Rocky Mountaineer, owner and operator of the world-acclaimed Rocky Mountaineer train is pleased to announce its sponsorship of Kamloops, BC Speed Skater, Tori Spence through a continued partnership with BC’s Growing Champions. With a strong commitment to sustainable development and supporting the communities through which the train operates, it was a natural choice for Rocky Mountaineer to foster the ambitions of an athlete from Kamloops, one of the overnight stops along the two-day rail journey. The sponsorship will help Tori pursue her goal to qualify for the national team and represent Canada in the 2014 and 2018 Winter Games. Read the full story

Rocky Mountaineer is changing its schedule starting in April, bringing a steadier flow of tourists through Kamloops.

James Terry, the rail tour company’s executive vice-president and chief operations officer, will discuss the change this evening in a presentation to the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association’s AGM. The meeting takes place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Plaza Heritage Hotel, 405 Victoria St. Read the full story

Look out to the left, the captain said, and you can see killer whales. Now that’s not the kind of invitation you expect when you’re on a car ferry, especially if you are more used to the hop between Dover and Calais, when there is normally nothing to see… except other ferries.

But this was Canada and I was on a 90-minute crossing from Swartz Bay near Victoria on Vancouver Island to Tsawwassen, about 15 miles south of the city of Vancouver on the Canadian mainland.

For me, the sight of whales is one of those things that always thrill me to my boots (like the sudden and occasional views of Concorde we used to get). But, clearly, they are no big deal to Canadians, since few of my fellow passengers bothered to stir themselves from their breakfasts to catch a glimpse of the passing pod.

People are just used to things being on an epic scale here, and not just the wildlife. Vancouver Island, for example, may look like a dot on the map - inviting comparisons with the Isle of Wight - yet it is nearly 300 miles long and some 50 miles broad at its widest point.

Standing out on deck, gazing east, I strained for my first sight of the Rockies. On the horizon is what looks like a sweep of steepling peaks but as you approach, these turn out to be modest foothills. Beyond lurk the real mountains. So, even on these first tentative steps towards the country’s heart, you begin to grasp that this is a place created on a vast scale. It’s the world’s second biggest country, roughly 36 times the size of Britain, but is home to 33million people - half the UK’s population.

I had arrived in Canada via the ‘back door’ after taking another ferry, the high-speed service from Seattle to Victoria. One minute I was in fast-paced America - Seattle is home to Starbucks, Boeing and Microsoft - the next, I was in Victoria, taking the five-minute walk from the sedate ferry terminal to the even more sedate Empress Hotel.

It’s a journey of just a couple of hours up from the US, but Canada is light years apart from the States in most respects. Victoria, the state capital of British Columbia, feels more like Torquay. Actually, given the ever-present Scottish heritage that surrounds you in Canada, you are reminded more of, say, Rothesay on the Isle of Bute.

In America, you never feel able to drop your guard but in Canada I felt instantly as if I had never left home.

At the excellent Empress Hotel, for example, they serve a regular lunchtime curry buffet as fine as anything you can find on a British high street. And at any time of day you can always be sure of a real cup of tea.

The Empress Hotel, by the way, provides a worthy introduction to the chain of magnificent ‘railway hotels’ - now under the Fairmont banner - that stretches right across Canada. Like the country itself, these hotels are built on a grand scale in a style described as ‘chateau-esque’.
..

By Frank Barrett, Mail Online, >>> continue reading

Railway Map Guide:British Columbia & Canadian Rockies

It’s full-steam-ahead for Rocky Mountaineer Vacations (RMV), despite the tough times facing the tourism industry.

With only a month to go before the first trains start rolling through the River City, the rail-tour company is optimistic this will be a successful season.

However, RMV acknowledged the global economic crunch has affected the company’s early bookings.

Hubert Wat, RMV’s vice-president of marketing, pointed out it’s too early in the booking season to know exactly where numbers are at, but, in speaking with partners in the industry, he said the drop could be anywhere from five per cent to 50 per cent.

“We’re certainly trying to measure what kind of impact the recession is going to play in the mindset as we move into the spring season,” Wat told KTW.

“We’ll have a better idea once we get a lot of our bookings in just prior to the season.”

RMV, which is entering its 20th season, offers three rail routes for travellers, two of which make overnight stops in Kamloops.

The company completed the 2008 season with flat growth.

Despite the gloomy projections, RMV said it has no plans to make any cuts to its core product.

It’s a far cry from the erroneous , that surfaced in December, suggesting the company was headed for receivership.

Instead, Wat said RMV is being proactive, ramping up its marketing budget, which will focus on attracting short-haul customers from Canada and the U.S.

And Kamloops remains a big part of RMV’s plans.

In an effort to enhance its entertainment experience, RMV has a new show this season, Rhythm on the Rails, which will be performed during its stops in Kamloops.

The company is already looking forward to 2010, which could include staggered departure times — instead of the current three overnight stays per week in Kamloops, the number could jump to six per week.

“We’re actually looking to see how we can enhance even more business generation into Kamloops,” Wat said.

The company also spent millions investing in its rail yard in Kamloops, with $1 million going into a new locomotive pit, while the city spent $300,000 to pave the Lorne Street parking lot where RMV unloads its passengers.

Source Link: By Jeremy Deutsch, Kamloops This Week

ADVENTURE World has just released a “Spring Bonus Offer” from Rocky Mountaineer, where you receive a $265 credit per adult when you book a five nights or more “Goldleaf Service” package.

The credit can be used on a range of product from Rocky Mountaineer including pre and post package accommodation, sight seeing tours, car rental, meal plans and Whistler Mountaineer day trips.

An example of a tour that qualifies from the offer is the six day “Canadian Rockies Highlights” from $2999 per person twin share. This tour begins in Vancouver and travels through Kamloops, Banff, Lake Louise with the journey finishing in Calgary.

The package includes two days aboard the Rocky Mountaineer, five nights hotel accommodation, some meals, sightseeing such as glacier helicopter tour, ranch tours, national parks pass, fuel surcharge and luggage handling fees.

The offer is valid for new bookings made before March 16, for travel from April 15 to 25 and conditions apply.

Source Link: Travel Blackboard

Source Link: by Jeremy Deutsch Kamloops This Week