Tourist visits to British Columbia rose 11% in November 2015 compared to the same month in 2014, with the sharpest increase seen in visitors from France (up 27%).
In a release, B.C.’s jobs ministry attributed the increase of French tourists to Air France’s new direct flight between Vancouver and Paris, which has been operating since March 2015.
According to statistics collected by Destination BC, tourist visits were also up from India (20.8%), Japan (18.2%), Mexico (12.8%) and South Korea (9.2%), while visitors from China, a market that B.C. has been heavily promoting, were up just 1.8%.
The Canadian government recently lifted visa restrictions on visitors from Mexico and airline Aeromexico added a direct flight between Mexico City and Vancouver in December. In a January 15 speech, Whistler Blackcomb CEO Dave Browlie said he expects to see increased visits from Mexican tourists as a result.
@jenstden
