3525 replies to this topic

[spanky123]

Another big drop in tourism numbers in July. 

 

https://chemistrycon...n-July-2019.pdf

 

Instead of blaming poor weather this time, the suggestion is that last year's fires and the smoke and haze we all experienced for several weeks boosted tourism. 

[Mike K.]

Hold on. They’re saying the fires boosted tourism?

[spanky123]

Hold on. They’re saying the fires boosted tourism?

 

What Chemistry seems to be saying is that due to the fires in other parts of BC, folks choose to vacation here instead of the interior as an example. I seem to recall lots of smoke and smog here as well though.

 

In my opinion, the various tourism groups are afraid to call out the Mayor and the City for the decline of the downtown core which is now presenting as a dramatic drop in tourism. 

Edited by spanky123, 01 September 2019 - 05:14 PM.

[Mike K.]

Ah ok, I getcha.

Wouldn’t decreased travel from China not have more to do with the decline this year than average tourists flooding back into non-smokey areas?

[spanky123]

Ah ok, I getcha.

Wouldn’t decreased travel from China not have more to do with the decline this year than average tourists flooding back into non-smokey areas?

 

It could very well be but I refer back to our earlier discussion that outside of Victoria, the vast majority of cities across Canada are showing increases in tourism and growth.

[Mike K.]

Do we have a link to tourism stats for Vancouver?

[vortoozo]

Hold on. They’re saying the fires boosted tourism?

 

I work for a hotel company with a downtown hotel, and this is an accurate statement. Folks that were planning vacations elsewhere in the province ended up coming to Victoria. It was a record summer last year as a result. Properties in the interior were negatively affected last year and have rebounded this year.

[vortoozo]

Do we have a link to tourism stats for Vancouver?

 

They'll eventually be available here: https://www.destinat...ry-performance/

Currently the most recent available Indicator report (June) only covers Jan - March.

[Mike K.]

Yeah I can see that. People got shuffled further afield, I guess.

It’s definitely an odd set of circumstances, as the industry didn’t infer that that’s why they had such a good year last year. Or did they, but it wasn’t picked up?

The banner year was primarily pushed as a response to a series of successful marketing campaigns and Victoria being Victoria, etc.

[Mike K.]

Here’s what I mean:

“It was another very strong year,” said CEO Paul Nursey. “We saw significant growth in conferences, and a growth in hotel room rates.”

While final numbers still need to be determined, Nursey estimates that over four million tourists visited Victoria this year, including professionals visiting the city’s blossoming conference hub.

“It goes to show our collaborative work to have one integrative conference program for the past couple of years is starting to pay off,” he said. “Conferences are booking multiple years in advance.”

- https://www.google.c...ism-season/amp/

Tourism Victoria chalked it up to professionals visiting the “conference hub” that was Victoria (last year, this year it’s not a conference hub) and earlier in the article there was hubbub over cruise ships. No mention of adverse weather elsewhere positively affecting tourism in the Capital City.

[shoeflack]

I would think that if "multiple levels of Government" are committing taxpayer funds then the taxpayer should know.

 

Probably. But with these kinds of bids, they don't typically release that info until after a bid is successful. If it's not successful, they don't have a number out there that other groups can come back and say, "hey, you committed this much to this group". But I can assure you, the commitments have been made, both informally and formally. Put in some FOIPPA requests if you want to see the specifics.

[spanky123]

Probably. But with these kinds of bids, they don't typically release that info until after a bid is successful. If it's not successful, they don't have a number out there that other groups can come back and say, "hey, you committed this much to this group". But I can assure you, the commitments have been made, both informally and formally. Put in some FOIPPA requests if you want to see the specifics.

 

The games will be over before you ever get a response to an FOIPPA request!

[zoomer]

When tourism numbers are up it’s because of the great work of tourist officials. When numbers are down it’s due to national and international forces beyond their control. Same can be said for politicians and economic performance. Of course the truth is in the middle and proper performance measurement looks at trends over time, seeking to find the signals in the noise and avoiding reliance on fixed point in time comparisons.

One factor which may eventually play into accommodation numbers is hotel room rates. Is Victoria an affordable family friendly destination? I guess it hasn’t been for years, and AirBnB hasn’t been filling this niche. In fact Victoria is losing out on a fair bit of federal government travel dollars as in my work we no longer hold meetings in Victoria or Vancouver because the hotel rates don’t fall into the allowable government rate and it’s cheaper to meet in Edmonton. Just one of dozens of factors that play a role and yet the numbers are still strong historically speaking.

[Matt R.]

Any cool non booze things to do in Sidney?

Matt.

[vortoozo]

Allowable government rates are set by city and in line with each market, and are not tied to transient room rates. http://rehelv-acrd.t...ng.aspx#CanadaA

Edmonton rate limits are higher most of the year than Victoria. In the summer, Victoria's is about $11 higher than Edmonton's.

 

Properties don't have to sell at or below the rate limits, but of course in those cases government employees on government business are supposed to book elsewhere. July and August some downtown properties have taken themselves out of the government program because it doesn't make sense to sell that low and most government travel during that time is government employees on holidays vs. travelling on business. Meanwhile, groups & conferences of over 10 rooms are allowed to be quoted above the rate limits but of course individual departments may not approve the higher rates. In Victoria, this is generally only a concern in June-September - not really a busy conference time. If you're attending meetings and conferences in Edmonton instead of Victoria during October to May, the rate generally isn't the reason as those do tend to fall in line with the rate limits.

[Jackerbie]

Any cool non booze things to do in Sidney?

Matt.

 

Donuts at Sidney Bakery, wandering the stacks at the MANY used bookstores, Sidney Museum can sometimes have interesting exhibits (they do a Lego one every once in a while!), Miracle Lanes might still exist if 5-pin bowling is your thing

[tedward]

Sidney Museum can sometimes have interesting exhibits (they do a Lego one every once in a while!),

 

They have done a LEGO exhibit every year from January through March for more than a decade. They also run a LEGO event for the whole town on the Family Day Weekend each year.

[lanforod]

Thanks for that info. Will check it out next year!

[mbjj]

Sidney Bakery is our favorite. A really good selection of what I would term more old-fashioned type items (like from my childhood instead of all this oversized trendy stuff). Excellent prices too. When we go out that way we make a point of stocking up.

[Victoria Watcher]

this might be useful for us tourists arriving here: