The number of tourists walking through the door at the visitor centre is closely matching last year.
The visitor centre tallies not only the number of people coming through the doors, but also the number of parties, said co-ordinator Melody Smythies.
In June 2011, there were 1,103 people coming through the door at the centre compared to 1,125 in June 2010.
The amount of parties per hour, however, was up this June, Smythies pointed out.
From July 1 to July 14, the numbers are also down slightly with 398 parties coming to the centre representing 638 people compared to 415 parties and 705 visitors last year.
The slight dip, said Smythies, could be explained by the fact the centre was open for fewer hours this June or the crummy weather we have been experiencing.
Holding those numbers steady, said Smythies, is due to a combination of marketing the town and highway signage pointing passersby to the centre.
Smythies also noted that the bulk of visitors coming through the door are passersby looking to only stop in Ladysmith before heading north or south.
“We are not getting as many people staying overnight. They are heading right through town,” said Smythies.
Barb Gust, who helps greet visitors and answer questions, said there have been a lot of European visitors to Ladysmith this year.
What do people like to see when they stop in Ladysmith?
“Mostly, we send them on the heritage walk and the artifact walk,” said Smythies.
The Holland Creek trail and anything at Transfer Beach are also enticing people to explore Ladysmith further.
Smythies predicts more of the same traffic for the rest of July to September.
Down at the Ladysmith Maritime Society, Dave Ehrismann, executive director, said the bad weather of late is to blame for a dip in the Marine Tours leaving from the dock.
The tour is also down around 21 visitors for the month of June when compared to last year.
“Really it’s because of the poor weather,” said Ehrismann, adding the society had a strong start to the year.
“Marinas across the Island are seeing the same thing. I think we are up higher than most of the operations.”
The tours, Ehrismann added, are not only for visitors and he encourages local and new residents to come out and try the tour or check out what the dock has to offer.
The tour is by donation ($10 suggested for adults, $5 for children) and can be booked by calling 250-245-0109. In July and August the tours leave daily at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
In terms of the new visitor facility planned of the marina, Ehrismann said the concrete float has arrived in Bamberton where the exterior of the structure will be built before being tugged into Ladysmith for the finishing touches — likely in September.
There is a website for the visitor facility project at www.ladysmithmaritimesociety.ca.
