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Prince Rupert businesses need to get cruise-friendly

I agree with the editorial in your April 11 newspaper that said our whole community should work together

Editor:

I agree with the editorial in your April 11th newspaper (“It’s time to really sell Prince Rupert”) that said our whole community should work together to welcome the passengers of the Holland America cruise ship on Friday, May 4th.

People in our community have a lot of good ideas. One of the best ideas is making our city a nice cruise port. But turning ideas into action takes hard work and dedication. I know this from personal experience. My husband and I have operated Fairview Restaurant on 3rd Avenue for more than twenty-five years, as well as the former Fishermen Co-op for 12 years in the 1970s.

As part of the business community and members of the Prince Rupert Chinese Association, we are excited about what is possible if we work to welcome cruise ships.

Last week I learned about the “Cruise Friendly Business” program, which is sponsored by the Prince Rupert Cruise Task Force group. This is a program that gets local businesses to stay open all day on May 4th, and to show a poster in the window welcoming guests to come inside. Some businesses can have special deals for cruise visitors.

Fairview Restaurant is proud to be a Cruise Friendly Business this year. We’ve lived here for a long time (48 years short!), and we remember when the cruise ships visited a lot more often. But this is our first time to make such a public statement that cruise passengers are important.

If people from the ship just walk up and down our streets and see closed signs, what a shame. But what if they see windows with welcoming posters? What if they come inside and get a friendly greeting and hear that there is a special offer for them? They will tell their friends and they will tell the cruise ship companies. People will hear about what a special place Prince Rupert is, and we will get a good reputation.

So I want to challenge all the other business owners in Prince Rupert to sign up as a Cruise Friendly

Business.  May-be you will get some good sales on May 4th. But it’s about more too.

It is about being a community that believes we have a good future. It is about joining in with the lots of volunteers, even young people, who are making May 4th really special. It’s about working hard, all together, because showing hospitality is a good idea.

The Port Authority is the place to call if you want to sign up.

If we can all do this, then I think Prince Rupert will have a lot to be proud of.  And I think the world will start to sit up and notice.

Amy Wong