BC Ferries adds sailings for Father's Day weekend amid surge in travellers
Ever since the provincial ban on non-essential travel was lifted, BC Ferries has seen an increase in passengers.
“We’ve added more sailings on the major routes because we’re seeing the increase in demand now that the travel restrictions have been lifted,” said Deborah Marshall, executive director of public affairs for BC Ferries. "We do expect a busy weekend.”
The increase in passengers did catch a few travellers by surprise Friday morning.
“This is quite something,” said Dorthy Pitt, who was heading home after a weekend in Whistler. “This is back to the way the ferries were before for summer.”
Josh Cockcroft and his friend Zoe Pearce ended up missing the ferry they wanted to take, though they only had to wait for one sailing.
“So really, that’s not bad at all,” said Pearce.
Cockcroft said he's picking up his motorbike from his parents’ place on the island, and seeing them for the first time in months.
“Really excited to head out there,” he said. "Lots has changed over the last few months so it’s going to be good to see them again.”
BC Ferries is still limited to 70 per cent of their regular passenger capacity due to the pandemic.
“That’s a COVID restriction from Transport Canada to try to encourage physical distancing,” said Marshall, adding that BC Ferries is allowed to use 100 per cent of the vehicle deck space.
She also explained that they’ve added some promotional fares for off peak times on the Vancouver and Vancouver Island routes.
“It gives our customers a break, a discount, which is great for our customers and then it also helps shift some of the traffic away from the more popular times to the less busy times and that frees up more space in the popular times,” said Marshall.
She is also reminding customers to make reservations if they want to travel at a specific time. Marshall said there is already an uptick in bookings, with some of the more popular routes "fully subscribed" for this weekend already.
The hotel industry is also starting to see an increase in bookings.
“It’s chock-a-block full,” said JJ Belanger, general manager, Crystal Cove Beach Resort. "It’s like Tuesday Dr. Bonnie (Henry) flipped the switch and everybody decided to come to Tofino.”
He said his resort is fully booked through to September.
“Today the resort looks like it does on August long weekend,” he said. "We’re going to have a phenomenal summer.”
But it’s not the same story across all hotels, in all destinations.
“We have destinations that are very busy and the phone is ringing and we have many destinations that are not,” said Ingrid Jarrett, the president and CEO of the B.C. Hotel Association.
She said hotels are booking up in some of the smaller vacation spots, including central Vancouver Island, but that there's plenty of room in major tourist destinations like Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler, which normally see an influx of visitors from outside B.C.
“We as a province are sitting at about 30 per cent occupancy,” said Jarrett. "Two years for this coming weekend we would be at 75 to 90 depending on where the destination is.”
She said part of the struggle for the bigger destinations, is they depend on business functions and international travel that are still restricted.
“Tourism and hospitality has suffered more greatly than any other sector,” said Jarrett. "We have a long way to go.”
On top of waiting for customers to return, is trying to find adequate staffing.
“We are experiencing the most difficult labour shortage on record,” explained Jarrett.
She hopes students, seniors, anyone looking for work will consider returning to or trying out the tourism industry.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.