International visitors appear to be acting on the slogan B.C.’s tourism ministry advertised strongly during the 2010 Winter Olympics: You gotta be here.
International overnight visitors to B.C. climbed for the fifth straight month when comparing year-over-year numbers, outpacing the rest of Canada, according to new figures released by Statistics Canada.
“This upward trend reflects British Columbia’s strong appeal to markets around the world, which we continue to access through co-ordinated marketing campaigns with our tourism partners,” said Margaret MacDiarmid, who is B.C.’s minister of tourism, trade and investment.
International overnight visitor arrivals to B.C. jumped 7.8% in October compared with October 2009, bringing 238,085 travelers to the province.
Canada recorded an increase of 5.1% during this time.
Key markets also posted gains.
For example, overnight arrivals from: