Hospitality, Marketing & Tourism

International tourist visits to B.C. slipped mildly in June but not enough to dampen the spirits of the sector or the positive momentum generated over the past year. Total June visits edged down 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted 387,690 entries as the number of U.S. visitors fell 1% and overseas visits held steady.

Oenophiles in British Columbia will be happy to learn that trade barriers between this province and Saskatchewan have been removed for wines and craft spirits.

Vancouver’s newest waterfront restaurant has an innovative concept that its owner dubs "gelatinis" – high-end gelato cocktails that retail for about $14.

The China-based backers of a new Nanaimo hotel say that the 240-room tower will draw 70,000 Chinese tourists a year – equal to about 90% of the population of the Vancouver Island city.

The managing director of Ceili’s Modern Irish Pub locations in Vancouver and Richmond says it is business as usual while the company seeks protection from creditors.

Less than three months into life as one of Canada’s first no-tipping restaurants, the Smoke ’n Water restaurant in Parksville has returned to the mainstream — tipping is back on the menu.

Vancouver nightclub owner Blueprint plans to close its Shine nightclub in Gastown on September 27 and completely gut the facility for a remodeling and rebranding, the company announced August 22.

Dozens of communities throughout the province have seized upon loosened liquor laws since Victoria began allowing the sales and sampling of liquor at farmers’ markets this summer, the government reports.

White Spot plans to open its 66th and largest full-restaurant in its chain on August 21 at the corner of Dunsmuir and Homer streets in a 100-year-old heritage building, company president Warren Erhart told Business in Vancouver August 19.

A record number of overseas tourists visited Canada in June, according to numbers from Statistics Canada released August 19. Overseas visitors made 430,000 trips to Canada in June, up 0.