Victoria tourism was booming in July as B.C. Ferries and other transportation links to the Island funnelled passengers into the region to fill hotels and restaurants.
Chemistry Consulting, which tracks tourism data in the region, said hotels reported impressive numbers and other tourism-related businesses were busy thanks to increased traffic at B.C. Ferries, Victoria International Airport and the Ogden Point cruise-ship terminal.
“Almost all non-Island visitors traveling by car arrive in Victoria by either B.C. Ferries, the Coho’s Blackball Ferry Line or the Anacortes Ferry [Washington State Ferry Service],” Chemistry principal Frank Bourree said in a note to clients. “As such, Victoria’s very strong overall tourism performance in July was largely enabled by these services. So hats off to these companies for the important transportation service they provide.”
Bourree said B.C. Ferries has transported 177,000 more passengers between the Lower Mainland and Greater Victoria so far this year compared to 2015. Vehicle and bus traffic numbers are also higher by more than five per cent.
The Victoria airport welcomed 175,000 passengers in July and eclipsed the one-million passenger mark. That’s up more than six per cent after the first seven months of 2015.
There were also 51 cruise-ship visits in July delivering 131,846 passengers, a 13 per cent spike from July a year ago.
And delegate days at the Victoria Conference Centre were up substantially to 10,347 for July, up from 2,000 a year ago.
The number of tourists helped hotels to a 90 per cent occupancy rate in July, with average daily room rates up to $208.73 — nearly $20 more than the same month a year ago. That moved the revenue- per-available-room marker — a key metric in the industry — to $187.11, up more than $18.
Bourree noted that between 2010 and 2014, total January-to-May room revenue in Victoria ranged up and down between $39.4 million and $42.5 million.
However, for the same period in 2015 and 2016, room revenue jumped 14.7 per cent and 9.3 per cent, respectively. “This means that between January and May this year, room revenue was $10.5 million higher than it was for the same period two years ago,” he said.
After seven months this year, occupancy in hotels sits at 75 per cent, up five per cent from a year while room rates are at $155.87, up $13.15.
According to provincial tourism marketing arm Destination B.C., between January and May this year, the number of international overnight visitors to the province was up 14 per cent compared to the same period last year. The top countries of origin include the U.S. (66 per cent), China (5.4 per cent) and the United Kingdom (3.8 per cent). The countries generating the greatest rate of visitor growth relative to last year were Taiwan (41.4 per cent), Mexico (38.1 per cent) and Switzerland (37.8 per cent).
