The Creston Valley experienced an uptick in visitors this summer, thanks largely to the new location of the local farmers’ market.
The park next to the Visitor Centre, named ʔak̓uǂni, was developed by the Town of Creston over the last two years to permanently host the market. It officially opened to the public in April, featuring amenities such as a new parking lot, paved pathways, picnic tables, and a teepee representing the Yaqan Nukiy.
“The return of the farmers’ market to this location has been transformative, bringing this entire stretch along Highway 3 to life and creating a vibrant, bustling atmosphere every Saturday,” said Amy Maddess, Visitor Centre co-ordinator.
She added the location promotes people mingling, checking out the Kunze Gallery across the street, and shopping downtown.
“I think having that highway visibility is really important,” said Maddess. “People passing through see a whole market happening, then they'll pull over and check it out. It's a really good little economic hub that is happening here.”
More than 13,000 travellers were recorded at the Visitor Centre so far this year, with August standing out as the busiest month, attracting just over 3,700. On any given Saturday, the data shows between 300 to 400 people were visiting the farmers’ market.
As a Destination BC site, staff are required to track statistics on the number of people visiting, where they’re from, the duration of their stay, and what they want to see and do in the area.
“Whether they're looking for adventure, recreation, hiking, or maybe just a spot to go for lunch before hitting the road again - we try and tally all that information,” said Maddess.
During the interview with the Advance, a visitor stopped in from Trail who was on the hunt for fresh fruit but was delighted to find donuts from Mountain Barn and quilting supplies at Sew Peachy Sewing Studio as she drove into town. Maddess provided some more details on local hiking trails, and she happily left with some pamphlets and maps.
It’s common to see travellers from all over the Kootenays as well as the U.S. and Europe passing through town. As part of the Destination BC network, staff promotes tourism not only for the Creston Valley, but the wider region and province too.
“We are a bit of a gateway for travellers, so they're going in all directions,” said Maddess. “We get a lot that are heading to Alaska or Vancouver Island, so we try and have a bit of information to help get them going on their way.”
And it’s not just world travellers that utilize the Visitor Centre’s services - locals come in regularly to ask questions too.
“Quite often when you live somewhere, you don't know everything that is available to you,” said Maddess. “We always have up-to-date information on all the weekly events happening, local business hours, and what you can do if you have family visiting from out of town.”
Negative impacts on tourism
Confusion about wildfires is one factor that hurt tourism in the valley. The raging blaze in Argenta this summer sent a smokey haze into Creston, making some people think it was closer than it actually was.
“People were just assuming not to come to this area, which is unfortunate because everything was fine here. But for a lot of travellers, the moment that they hear about fire or they see smoke, they're instantly on guard and a little fearful.”
Despite concerns the 2024 tourism season would be impacted by fruit shortages at Creston’s orchards, Maddess said there doesn’t seem to be a correlation.
“It's really hard to say because the Saturday market has really boosted our numbers,” she said. “There has been some disappointment from people who travel through every year to take home 100 pounds of cherries or peaches. And a lot of people travel for the u-picks and to take photos of the blooms.”
She believes the news headlines about dying fruit crops had more of a negative impact than anything else, by deterring potential visitors from making the trip, which in turn caused wineries to lose business.
“People read that and automatically think, ‘Well, I can't go there because they don't have any grapes.’ When really, (the wineries) were fully open with their wines from previous years.”
When concerns arise, visitors are educated on what is still available or redirected to alternative activities. Fortunately, recent years have seen new businesses opening their doors - such as Red Bird Estate Winery, Wild North Brewing, and Sternwheeler Craft Distillery - helping to extend visitors' stays.
“It creates more things for people to do and adds to making a whole day of it,” said Maddess. “Instead of spending an afternoon here, they could spend a whole weekend to take in all of these things.”
