Open letter from the Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce regarding tourism and Salt Spring Island – March 23:
Salt Spring Island and its residents have a long history of happily welcoming thousands of visitors all year around. We are proud of our safe community and love sharing it with people from around the world.
Given the situation, we ask that you stay safely in your home to help our island, province and country deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Our community, like other small communities, has very limited resources to deal with the pandemic. It is important that our essential services are not overwhelmed by an added risk from an influx of visitors.
Salt Spring Island will be here when it’s over. We are working hard to make sure that the wonderful shops, restaurants, cafes, artisans, farmers, tour companies, accommodations and adventure operators that make Salt Spring what it is, are able to open again. We need to ensure that our businesses, their owners, their employees, and all community members remain safe and healthy so that they can offer you the world-class service that they have been providing for decades.
We also encourage our local residents to stay home, support the businesses within our community, and do your part in keeping your neighbours and essential service workers safe and healthy.
If you want to support the island community there are many ways to do so from home. Make future reservations and travel plans when travel becomes more certain, contact your favourite local businesses and purchase a gift card, order from their online stores, and follow Salt Spring Tourism on social media to dream and plan for your future trip to our tranquil island. We will be here to welcome you again.
In the meantime, we hope that you stay healthy and we look forward to welcoming you to Salt Spring Island when it’s safe to do so.
Li Read,
President, SSI Chamber of Commerce, and
Jessica Harkema,
Executive director, SSI Chamber of Commerce