Tourism

A woman checks out a jobs advertisement sign during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Statistics Canada will release its latest reading on the job market on Friday. The agency will release its labour force survey for April. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

FINLAYSON: A post-Labour Day review of B.C.’s job market

‘The province’s economy is now losing steam amid a turbulent and uncertain global backdrop and decelerating growth in both the U.S. and Canada’

  • Sep 7, 2022
A woman checks out a jobs advertisement sign during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Statistics Canada will release its latest reading on the job market on Friday. The agency will release its labour force survey for April. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development, announced more than $2.9 million in funding for community infrastructure and tourism projects in B.C.’s northwest on Aug. 23. (Photo: K-J Millar/The Northern View)
Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development, announced more than $2.9 million in funding for community infrastructure and tourism projects in B.C.’s northwest on Aug. 23. (Photo: K-J Millar/The Northern View)
West Kelowna wine country, pictured in October 2020. (Phil McLachlan - West K News)

B.C. wine industry still recovering, looking to return to pre-pandemic boom

The wine industry contributed $3.75 billion to the province economy in 2019

West Kelowna wine country, pictured in October 2020. (Phil McLachlan - West K News)
An Ottawa Police Service (OPS) office, Ministry of Transportation (MTO) officer and employees from Lady Dive Tour look at the aftermath of a single-vehicle accident involving an amphibious Lady Dive Tour vehicle which crashed into the 24 Sussex Dr. in Ottawa, Ont. on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
An Ottawa Police Service (OPS) office, Ministry of Transportation (MTO) officer and employees from Lady Dive Tour look at the aftermath of a single-vehicle accident involving an amphibious Lady Dive Tour vehicle which crashed into the 24 Sussex Dr. in Ottawa, Ont. on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby
Squamish B.C. landscape (pixabay.com photo)

Visitors urged to love Sea-to-Sky region, but @dontloveittodeath

Awareness campaign aims to get residents thinking about litter, environment degradation and more

Squamish B.C. landscape (pixabay.com photo)
Tofino has been named one of the world’s most extraordinary destinations by TIME Magazine. (Westerly file photo)
Tofino has been named one of the world’s most extraordinary destinations by TIME Magazine. (Westerly file photo)
A community of 1,396, Galiano Island saw an estimated 80,200 visitors in 2007 (John McKinley file)

Galiano Island’s ecological footprint swells from tourism: study

Community’s footprint ‘much larger’ than other B.C. locales

A community of 1,396, Galiano Island saw an estimated 80,200 visitors in 2007 (John McKinley file)
Dick Brown at 16. (Submitted photo)

Victoria man surprised to learn he authored 1966 note in B.C. beach time capsule

Letter found 56 years later by Rathtrevor Beach tourists

Dick Brown at 16. (Submitted photo)
Leah discovered a small glass cream bottle that contained a note written more than 50 years ago. (Submitted photo)

B.C. family discovers 56-year-old message in bottle on Vancouver Island beach

Buried treasure inadvertently dug out of 4-foot deep hole in sand

Leah discovered a small glass cream bottle that contained a note written more than 50 years ago. (Submitted photo)
Tim Sangha, a member of the Nanaimo-based business partnership that has owned the Scarlet Ibis Pub and Restaurant since November 2020, presents a carving by woodcarver Rick Rotar of the Ibis business logo to Patricia Gwynne who owned and operated the Island’s most remote pub for more than 40 years. (Scarlet Ibis image)

New business partners breathe new life into Vancouver Island’s most remote pub

Scarlet Ibis Pub and Restaurant in Holberg is edge of civilization for wilderness adventurers

Tim Sangha, a member of the Nanaimo-based business partnership that has owned the Scarlet Ibis Pub and Restaurant since November 2020, presents a carving by woodcarver Rick Rotar of the Ibis business logo to Patricia Gwynne who owned and operated the Island’s most remote pub for more than 40 years. (Scarlet Ibis image)
Spinal Cord Injury BC will be conducting in-person assessments of different tourism businesses in the Lower Mainland, Sea-to-Sky and Sunshine Coast, giving advice on how they can improve access and inclusion for disabled folks (PattiRey/Pixabay.com)

New partnership looks to make B.C.’s tourism industry more disability-friendly

Spinal Cord Injury BC working with tourism businesses to help them identify accessibility gaps

Spinal Cord Injury BC will be conducting in-person assessments of different tourism businesses in the Lower Mainland, Sea-to-Sky and Sunshine Coast, giving advice on how they can improve access and inclusion for disabled folks (PattiRey/Pixabay.com)
Sunny days are back again for businesses feeding off Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail and the other attractions of Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim. (John McKinley photo)

`Life is getting back to normal’ for tourism on Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim

Residents remain cautious with COVID as businesses struggle with staffing as visitors flood back

Sunny days are back again for businesses feeding off Ucluelet’s Wild Pacific Trail and the other attractions of Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim. (John McKinley photo)
FILE - Elvis impersonator Brendan Paul, right, walks down the aisle during a wedding ceremony for Katie Salvatore, center, and Eric Wheeler at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Authentic Brands Group (ABG) sent cease-and-desist letters earlier this month to multiple chapels, saying they had to comply by the end of May, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Company to Las Vegas chapels: No more Elvis-themed weddings

Authentic Brands Group sent cease-and-desist letters in early May to multiple chapels

FILE - Elvis impersonator Brendan Paul, right, walks down the aisle during a wedding ceremony for Katie Salvatore, center, and Eric Wheeler at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Authentic Brands Group (ABG) sent cease-and-desist letters earlier this month to multiple chapels, saying they had to comply by the end of May, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Jock Finlayson is a senior policy advisor with the Business Council of British Columbia.

FINLAYSON: Taming the inflation monster

‘Canadian policymakers should support the Bank of Canada’s efforts to get inflation back to 2 per cent’

  • Jun 1, 2022
Jock Finlayson is a senior policy advisor with the Business Council of British Columbia.
Melanie Mark, MLA elect for Vancouver-Mt Pleasant, speaks with media after becoming the first First Nations woman to serve in the legislature as she looks up at family and friends during a swearing in ceremony at legislature on Wednesday, February 17, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

MARK: B.C.’s tourism industry paddles out of the pandemic storm, ready to welcome visitors

‘The recovery of the tourism industry is bringing a new challenge for operators in B.C.’

  • May 27, 2022
Melanie Mark, MLA elect for Vancouver-Mt Pleasant, speaks with media after becoming the first First Nations woman to serve in the legislature as she looks up at family and friends during a swearing in ceremony at legislature on Wednesday, February 17, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Eldo Enns rides his penny farthing bicycle in Dawson City, Yukon, on Friday June 19, 2009. Yukon’s tourism industry is abuzz with anticipation as Canada’s northernmost border opens June 1 for the first time since the pandemic began, says the executive director of the Klondike Visitors Association in Dawson City.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canada’s most northern border to reopen June 1, Yukon prepares for return of tourism

Americans typically make up most of the territory’s tourists

Eldo Enns rides his penny farthing bicycle in Dawson City, Yukon, on Friday June 19, 2009. Yukon’s tourism industry is abuzz with anticipation as Canada’s northernmost border opens June 1 for the first time since the pandemic began, says the executive director of the Klondike Visitors Association in Dawson City.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Citizen scientists in the Gulf Islands are worried humpback whales are being stressed by too much time with whale watching vessels. (Black Press Media file photo)

Citizen science whale observers worry humpbacks being harassed

One mother whale and her calf followed for upwards of 5 hours a day recently, says volunteer group

Citizen scientists in the Gulf Islands are worried humpback whales are being stressed by too much time with whale watching vessels. (Black Press Media file photo)
Guide Eli Schellenberg, in red, leads climbers down from the summit of the Mt. Norquay Via Ferrata near Banff, Alta., Thursday, June 20, 2019. Even as gas prices hit record highs, Canadians are fanning out across the country for fresh travel experiences after two years of bottled-up demand. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Canadians hold their noses at gas prices as they hit the road, skies once again

Some tourism operators expected to double down on domestic markets

Guide Eli Schellenberg, in red, leads climbers down from the summit of the Mt. Norquay Via Ferrata near Banff, Alta., Thursday, June 20, 2019. Even as gas prices hit record highs, Canadians are fanning out across the country for fresh travel experiences after two years of bottled-up demand. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Remi Vande Weghe and his dog Maya were setting out for Dog Creek on April 30, 2022 from Williams Lake, as part of a tour through western Canada back home to Quebec. (Ruth Lloyd photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

Bicycle tourist rides through B.C. with his dog en route back to Quebec

Remy Vande Weghe is taking his dog Maya for a very long ride

Remi Vande Weghe and his dog Maya were setting out for Dog Creek on April 30, 2022 from Williams Lake, as part of a tour through western Canada back home to Quebec. (Ruth Lloyd photo - Williams Lake Tribune)
Jeffrey Hansen-Carlson, president of Prairie Sky Gondola, is pictured at the location for a proposed urban gondola in Edmonton on Friday, April 29, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Cities in Western Canada consider gondolas as part of transit, tourism plans

Projects a way to move people across waterways or get tourists up mountainsides

Jeffrey Hansen-Carlson, president of Prairie Sky Gondola, is pictured at the location for a proposed urban gondola in Edmonton on Friday, April 29, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson