The British Columbia Hotel Association announced that the new central booking portal will help speed up the process of finding accommodation for people evacuated in emergencies.

A statement mentioned that the system, which will be launched in June, will provide regional emergency support staff with live information about room availability, eliminating the need to call hotels to find out.

The statement clarified that the portal can also track locations that have been evacuated, making accountability more efficient.

Last year's wildfire season forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes, particularly in the Kelowna and Shuswap areas of the province.

The provincial government temporarily banned recreational travel to some areas last August to provide accommodation for those evacuated and emergency responders.

The new booking portal will be used in Kamloops, Kelowna, and Prince George, with the capacity to add more locations as "capacity assurances."

BC's Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma stated in the announcement that coordinating support during large-scale evacuations can be challenging.

"This partnership with the BC Hotel Association provides an innovative portal that offers real-time information on available accommodations and will play an important role in helping emergency support responders secure suitable lodging for those evacuated who need it, as soon as they need it."