Help Us Plan for the Future
The Lillooet District Historical Society (LDHS) is inviting community members to share their views about the Lillooet Museum & Visitor Centre and the services they value and wish to see maintained in the future.
As the Society plans for 2027, the Board is considering the financial resources, staffing and organizational capacity required to operate the Museum & Visitor Centre sustainably. Community feedback will be one important source of information in that process.
About the Museum & Visitor Centre
The Lillooet District Historical Society is a non-profit society responsible for operating the Lillooet Museum & Visitor Centre.
- operating the Museum and providing public access to local history and heritage;
- caring for and providing access to the Museum’s collections and archives;
- responding to local and family-history research requests;
- providing Visitor Centre services and information to visitors and residents;
- delivering community heritage programming and activities; and
- working with community organizations and partners on heritage and tourism initiatives.
The Museum building at 790 Main Street is owned by the District of Lillooet. Under the longstanding agreement between the District and LDHS, the Society operates the building as a community museum, while the District is responsible for matters including building maintenance, heating, lighting and building insurance.
How the Museum & Visitor Centre is Funded
LDHS relies on a combination of funding sources to operate the Museum & Visitor Centre.
In 2026, the District of Lillooet provided $22,000 in annual operating support. The Society also receives funding from Destination BC for Visitor Centre services, government employment and program grants, project-specific grants, admissions, donations and other revenue.
Many grants and funding programs are restricted to specific purposes and cannot be used for general operating expenses. As a result, not all funding received by the Society is available to support ongoing core operations.
Visitor Activity
Visitor activity has changed significantly in 2026.
From May through August 2025, the Museum & Visitor Centre recorded 7,633 visitors. During the same four-month period in 2026, 2,839 visitors were recorded — a decrease of approximately 63% compared with the previous year.
The 2026 tourism season was affected by unusual external circumstances, including changes in travel patterns associated with FIFA and periods of wildfire activity and smoke. While FIFA represents an unusual one-time circumstance, wildfire and smoke impacts are an increasingly recurring consideration for summer tourism and operations.
Visitor numbers are only one measure of the Museum & Visitor Centre’s role in the community. LDHS also provides heritage, collections, research, community programming and visitor-information services that are not fully reflected in visitor counts alone.
Why We Are Asking
The Board is considering what a sustainable operating model for 2027 should look like.
The community survey will help the Board understand which Museum & Visitor Centre services people value, what services they consider priorities, and their views about future services, sustainable public funding and opportunities for community support.
The survey is not a referendum, and its results will not independently determine future operations. The Board will consider community feedback together with available operating funds, confirmed and potential grant funding, staffing and leadership capacity, Visitor Centre obligations, Museum operational requirements and the overall sustainability of the organization.
Have Your Say
The survey takes approximately 3–5 minutes to complete and will remain open until Thursday, October 15, 2026.
Complete the Lillooet Museum & Visitor Centre Community Survey
Paper copies of the survey will also be available at several locations around Lillooet. Completed paper surveys may be returned at the location where they were picked up or at the Lillooet Museum & Visitor Centre.
Survey results will be reviewed by the LDHS Board as part of its planning for 2027 and will help inform future discussions with the District of Lillooet. A summary of the findings will also be shared at the LDHS Annual General Meeting on November 19, 2026.