BELLINGHAM, WA (NEWS1130) – Bellingham is looking to take an even bigger chunk of BC’s air travellers. There are plans for a new hotel at the airport.

Shirley McFearin with the Port of Bellingham says the hotel is necessary because of a spike in Canadian travellers since the airport started offering flights to Hawaii.

“It is right at the Bellingham International Airport. A traveller can walk from the hotel to the terminal,” she describes.

She says they’re accepting proposals until the end of the month. “I think we’re looking for perhaps a 150-room hotel, restaurant, and meeting room space. But we’re going to let the market drive the actual development.”

McFearin hopes construction will start by end of next year.

Business at Bellingham Airport has tripled over the last five years, taking a chunk of passengers from Vancouver and Abbotsford.