Vancouver hospitality industry gets long-awaited, long weekend boost
A full slate of cruise ships docked in the Vancouver Harbour this May long weekend, giving a much- needed boost to the hospitality industry.
A total of seven ships came through, with each one bringing in an estimated $3.17 million, according to the Port of Vancouver.
Passengers filled up local tourist attractions that had seen an underwhelming start to the season.
“May has been super slow especially because it’s been so rainy,” Lucy Caldwell of Prince of Whales Whale Watching told CTV News.
"With the sunny weather we've had four tours a day going on, it's pretty busy, full tours, we have lots of tourists I think from the UK,” Caldwell said.
After an unseasonably wet and cold beginning to the spring, the sunny weather also helped fill up restaurant patios with both locals and tourists.
"I'd say it's been a normal May long weekend, which is something I haven't been able to say for a couple years,” said Steamworks' president of operations, Carl McCreath.
McCreath says business has been slowly ramping up since the beginning of April.
“The flow of people, the energy of people, the flow in the room, it’s been a lot like it used to be,” he said.
However, McCreath says while sales have returned to normal levels, there’s still a staffing crunch to contend with.
"There's definitely been some times where we've been stretched a bit with the sales versus how much staff we have on. We're climbing out of it but there's been some challenging shifts for sure," he said.
McCreath added that job postings only yield about 20 per cent of the responses they used to but he remains confident they’ll make it through the summer.
"Were pretty optimistic that this summer's going to be an excellent summer -- for us, for downtown, for tourism, for Vancouver. We expect it to be a very good summer.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Ukrainian child asylum seekers in St. John’s get class of their own
Roughly 50 children will gathered in a St. John’s classroom for the first time on Saturday for unique lessons on Ukrainian language, culture and history.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.