Volunteers are needed for select sailings between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay.
Do you consider yourself something of a Sunshine Coast “insider?” Are you happy giving directions, offering advice on local events or keeping up with water and campfire restrictions?
Then, Sunshine Coast Tourism wants you — and your expertise — to join the Sunshine Coast Travel Ambassador crew as a volunteer.
Annie Wise, executive director of Sunshine Coast Tourism, explains the ambassador program provides information to visitors and locals on select sailing throughout the summer aboard BC Ferries Route 3, which runs between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay.
This year’s program has 14 volunteers so far for the season, which runs from May through the Thanksgiving long weekend in October, but ideally organizers would like to see between 20 to 22 take part. Volunteers typically work one, four-hour shift per week, in pairs, which includes two round trip sailings to Horseshoe Bay from Langdale — mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or afternoons, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. (depending on BC Ferries’s schedule.)
“Our volunteers provide incredible service to our visitors, helping them discover all there is to do and see on the Sunshine Coast, and providing important visitor education,” says Wise. “As a benefit, it’s a fun way to meet people from all over the world and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow ambassadors. Plus, the view can't be beat!”
The long-standing Travel Ambassador Program was launched in 1997, by the Gibsons Chamber of Commerce. This spring, the Gibsons Chamber of Commerce, along with the Sechelt and Pender Harbour chambers, merged into a single entity, the Sunshine Coast Chamber of Commerce.
With this change, Sunshine Coast Tourism was asked to take over management of the Travel Ambassador Program.
“We're thrilled to bring this program under our management and into alignment with our other programs,” says Wise, “which include not only destination marketing for the region, but also an extensive visitor services offering, as we are also the operators of the year-round, brick-and-mortar Visitor Information Centres in Sechelt and Gibsons, and the seasonal Visitor Info Booth in Pender Harbour.”
The ambassadors, wearing distinct red shirts, are the first point of contact for many visitors to the Sunshine Coast and are on hand to provide the latest in directions, traffic/construction, places of interest, activities, special events, including festivals, arts and culture, parks, trails, beaches, shopping and more.
If you’re passionate about all things Sunshine Coast, and are interested in volunteering for the Travel Ambassador Program, please email [email protected] or call 1-888-445-1808.
