Films being shot in Victoria may salvage a slumping hotel sector that has seen a sharp drop in U.S. visitors and slowdown in BC Ferries traffic.
July was a strongest month for Victoria hotels in a decade, posting an average occupancy rate of 87% during the month, well up from the annual average this year of 65.5%, according to Chemistry Consulting Group, which tracks the Island hotel market.
Victoria hotels also achieved a revenue-per-available room average rate of $143.40, up from $124 a year earlier, which Chemistry principal Frank Bourree called a “sizzling” performance.
Bourree said the screen exposure resulting from the Amazing Race Canada TV episode filmed in Victoria, which aired July 8, and the Bollywood film God Forbid, which was partly filmed in Victoria and yet to be aired, “will help attract future visitors to the area.”
Also helping is a 14.5% spike in the number of visitors from China, which now represent Victoria’s third largest visitor market.
This is good news for hotel operators, because Victoria has seen a decline in BC Ferries passenger traffic this year – down 1.2% in July alone – and slump in both cruise ship passengers, down 5% so far this year, and an ongoing decline in U.S. visitors arriving by private boat. This traffic has declined by 24% since 2007, according to Chemistry.
