British Columbia is assembling all the right pieces for the $4-billion resort sector to continue its phenomenal growth, says the province's new resorts minister.
Patty Sahota was appointed to the new post of Minister of State for Resort Development by Premier Gordon Campbell on Feb. 1 to replace retiring West Kootenay-Boundary MLA Sandy Santori.
Sahota moves into the portfolio as the resort industry gears up for a number of new developments, including China's recent recognition of Canada as an official tourist destination - that along with a growing travel market in India presents a huge opportunity for Vancouver, she says.
"In the Lower Mainland we have such a diverse population and we have incredible ties to China and India that we can work with to develop our resort industry," Sahota said in an interview last week.
"But we must make sure that we do a great job of marketing in those countries and indeed, the whole world so we can continue to show the phenomenal growth we have been showing."
The CEO of the Council of Tourism Association of B.C. says Sahota appointment is also a boost to the industry.
"She was very instrumental in bringing the 2009 World Police and Fire Games to B.C.," said Mary Mahon Jones, noting the world-class athletic event is expected to attract more than 13,000 visitors.
"The province's resort strategy has been drafted and will be implemented. The fact that Patty Sahota has been appointed is good news for the industry. She has a good track record and is very energetic and we will see good things from her."
Sahota, MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds, noted that the implementation process for the resort strategy is already under way.
"Getting approval for new B.C. resort developments all comes under the ministry now, whereas before several ministries were involved. This is a huge step forward," Sahota said.
The 15-member task force, comprising industry, local government and First Nations representatives, has made several key recommendations, including:
* B.C.'s resort sector must maintain and enhance its competitive edge in resort development
* The partnership with First Nations must be fostered and assisted
* Resort development must increase in the province
* Transportation and infrastructure needs must be dealt with
* Resort communities should be supported.
"The resort industry used to be mired in red tape; and the implementation of the resort strategy will mean an end to that," says Mahon Jones.
The government mentioned the value of the resort sector in its throne speech last week, by noting that the province's parks and resorts are a huge draw for tourists worldwide.
"Our destination resort tourism industry is taking these competitive advantages to a higher level, with over $4 billion worth of projects on the drawing board or under way," the speech noted.
The speech also promised new government initiatives for regional tourism later this month.
Stephen Darling, regional vice-president for North America for Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts in Vancouver, said the provincial government understands that money for marketing is always an issue. "They pumped up the budget for Tourism B.C. by $25 million and the Union of B.C. Municipalities has gotten $25 million to further tourism throughout the province," he said.
There are some major changes facing the resort sector, Darling noted, including access to some of the more remote areas of the province. "It becomes expensive to take guests to some of the lodges on Vancouver Island and northern B.C. And also just the logistics of getting people into the remote areas is a big deal."
Another major issue is high insurance costs. Liability insurance in particular has increased dramatically, he said, and the industry has been lobbying the insurance industry for group rates so that the smaller operators can afford the protection.
Current government statistics peg the value of the resort sector at $2 billion in direct tourist spending, with another $2 billion of indirect spending, Sahota said.
Total tourism spending in B.C. amounts to more than $9.2 billion.
Stephen Pearce, vice-president of leisure travel and destination management of Tourism Vancouver, echoed Sahota's comments.
Tourism Vancouver projects that by 2015, as many as 500,000 Chinese tourists could visit Vancouver, compared with last year's figure of 70,000. "We believe that Vancouver will be the gateway for these Chinese tourists, who are expected to spend 10-12 nights visiting Canada from coast to coast within that time period."
The process of negotiating a memorandum of agreement making Canada an official Chinese tourist destination is expected to take one year. "We are optimistic because the Chinese market has been showing double-digit growth for the last five years," said Pearce.
Mahon Jones said the No. 1 priority of Chinese tourists is to experience nature and participate in adventure tours. "B.C. has all of that to offer. One of the big challenges will be to attract enough investment capital to develop the resource sector properly. But with the resource strategy in place now the biggest opportunity is the fact that we can look at certainty for the industry."
Nature tourists, she noted, spend more money, are highly educated and they stay longer. "The nature tourists are the high-yield tourists. They understand the environment and that's the kind of customer we want."
Another major challenge will be to ensure that B.C. resorts operate year-round especially in the smaller towns, she added.
The majority of B.C.'s 700 resorts are outside urban areas.
Darling agreed the Chinese market presents a huge opportunity, but not one that is going to happen overnight.
"We've gained an amazing reputation for our tourism sector in the U.K., Germany and the U.S.," he added. "But the greatest opportunity now lies in Asia and Australia. And the needs of the markets are changing. The Japanese are tired of doing the tour-bus thing. They don't want to do it anymore. They want to experience nature, as do the Australians and the Chinese."
