Tourism Vernon has fully embraced the new mobile and digital world.
Last year, as COVID hit, the Vernon Visitor Information Centre closed and since then Tourism Vernon and the City of Vernon have decided the city doesn't need a bricks and mortar visitor centre anymore.
Instead, Vernon Tourism's website and social media platforms have been beefed up and the agency also interacts with the public via phone and email.
And new this summer is the Tourism Vernon mobile visitor servicing team.
The team is summer students Morgan Mardiros and Paige Latte who work remotely by setting up pop-up booths at popular locations and cruise the Okanagan Rail Trail on e-bikes.
For instance, this week, the pair will pop-up at Davison Orchard, Kin Beach and Polson Park and traverse the Rail Trail from the trailhead in Coldstream to Kekuli Bay and back.
They have brochures to hand out and frisbees, water bottles and straws to give away.
They'll also let you know that you can connect anytime at TourismVernon.com and get digital maps there, or on Facebook, Instagram, email at info@tourismvernon and phone at 250-542-1415.
"More and more people are using online platforms to research and book their trip and this behaviour seems to continue once they are here in Vernon," said Tourism Vernon manager Torrie Silverthorne.
"Visitors are relying heavily on the internet for their information, so we need to make sure we're capturing that audience. Our mobile team will offer the in-person engagement so many people love, while at the same time ensuring we're meeting visitors where they are, and not the other way around."
In 2006, the Vernon Visitor Information Centre had 25,429 tourists drop in.
By 2019, that number had plunged 58% to 10,583, a strong indication people are getting most of their information online.
