Wildfire worries already putting damper on B.C. tourism industry

Horses stood idle Wednesday in Victoria's inner harbour, where ordinarily they busily transport vacationers in horse-drawn carriages.

Hannah Keown with Victoria Carriage Tours said business wasn’t as busy as usual for spring break.

“Things are slowly picking up but theyre still, you know, kinda slow – and nowhere near where we at pre-COVID,” said Keown.

Wednesday’s cool weather might partly explain the day’s empty carriages, but industry representatives say inflation and wildfire worries are contributing to a wider issue of depressed tourism numbers in the province.

JJ Belanger, who runs Crystal Cove Beach Resort in Tofino and is also chair of the Tourism Industry Association Board of B.C., said coverage of last year’s historic wildfires caused alarm “not only to Canadians, but to people around the world.”

“You turned on a newsfeed like CNN or BBC and the top headlines (were), ‘Canada’s on fire,’” said Belanger.

In Tofino, business is down by about 10-15 per cent. Belanger said that’s a reflection of several factors, including the surplus cash some people saved during the pandemic “starting to dwindle.”

Mother Nature has also taken its toll on the ski season this year – B.C. mountains were hit hard by a lack of snow this fall and winter. Slopes like Big White opened two weeks late.

The resort is now enjoying a good spring, but is selling tickets at discounted rates.

“With this economy we realize that full price would be a mistake. You just wouldn’t get people to the resort,” said Michael J. Ballangall, Big White’s senior vice-president of marketing.

And after warnings from the province that this summer might be another fierce one for wildfires, many tourists – locally and from abroad – seem to be hedging their bets, not booking summer vacations in the Okanagan as early this year.

“The pace is a little slower as people take a wait-and-see attitude,” said Walt Judas, CEO of the Tourism Association Industry of B.C.

And for Tofino, the tourism challenges may only continue when new short-term rental rules its council voted to opt into take effect, says Belanger.

“If there’s going to be one to two thosuand less people per day, there’s going to be seats available in restaurants,” he said.