Victoria’s tourism industry is still riding the momentum of a strong summer season as visitor numbers are up through the end of October, versus last year, according to statistics compiled by Chemistry Consulting.
Average occupancy, daily room rate and revenue per available hotel room were all up significantly in October compared with the same month in 2012, and year to date. Increases were also seen in ferry traffic and passenger numbers at Victoria International Airport.
“This has nothing to do with the weather. It’s definitely a turn in the economy,” said Chemistry principal Frank Bourree. “This is a really good sign that, in October, we can post those kinds of gains. It’s pretty impressive.”
It’s been a long time since the main monthly tourism indicators were all positive. Bourree said his team had to go back to 2008 for the last time they were able to find a month that showed positive growth across the board.
Average hotel occupancy was up 3.5 percentage points to 63.3 per cent in October compared with the same month in 2012. Year-to-date occupancy was up 2.9 points to 68.75 per cent. The daily room rate was up $10.55 last month to $119.86, and year-to-date it’s up $8.87 to $132.40.
“The main thing, [hoteliers] are getting their room rate up ... we have suppressed that for ages,” Bourree said. He noted hoteliers have in the past started cutting room rates when they see holes in their reservation book in the summer. “But what’s happened is a lot of hotels have done renovations and had to keep up the rate to pay for them. Then they realized people were coming anyway. “The room rate is $10 higher this year than last and that’s amazing.”
Bourree said the early indication is that should remain the trend for the rest of the year.
B.C. Ferries also saw increased traffic with vehicle numbers up 3.1 per cent in October compared with last year and up 0.29 per cent year to date. Passenger numbers were up 2.5 per cent in October and 0.22 per cent through the first 10 months of the year.
The only blemish on the stat sheet is tour-bus traffic, which was down 3.8 per cent in October and down 0.36 per cent year to date.
The airport, on the other hand has seen growth.
Buoyed by Westjet’s new Encore service — with daily flights between Victoria and Vancouver that started in June and went to three times a day in October — there were 133,603 passengers through the airport’s gates in October. That’s up 1.8 per cent from October 2012, while year to date the airport has seen a 2.7 per cent increase to 1.305 million passengers.
Airport CEO Geoff Dickson said there has also been a big increase in passenger numbers on U.S. flights, indicating economic recovery has taken hold in that country.
Bourree added the overall tourism picture is quite rosey at the moment and, with the U.S. appearing to have recovered from the recession, it’s time to act to sell Victoria.
“They have a choice to go anywhere, so we have to look at appealing to them,” Bourree said, noting that means new tourism products, new shows and marketing all of it. “These days they can fly to Hawaii or Europe for the same price they can fly to Canada, so we have to be relevant in a global marketplace.”
