Parliament Hill ends summer evening tours
CBC News
Posted: Jun 30, 2012 9:40 AM ET
Last Updated: Jun 30, 2012 1:30 PM ET
Parliament Hill has put an end to summer evening tours of the Centre Block, including stops at the Peace Tower and the House of Commons, starting this weekend.
Evening tours at Parliament Hill were a staple of the busy summer tourist season for years, but have been eliminated as a cost-cutting measure.
Tours that normally ended at 7:30 p.m. now end at 4:30 p.m.
Lynn Potter with the Parliamentary Library — which runs the tours — said the shortened times for July and August tours will work out to about 20,000 fewer visitors.
More than 300,000 people take the tours every year, but thousands more are turned away because the free tickets run out fast.
Ottawa tourism spokeswoman Jantine Van Kregten said it's a loss for tourists visiting the city.
"That used to be our little secret, our advice to visitors who wanted to avoid huge crowds … take an evening tour," Van Kregten said. "That's unfortunate we can't give that advice anymore."
Parliament Hill staff say a new underground welcome centre will improve security, shorten wait times, and allow more people inside.
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