2001 tourism numbers for Greater Vancouver on par with 1999 levels

8.3 million visitors, $3.5 billion in direct spending, 89,000 jobs

VANCOUVER, March 12 /CNW/ - Tourism Vancouver reports that in spite of
the fallout over the events of last September and a softer North American
economy, 2001 numbers were not as far off the mark as originally projected.
Greater Vancouver welcomed more than 8.3 million overnight visitors last year,
virtually the same as 1999 but some 288,000 fewer overnight visitors than
expected. The dip broke a pattern of nine years of continuous growth and
resulted in a shortfall of $122 million in projected direct visitor spending.
Ironically, there were more visitors from the US in 2001 while the key
markets of Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific all showed a modest decline.
Washington State and California accounted for nearly half of the 2.3 million
Americans who visited Vancouver last year, up 1.9%. BC, Ontario and Alberta
represented the majority of Canadian overnight visitors to the Lower Mainland
which totalled close to 4.8 million.
While numbers were down overall by just over 100,000 overnight visitors,
Tourism Vancouver Chair Patrick Kelly believes Vancouver fared better than
most in attracting visitors, not only because of our city's stellar
reputation, but because of the collective efforts of the tourism industry in
addressing the issues surrounding 9/11.
The entire industry worked hard to overcome the significant challenges
we all faced in our respective businesses last fall, and that's reflected in
the new marketing initiatives and partnerships that have transpired to help us
recover, said Kelly. In some ways, the challenges galvanized the industry
and we weren't as badly affected as we anticipated. Consequently, we have
reason to be optimistic for a full recovery as soon as 2003, he added.
Tourism Vancouver estimates that visitors spent an average of $106.27 per
day over an average of four days in the city with just over half of their
dollars going toward accommodation and cuisine. The resulting $3.5 billion of
direct spending translates into an estimated economic impact of $7.5 billion
and some 89,000 jobs for Greater Vancouver.
The organization says visits from Asia Pacific dropped by 3.5% to 758,000
visitors while Europe was down by six percent to 405,000 visitors. According
to Tourism Vancouver Executive Vice President Paul Vallee, the organization is
expecting a decline in overnight visitors in 2002 although final forecasts are
not yet complete.
There are certainly good signs for the months ahead with an increase in
cruise passengers visiting the city, as well as better than expected numbers
in November and December which should provide some momentum. But we're not out-
of-the-woods yet and have a lot of work to do to ensure we attract the number
of visitors we need to sustain and build our industry, said Vallee. This
will definitely be a year of last minute decisions.
Tourism Vancouver's focus is on building exceptional customer
relationships with meeting planners, travel influencers, travel media and
independent tourists. Our efforts generate demand for the destination, thereby
creating value for members and stakeholders. Innovation, partnership, research
and accountability guide our approach. We utilize person-to-person and
technology-based sales, marketing and visitor servicing activities to achieve
results. Through positive positioning of both the organization and the
destination, our leadership benefits the society, culture, environment and
economy of Greater Vancouver.


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