In collaboration with Destinations Osoyoos,Tourism British Columbia is pleased to announce that the team of J Forsyth Contracting, Meiklejohn Architects Inc. and Bridgemaker Consulting of Penticton have been selected as the contractor to build an improved Visitor Centre at the junction of Highway 97 and Highway 3 in Osoyoos.

Visitor Centres play a key role in providing information and services to visitors of the province, and are part of Tourism BC's strategic marketing efforts. As an example, in 2005 Visitor Centre Counsellors at BC's 113 Visitor Centres provided travel counselling and advice to more than 1.7 million visitor parties (3.3 million visitors) and research suggests that visitors that speak with a Travel Counsellor are more likely to spend more time and money in British Columbia.

"This Centre will not only become an important new resource for the large volume of visitors who travel in this region, it will also act as a gateway to the rich and unique heritage of the area, including First Nations heritage as well as agricultural richness," said Penticton-Okanagan Valley MLA Bill Barisoff. "Providing high level visitor servicing and detailed travel information is one more way our region is moving towards doubling the tourism industry by 2015."

In 2005 nearly 270,000 international customs entries were through the Thompson Okanagan region. The majority of the customs entries were through Osoyoos (55.1%). In 2005, Travel Counsellors at the Osoyoos Visitor Centre provided travel counselling to over 44,600 visitors, an increase of 30.8% compared to 2004. Recognizing the significance of these findings, at the 2005 Tourism Industry Conference Premier Gordon Campbell made the announcement that the provincial government would invest two million dollars to build a gateway visitor centre in Osoyoos.

"The Town of Osoyoos is very excited about this project as it demonstrates the partnership we have with the Osoyoos Indian Band, Destinations Osoyoos, Tourism BC and the province," said John Slater, Mayor of Osoyoos. "The creative design will enhance the visual impact to all visitors of the South Okanagan."

Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie agrees. "The visitor centre is an example of what can be achieved through partnerships between First Nations and their neighbours, and will have a positive economic impact on both communities and the entire South Okanagan."

Tender for the design and construction of the building was released in October with a great deal of interest from the building community. After careful consideration, J Forsythe Contracting, Meiklejohn Artichitects Inc. and Bridgemaker Consulting was selected. Highlights of their proposal include a design concept based on a large open hall that provides natural light with local First Nations pictographs and the use of materials and forms influenced by the local geography and climate. The Centre will be operated on behalf of Tourism BC by Destinations BC and is expected to open October 2006.

"The design and construction for this project are already underway," said Cal Meiklejohn of Meiklejohn Architects Inc. "We have received positive feedback about the concept from the Town of Osoyoos, Tourism British Columbia and the First Nations community and we are thrilled to be involved in such a landmark building."