The Estevan and District Board of Tourism, Trade and Commerce's (TTC) Visitor Information Centre, located on the TTC’s grounds west of the city on Highway 39, opened on May 20.

Two summer employees, Alicia Knight and Chelsea Hinrichsen, have been hired to work at the centre. TTC tourism and marketing coordinator Kevin D’Souza said they have already provided good feedback.

Knight is an amateur photographer who has experience in graphic design. D’Souza said it will help with advertising and printed materials. Hinrichsen has a background with event planning, and she has worked backstage with theatre companies.

“They're phenomenal people, which will help, too, since it (the visitor reception centre) is the first point of contact,” said D'Souza.

This year is an important one for the TTC’s long-term tourism planning efforts, D'Souza said.

“It will be a learning experience trying to find out where people come from, what they want to see in our visitor information centre,” said D’Souza. “We're looking at adding more things.”

Some local businesses have submitted promotional materials for the Visitor Information Centre. D'Souza said he would like to see more companies in the Estevan area stock the centre’s shelves with information.

And he would like to see increased traffic at the centre. D’Souza said he obviously wants out-of-town people to stop in and learn more about Estevan and Saskatchewan. But he also wants people from Estevan to pick up materials that the centre has on destinations in Saskatchewan and western Canada.