Travellers will be able to access the Internet at the tourist information kiosk on Highway 97 in Trout Creek as the Summerland Chamber of Economic Development and Tourism has launched the province’s first wifi hotspot.
The service was opened on Monday morning, at the start of Small Business Week in B.C.
The hotspot — the first of its kind in the province — was approved by the provincial Ministry of Transportation and supported by the municipality with funding support from Shaw Cable.
“Visitor services are a gateway to the community so by providing this new wifi location, we have the opportunity to showcase our members and draw people off the highway into our inviting downtown,” said chamber president Arlene Fenrich. “This will allow our visitor traffic a safe, appealing place to pull over, check their emails and find easily accessible member information regarding places to stay, play, eat and shop while in our community.”
The first page accessed from the pullout has information from the chamber on accommodations, restaurants, tourist attractions and businesses in the community.
Nick Yeoman of Frostybot Web Design and Brent Petkau of Petkau Infotech spent many volunteer hours setting up and creating the Summerland landing page.