The City of Estevan is getting ready for the start of the busy tourism season by hiring its second tourism employee, and extending the hours for the visitor information centre inside the Estevan Leisure Centre.
Madison Colbow has been hired to work for the summer, joining Denille Schroeder in the visitor centre. Colbow has worked for the city in the past, largely in the public works division, and is excited to now be in tourism.
“I’ve always been with labour jobs with the city, and it’s different from just being out there all of the time and coming in here and doing something completely different, but I’m having a lot fun,” said Colbow.
During her first day, she believes she met more than 100 people, thanks to Rebecca Westling, the destination marketing and communications consultant for the City of Estevan, who introduced her to people in the community.
A long-time Estevan resident, Colbow already knew lots of people, but she has met even more since moving into her current role.
She has been posting on social media, promoting events, updating the events calendar and uploading videos on what is happening in the community.
“I really want to get more on the video side of things,” said Colbow.
She has a degree in radio, television and broadcasting from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, so the video component is definitely of interest to her.
Colbow is looking forward to showcasing everything Estevan has to offer, particularly when it comes to sports, since that is her background.
Westling said she hopes the information centre will be a busy area during the summer months, thanks to the energy tours and all of the events that happen in the community during the summer.
“Typically in the summer months we are quite busy,” said Westling. “Last year when we were here we saw an increase in the number of people in the visitor centre because of the location change.”
Residents have been coming in and utilizing it more often, allowing Tourism Estevan to share experiences and promote what a great community Estevan really is.
Westling is also looking forward to the arrival of the tour guide that the Westmoreland Coal Company typically hires for the mining tours in the summer months.
“That position is in conjunction with the city, Westmoreland Coal and SaskPower,” said Westling. “That person will be here in the office as well.”
Usually the tour guide starts in early May after some training with Westmoreland for a few days, and then comes to train with the city. Their activity level usually starts after the May long weekend.
Westling also noted that organizations can sell tickets to their events through the information centre.
The hours for information centre will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, from May 4 until the end of August.
At the end of the summer, the city will then determine what the hours will be going forward.
