Tourism Vancouver not fazed by cross-border travellers

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Plenty of people are heading south for the long weekend, but that doesn’t mean local parks, restaurants, and shops will be deserted.

Candace Gibson with Tourism Vancouver says it all evens out because tourists from elsewhere will spend their holiday right here in the Lower Mainland. She isn’t worried about losing money to cross-border shoppers because dollars are will still be spent in and around Vancouver.

“We are seeing a lot of traffic coming from the Okanagan and the Island, so while some people are going south of the border, we definitely are seeing traffic coming from other parts of the province,” she explains.

Gibson admits a lot of people go stateside during long weekends, but she points out there are many others who will stay put. “With gas prices the way they are and the perceived hassle of travelling across the border, a lot of people don’t want to go south. A lot of people will opt to come to Vancouver, for a four hour drive from the Okanagan.”

It’s not just traffic from other parts of the province; Gibson tells us cross-border travel is a two-way street, especially whenever there is an American long weekend or a holiday shared by both Canada and the US.

“[On] Labour Day, yes, there’s a lot of southbound travel out of BC. But there’s also a lot of northbound travel. We see a lot of Washington license plates over those weekends. It kind of balances out,” she notes.

Gibson adds the month of May is already a busy one for Vancouver. With short-haul travellers from the Interior and the Island, combined with the thousands of cruise ship travellers in town, you can expect hotels, attractions and restaurants to be busy this Victoria Day long weekend.

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