NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release 2010TCA0027-001307 Oct. 21, 2010

Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts

 

INTERNATIONAL VISITOR ARRIVALS INCREASE IN AUGUST

 

VICTORIA – International overnight visitor arrivals to British Columbia continued to rise during August 2010, according to figures from Statistics Canada.

 

Compared with the same month last year, total international overnight visitor arrivals for August 2010 were up from 626,574 to 640,651 for an increase of 2.2 per cent. This increase is roughly equal to the population of a community the size of Squamish.

 

From Jan. 1 to Aug. 31 this year, visitor arrivals have grown 3.3 per cent to 3,154,951 – up from 3,054,450.

 

“We are delighted to see the upswing in international visitors for the month of August,” said Kevin Krueger, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, who is taking part in a joint federal/provincial tourism trade mission to China this week. “Visitor arrivals from emerging and established markets in Asia are showing particularly strong gains, which is very positive news for the tourism sector throughout British Columbia.”

 

Growth in overnight visitor arrivals from the Asian and the South Pacific countries continued to accelerate in August. Overnight visitor arrivals from the region increased 23.1 per cent compared with August 2009, while entries from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, 2010 indicated an 11.8 per cent growth to 581,093.

 

Overnight visitor arrivals from China were up 42.1 per cent in August over the same period last year and overnight visits from Japan were up 27.6 per cent during the same period. Overnight visitation from South Korea increased 40.3 per cent over August 2009, while visitation from Australia rose 25.3 percent.

 

“As the global economy improves, we are seeing a sizable increase in the number of international visitors coming to B.C.,” said Colin Hansen, Minister of Finance, speaking from the 2010 B.C. Tourism Industry Conference in Vancouver. “Our growing reputation as one of the world’s top tourist destinations and the many tourism opportunities available in every region of our province continue to draw increasing numbers of foreign visitors.”

 

Another encouraging pattern of growth in European travel to British Columbia in 2010 continued in August. Overnight visitor arrivals from the United Kingdom rose 5.6 per cent compared with August 2009, to 30,178. German visitation bounced back in August, increasing 1.9 per cent over August 2009 and up 4.2 per cent for the timeframe Jan. 1 to Aug 31, 2010. Overall, European overnight visitor arrivals jumped 6.8 per cent to 79,475 in August 2010.

 

Continuing to be affected by a slow economy and weak currency, overnight visitor arrivals from the United States fell 2.6 percent in August to 443,463. However, from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, US overnight visitation is up 0.7 per cent (2,132,827 arrivals). The US market continues to play a significant role for the British Columbia tourism industry, accounting for nearly 70 per cent of all overnight international visitor entries to the province in August.

 

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Media Contact:

Gordon Keast Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts 250 356-8177

 

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