'It looks completely empty here, and I really can't blame people.'
VANCOUVER — British Columbia's record wildfire season has affected travel bookings in some areas, but other regions have seen continued tourism demand despite their proximity to active blazes.
Brian Cant, acting president at 4VI, a travel and tourism agency on Vancouver Island, says the closure in June of Highway 4 to Tofino caused a "small dip" in overall trips to the island that month. Kootenay Rockies Tourism CEO Kathy Cooper says there has been a drop in business in parts of the region, but places like Cranbrook — 15 kilometres south of the active St. Mary's River wildfire — have actually seen bookings rise this summer as the smoke clears from many communities.
Cooper says the group is very active on social media, posting real-time photos from around the region so that "people can see what it actually looks like" at a given location "at this particular hour."Upton, at the Lac Le Jeune resort, says he can't imagine bookings returning to normal without the nearby fire dramatically pulling back or being extinguished outright.
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