Vancouver 2002 numbers show tourism still very much in recovery mode

According to Tourism Vancouver's Executive Vice President, Paul Vallee,additional factors for the decrease included continued economic decline inseveral European countries, as well as economic uncertainty in the US.

"When you take the combination of struggling economies, threat of war,rising oil prices, bankrupt airlines, and a general uneasiness about travel,virtually every destination feels the impact. That said, we faired better thanmany other cities in Canada and around the world," said Vallee.

Of the total number of overnight visitors to Greater Vancouver, 56.6%were from other parts of Canada (a decline of 1.4%) including 30% from aroundBC. The United States contributed the largest share of international visitorsat 28.5% of the total, up 3.4% from the previous year. The Asia Pacific marketalso grew slightly, up 2.3% from 2001, comprising 9.3% of all visitors.Visitation from Europe experienced the largest decline, dropping 11.5%,representing 4.3% of total visitors.

Early projections for 2003 show Canadian visitors to Greater Vancouverwill increase 0.5%, the same as visitors from the US. The number of Japanesevisitors is expected to grow by 2% over 2002, while visits from Australia,Mexico and the UK is anticipated to increase by 3% while growth from Franceand South Korea is expected to be 2% and 3% respectively.

"Despite the global climate, we are looking forward to new growths in thecoming years," notes Rick Baxter, Vice President of West Coast Air."Opportunities like the scheduled convention centre expansion and the pending2010 Winter Olympic Bid announcement have created momentum and excitement inthe region for both visitors and locals alike."

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