New Video!
Things are a little different these days… But some things will never change. Rossland is still unspoiled, uncrowded. As we get ready to welcome our friends from BC and neighbouring provinces, we created a video that highlights some of our best and social distancing approved experiences.
Kootenay Rockies Tourism Industry is Seeking Feedback from Local Residents on Readiness to Welcome Visitors
As the province of British Columbia moves into Phase 3 of re-opening the province to travel, the tourism businesses in the Kootenay Rockies region, represented by Community Destination Marketing Organizations and Kootenay Rockies Tourism, are seeking to understand the resident’s level of comfort with visiting local businesses, travelling and welcoming visitors to their community
Please consider taking the Resident Survey to help plan the recovery of the tourism industry. This survey will only take 5 to 8 minutes of your time and is open until July 5, 2020.
A Kootenay Road Trip is Closer Than You Think
We have been working closely with Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism to develop a road trip planning resource to empower visitors to travel between Rossland, Nelson, Balfour, Ainsworth, Kalso, North Kootenay Lake, Riondel, Crawford Bay, Gray Creek, Boswell, Destiny Bay and Wyndell .
The Kootenay Road Trip offers endless views along the shores of Kootenay Lake and the Columbia River, as well as high up in the Selkirk and Purcell mountain ranges. These highlighted communities are remote, funky, inviting and provide places to stay, shopping, activities, and culinary feasts.
See our new website at: https://kootenayroadtrip.ca
S.M.A.R.T Travel Guidelines
As per provincial guidelines, we are advising current and future travellers to Rossland to make S.M.A.R.T decisions. These guidelines are as follows and can be viewed on our COVID-19 Info Page:
Before arriving in Rossland:
Know before you go. Check this page often for updates, call the Visitor Centre or contact individual businesses for details specific to your trip.
Plan to make SMART decisions:
S – Stay home or self-quarantine if you are not feeling well.
M – Measure your physical distancing (6 ft from those outside your family or travelling/household group)
A – Approriate behaviour is essential. Take responsibility for your actions. Wash your hand frequently, cough into your sleeve, have a mask on hand for when physical distancing isn’t achievable, keep your group and gatherings small.
R – Respect others and protocols. Accept that there are new ways of travelling, doing businesses and participating in activities which are all put in place to keep us ALL safe. Be kind, do not judge and do not discriminate.
T – Together we will beat COVID-19 through SMART decisions
While in Rossland:
Please adhere to physical distancing (6 feet) between anyone outside of your family or traveling unit. This is important indoors and outdoors including on trails and in parks. If physical distancing is difficult to do than we recommend wearing a mask.
Wash your hands frequently.
Be kind, respectful and have patience with others. Please read and adhere to signage. We are all in this together and our community and businesses are working under specific guidelines and very unique circumstances to ensure your safety while providing a quality experience and product.
COVID-19 safety guidelines have reduced the number of customers businesses can cater to at any given time. Many businesses have times when they are busier vs less busy within a given day or day of the week. Consider calling ahead to confirm the best times so you may be serviced more quickly.
Contact restaurants and stores to check on current hours and how busy they may be. Most offer take-out, delivery and/or pick-up services.
Help keep our first responders safe and hospitals able to handle all needs by playing safe and staying within your limits as you explore and partake in adventures in our amazing area.
Keep your dog on leash throughout town, on community trails and in local parks.
Be Safe. Be Kind.
As important as it is for visitors to follow the S.M.A.R.T guidelines we, as a community, must continue to contribute to the visitor experience in Rossland by remaining safe and kind.
We are now open for non-essential travellers and it can sometimes be difficult to navigate the individual safety precautions laid out by each individual experience provider and business owners. Please ensure that your guidelines are clear and visible to travellers and, above all, be kind to travellers that are navigating these uncertain times.
If you have specific guidelines that you would like us to add to our COVID-19 info page (ie. mandatory masks etc.) please email kylie@tourismrossland.com We will be working to add this information to our website so that travellers can be confident while exploring Rossland.
Rossland Open Air Baazar
The City of Rossland has decided to run a bi-weekly open air bazaar this summer so that local businesses can offer their customers a safe, outdoor shopping option. The events will take place in Esling Park and on Spokane Street from 2-5pm on Wednesday July 15th and 29th, August 12th and 26th
If you wish to participate, you can go to rossland.ca/recreation and click on program registration and choose the open air bazaar. Registration is free, however all participants must provide the City with proof of liability insurance naming the City as ‘additional insured’ to join.
KRT Tourism Resiliency Program
Many businesses that were not eligible for the $40,000 CEBA assistance in the past, will soon be able to apply under new eligibility criteria that include sole proprietors, those who hire contractors instead of staff, and family businesses too! If you aren’t able to access the CEBA under these new rules, there are a number of additional borrowing options and financial supports that may work for your situation.
Our Program Advisors can help you navigate these financial programs and applications, and can even set you up with our Program Experts for professional one-on-one advice!
Please register for the program through the Kootenay Rockies Tourism Resiliency Program website at https://tourismresiliency.ca/krtrp ; or by calling a Program Representative at 1-844-960-2787 (Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Mountain Time).