Castlegar one of only six B.C. towns to be featured on Expedia tourism site
By Kyra Hoggan
Castlegar is poised to become a tourism destination location, with Expedia’s feature of the city just having gone live on the worldwide web.
“Expedia is a travel site that people use to nook accommodations, to explore places to travel, to arrange tour packages – it runs the whole gamut,” said Castlegar and District Chamber of Commerce executive director Tammy Verigin-Burk. “Millions of people go to that website every year.”
Adding to the cache is the fact the Castlegar is one of only six B.C. towns that Expedia is showcasing.
“Every three to five years they re-look to decide what areas they want to highlight – they like to showcase specific areas,” said Verigin-Burk, adding that Expedia approached the chamber and sent a photographer to the city back in August.
“They were very interested in Castlegar – they were looking at several places in the Kootenays, but when they came to Castlegar, there was so much to photograph, they chose to focus on us,” she said, adding that she was blown away by how many photos of the city are now on the tourism site.
She said it dovetails perfectly with another very critical tourism initiative – the municipal/regional district hotel tax, which will come into effect on Jan. 1. The money raised (two per cent from every room sale, in buildings with more than six rooms) will go directly toward marketing the city/district.
To see how Expedia is presenting Castlegar to the world, visit:http://www.expedia.com/pictures/british-columbia/castlegar.d6058314http://www.expedia.com/pictures/british-columbia/castlegar.d6058314
