BC tourism booming in 2015
Posted October 24, 2015 5:04 pm.
Last Updated October 26, 2015 10:21 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – BC is off to a great start to 2015 when it comes to tourism.
There have been 238,000 more people visiting the province in the first eight months of the year compared to last year. That is a 7.1 per cent increase from 2014’s numbers.
Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, Shirley Bond, is excited about the news.
“Visitors want to enjoy a world-class tourism experience and that’s what B.C. offers. The latest international visitor numbers show the strength of B.C.’s tourism industry and the diversity of international travellers to our province. The growth we are seeing in key markets in Asia and the United States proves what a remarkable summer tourist season we’ve had.”
Walt Judas with the Tourism Industry Association of BC says there are a few factors that lead to the increase.
“Good marketing by the lead agencies, such as Destination BC and many other destination marketing organizations throughout the province, the weather, the low Canadian dollar.”
Judas says more Canadians were likely to stay in the country because of the dollar.
If we want to continue the trend he believes we should continue pushing. “Draw more events to our province like we had this year, continue with some ambitious and aggressive marketing in those core markets where we know that there are people who want to come to British Columbia,” says Judas.
Marsha Walden, CEO of Destination British Columbia says the numbers should translate to a good year.
“Preliminary estimates show we’re forecasting visitation of approximately 19.1 million trips within or to BC in 2015 – that’s an increase of more than 3 per cent over last year and is setting the pace for Canada. It truly is an exciting time for tourism in BC.”
