The Value of Tourism in Nanaimo
Tourism helps keep things fresh in Nanaimo, bringing a steady stream of new faces and attractions to the city all year round. As Vancouver Island's Hub City, Nanaimo has long been a popular tourist spot, and an ideal starting point for coastal vacations. The effects of steady tourism can be seen everywhere here, from our beautiful waterfront parks to rows of successful businesses along Commercial Street in the heart of the downtown area.
Nanaimo's thriving tourism industry is mirrored in towns and cities throughout British Columbia, which combine for nearly $10 billion in provincial tourism revenue every year. A significant portion of that revenue ends up in Nanaimo, thanks to the city's strategic position near the central east coast of the island, and wide variety of transportation options that head into the city. Steady tourism also helps pay for Nanaimo's extensive transportation infrastructure, which includes the Trans Canada Highway, two major BC Ferries terminals, and a regional airport just south of the city.
For more information on the value of tourism in Nanaimo and throughout BC, please visit Tourism BC.
The Value of Tourism in British Columbia
The following is a snapshot of what the tourism industry means for our province:
- British Columbia hosts more than 22.5 million overnight visitors a year.
- Tourism generated $9.8 billion in revenues in 2005. The goal is to double this amount over the next decade.
- Tourism accounts for more than 117,500 direct jobs in British Columbia, representing 1 in every 14 jobs in the province. When you include indirect tourism employment, this number swells to 266,000—almost 1 out of every 8 jobs in the province.
- BC will need 84,000 NEW tourism workers over the next decade.
- The Food and Beverage sector will need more than 44,000 new workers by 2010; Accommodations will need 19,000 new workers; Adventure Tourism will need 13,000 new workers; and Attractions will need 8,000 new workers.
- Four out of every 10 jobs in tourism created over the next 10 years will be outside the Lower Mainland/Southwest British Columbia.
- As well as generating revenue for British Columbian business establishments and creating employment, the tourism industry returns approximately $1 billion to the provincial treasury in the form of taxes and fees every year.
- In 2003 there were nearly 18,000 tourism-related business establishments in British Columbia. Between 300-to-500 new tourism businesses are started each year. These include accommodations, restaurants, resorts, attractions and tour operators.
- In 2003 the GDP analysis showed that tourism accounted for $5.7 billion of British Columbia's total GDP, an increase of 33.7 percent over 1991. Tourism GDP grew significantly over the past decade. During this period tourism GDP grew as a proportion of forestry from 45.1 percent to 72.7 percent.
- Tourism is an export industry. It is the second largest earner of export income for the provincial economy, after Wood Products. Foreign visitors travel to BC to purchase the product - the BC tourism experience. The money they spend exceeds the amounts brought into the province by other export industries such as oil and gas, mining, agriculture and fisheries.
For more information on British Columbia's tourism industry, visit Council of Tourism Associations of British Columbia.
Copyright © 2007 go2Tourism HR Society. All Rights Reserved. Republished under license.
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Tourism Nanaimo
Tourism Nanaimo is committed to the economic growth and development of tourism in the Central Vancouver Island region. We are dedicated to assisting our members as well as the community by attracting visitors to the area, and helping to ensure that their time spent here ... Read More