher numbers of visitors at the museum this summer. From June to August, 589 visitors from out of town visited the museum, an increase of close to 50 per cent over summer 2013.
Despite data showing increased numbers of visitors in Powell River, traffic statistics from BC Ferries show a decrease in numbers of both cars and passengers on Route 17, Little River/Westview, and Route 7, Saltery Bay/Earls Cove.
Vehicle traffic decreased on the Vancouver Island route by 2.23 per cent and passenger numbers also decreased by 2.93 per cent compared to summer 2013.
Vehicle traffic on the Sunshine Coast route decreased by 1.97 per cent and the number of passengers decreased by 2.1 per cent over the summer compared to the same period last year.
A possible explanation for this could be that more people are visiting Powell River by using their own boats.
Joe Hooper, owner of Westview Fuels, the gas dock located in the south harbour, said that overall he did more business from tourist traffic than previous years, though the lackluster prawning season in June meant less business from fishermen.
David Carberry, wharfinger for Powell River’s north and south harbours, said it felt like the harbour had more traffic this summer compared to last.
Lund harbour manager Denise Denhold reported that during the months of July and August, there were 1,650 visitor boat nights and more than 800 short-term day visits on top of approximately 110 to 120 local and seasonal local boats in the harbour.
Denhold said that July traffic was about 30 per cent more than records for July 2013, with August staying steady with similar numbers as last year.
