As B.C. enters Phase 3 of restarting its economy, the mayor of Kamloops says the city is ready to welcome people from around the province.

Ken Christian says Kamloops plans to take part in a B.C. travel initiative with Destination B.C. to promote local tourism areas.

“I had a conversation with Lisa Beare, the Minister of Sports, Culture and Tourism, last week. She asked me that very question, is Kamloops prepared? Certainly on the basis on the research done by Tourism Kamloops, we seem quite prepared to welcome to regional tourists to Kamloops,” he said.

“[There is] Wells Gray Park, the Shuswap Lakes, and even some of the smaller kind of facilities. Those are the kinds of places that I think we need to rediscover.”

Christian adds that he expects the Canada-U.S. border to stay closed for some time, based partially on a significant spike in COVID-19 cases in Washington state.

“There’s really no epidemiological difference between central British Columbia and Washington state other than the 49th parallel, so I don’t see that opening anytime soon,” he noted.

B.C. is urging out-of-province travellers to follow health guidelines if they visit this summer, with the Premier John Horgan saying he expects visitors to abide by the rules that British Columbians have been following over the past few months to limit the spread of the virus.

Horgan previously said he is hoping that people from across Canada will visit B.C. once restrictions are eased, in the hopes of making up for the lack of international tourists.