Statistics Canada data backs up anecdotal evidence from hoteliers and restaurateurs that 2015 has been a banner year for tourism across B.C.
Buoyed by a low Canadian dollar that encouraged Americans to come north, B.C. attracted 3,589,560 people to stay at least one night in the first eight months of 2015. That’s 238,000 more than in the same period in 2014, or a 7.1% jump.
The change in American visitation was even more impressive, as it rose 8.6% to 2,389,169 overnight visitors or about two-thirds (66.55%) of B.C.’s tourists.
The regions that had the biggest increase in overnight visitation to B.C. in the first eight months of the year were: France (29.9%), Japan (12.5%) and India (10.6%).
France’s jump likely came because Air France launched direct non-stop flights to Vancouver in March.
Regions that had the biggest lags in visitation were southeast Asia (-11.3%), Nordic Europe (-1.5%) and Taiwan (-1.1%)
"Preliminary estimates show we're forecasting visitation of approximately 19.1 million trips within or to B.C. in 2015 - that's an increase of more than 3% over last year and is setting the pace for Canada,” said Marsha Walden, who is CEO of Destination British Columbia.
"It truly is an exciting time for tourism in B.C."
Canadawide, tourism is also up this year, although less so than in B.C.
Canadawide, in August, tourism was down 0.5% whereas in B.C. the number of overnight visitors in August was up 0.8%. In the first eight months of 2015, Canadawide, overnight visitation is up 6.6%.
The rise in tourism in B.C. is encouraging hotel owners to renovate, expand and carve out distinctive niches. This is particularly so for hotels that intend to attract people who want a First Nations experience.
