Please Come Visit Vancouver…
Vancouver has seen a decline of six per cent in American tourists this year compared to last. You can see it on the roads with the absence of American license plates.
Stretched over the course of the year, that number is significant, said Walt Judas of Tourism Vancouver.
“We’re talking between 150,000 to 200,000 overnight visitors from the U.S., which is a substantial number,” he said.
Usual numbers are 8.7 million tourists a year and $3.7 billion in visitor spending. A drop of 6% equals 220 million dollars.
Victoria isn’t taking things lying down.. with a huge ferry price increase on the way (as much as 18 per cent on August 1st), Tourism Victoria is partnering with BC Ferries to offer a one-time promotion for August travel — book two nights accommodation in Greater Victoria and Tourism Victoria will pay your way there.
Maybe dropping the ridiculously high gas and sales taxes for August might help?
Bringing prices in line would make a big difference. After the uproar when the Canadian dollar hit parity with the US, I’ve yet to see prices come down. The indifference shown by the retail industry when it comes to fair pricing is going to cost them dearly in the long run.
Tourism is one of the largest industries here… time to treat it as a business facing challenges.
