RECORD YEAR FOR TOURISM IN VANCOUVER: 9.4 million Visitors in 2015!
January 5th, 2016
The latest visitor data provided by Destination BC projects that the 2015 overnight visitation numbers will exceed over nine million people - setting another new record for Metro Vancouver’s tourism industry. It is estimated that the tourism industry in BC’s largest city supports over 66,000 jobs, contributes approximately $1.6 billion in taxes, and generates direct visitor spending of around $3.5 billion annually.
BC PLACE DRAWS VISITORS TO BC
2015 was a spectacular year for BC Place. We hosted more than 1 million guests across a diverse range of local and international events, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015, Canada vs. Honduras 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Qualifying match, Taylor Swift, One Direction and AC/DC concerts, three of British Columbia’s largest consumer shows, a host of community and special events, and of course our two professional sports teams - the BC Lions and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Hosting the provinces biggest events generates significant economic benefit to the province of British Columbia – especially when those events are viewed on a world stage. For example, the FIFA Women’s World Cup alone generated more than $118 million in economic impact in the province of BC!
FIFA WOMENS WORLD CUP MOTIVATED TRAVEL TO VANCOUVER
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada - hosted at BC Place Stadium from June 12 to July 5 - was a key contributor to the boost in Vancouver’s tourism industry in 2015. The month long tournament drew significant international visitation including teams and their supporters from the United States, Japan, England, Switzerland, Cameroon, Ecuador, Nigeria, and the Netherlands. Over 1.4 million overnight visitors traveled to British Columbia during June and July increasing monthly visitor numbers by more than 9% over 2014.
HOSPITALITY NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
The FIFA Women’s World Cup also boosted the province’s hospitality industry. Throughout the month of July, daily occupancy in Vancouver’s downtown hotels was above 90% (all except for five days). On July 5th, the day of the World Cup Final, downtown Vancouver’s hotel occupancy rates reached 99%!
In addition, the province’s restaurant industry experienced growth of 6.4% in June and 8.2% in July over 2014. Over the two months when Canada hosted the Women’s World Cup more than $1.7 billion was spent across the province according to restaurant receipts!
We’re excited to work with Tourism Vancouver and other partners in tourism to help make 2016 another outstanding year for our community!
See below for Tourism Vancouver’s full Provincial tourism indicators.
December 2015 - Provincial Tourism Indicators