Grits plan to overhaul flawed campground booking system

Posted: 3:13 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 5, 2016

Manitoba’s Liberals have a plan to make the headaches surrounding campground bookings a little less painful.

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Manitoba’s Liberals have a plan to make the headaches surrounding campground bookings a little less painful.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/04/2016 (3641 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s Liberals have a plan to make the headaches surrounding campground bookings a little less painful.

Ian McCausland, the Liberal candidate for Assiniboia, announced Tuesday his party would see campsite registrations accepted six months in advance of the first day of booking.

This simple date change would ease the burden on a system that crashed on Monday due to a technical glitch, explained McCausland. Monday’s glitch on the opening day of bookings, caused some people to be knocked off the site completely and others to wait for an hour to book. He said it took him three hours to book his campsite on Monday.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Ian McCausland, Liberal candidate for Assiniboia, right, with his wife Lynda, left, go over the campaign trail. — BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ian McCausland, Liberal candidate for Assiniboia, right, with his wife Lynda, left, go over the campaign trail.

“Every year the NDP’s online registration system cannot accommodate demand, forcing long wait for campers,” he said. “It is an unnecessary complication for busy families and one the NDP has refused to correct, despite citizens repeatedly voicing their concerns.

The NDP announced last month that if re-elected it would double the amount of yurts in the province, McCausland said it is more important to focus on the inherent system than pledging to add more accommodations.

“It speaks to the idea that the NDP are already on to another release on yurts or wi-fi on the campgrounds, but the inherent system that allows campers to make those reservations is inherently flawed,” he said.

By noon on Monday, a total of 12,009 campsites were already booked at 19 provincial parks, while another 51 back camps and 21 Yurts had also been snagged.

A total of 12,952 campsites were booked by noon last year.

McCausland made the announcement by himself, without the presence of leader Rana Bokhari. He said it is an issue that is passionate to him, so he asked her if he could be lead on this announcement.

“Everyone is out on their campaign trails,” he replied when asked why Bokhari couldn’t have made the announcement with him.