Kensington Welcome Centre to open by mid-May

Efforts are underway to ensure the Kensington Welcome Centreopens for the upcoming tourism season.

The future of the centre was in doubt after a bumpy season last year.

Derrick Hoare saidthe Central Coastal Tourism Partnership wasaskedtake over operation of the centre and plans to open it by the middle of May.

"The one piece we don't know ... isthe funding, both provincially and federally, for the staffing."

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Hoare said if the money does notcome through in time, "it will be people like myself manning the desk to get us up and running."

He said a number of people have volunteered to take shifts at the centre,"which is great, because italso gives us an idea of what ... the tourists are asking."

Kensington'sa great town. Derrick Hoare,Central Coastal Tourism Partnership

Speaking toCBCRadio'sMainstreet P.E.I., Hoare,who is chair of the partnership, said there were issues last year with the welcome centre not being open consistently, and "it opened late in the season and didn't run as long into the year as the operators would have liked."

Still, Hoare saidthe Kensington Area Tourism Association "did a wonderful job" running things last year, andin spite of the issues, the centre"saw about 10,000 visitors, which is a fair number of folk."

When officials with the partnership looked at the budget after taking over in the fall, Hoare saidtheyrealized there was a $15,000 shortfall, and not enough money to keep the tourism centre going.

The town ofKensingtonhas stepped in with $5,000, Hoare said, andnow through fundraising efforts and people comingforward to volunteer, things are looking up.

There is alive and silent auction to help support thecentre set for May 13, and people in town showed up to help get the place in shape for opening day, which he called a wonderful community effort.

"Kensington's a great town ... people spending their Saturday to come out with a bucket ... everybody gave what they had to give."

Hoare said the goal is for the Kensington Welcome Centre to be self-sufficient within the next two to three years and to establish itself as a hub for visitorstothe area.

"If they stop and have the opportunityto talk to local folks, then they'll understand what's available and they'll spend some time there," he said.

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