Tourism Trends

Fast Facts

Canada's international travel deficit amount in 2001: $1.3 billion, in 2003: $4.3 billion. Number of ski lifts available for summer skiing in North America: 2 (+2 more through July only); in Europe: 86. Total number of ski lifts at Whistler-Blackcomb: 33. Total number at Kitzbühel, Austria: 56; Val Gardena, Italy: 83; Sestriere, Italy: 92; Trois Vallées, France: 200+. Skier visits (in millions) to British Columbia in 2002: 6; Colorado: 11; Switzerland: 17; Italy: 37; Japan: 52; Austria: 56; France: 57.6. British Columbia's land mass of 948,000 square kms. (366,000 sqare miles) is large enough to completely contain Switzerland, France, Italy and Austria! Sources: Statistics Canada, BC Stats, Ski Canada

In the last thirty-five years, the Canadian share of international tourist receipts declined from 8% to approximately 3%.

Canada, through tourism, earns slightly less than tiny Switzerland and slightly more than Belgium and Luxembourg. However, in British Columbia, launched to the world's attention by Expo '86 and endowed with extraordinary natural beauty, the tourist industry has been growing steadily and may be stregthened following the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Whistler Blackcomb in particular, despite climatic difficulties, has continued to post a strong performance, indicating that the best facilities tend to withstand recessionary pressures, and that the Canadian tourist industry has been suffering because of reliance on tourist facilities that are often lacking, antiquated, and situated in less than ideal locations.

Recent projections indicate a market dominated by the characteristics of existing ski hills and resorts. The ski populations of Vancouver (33% of skiers in B.C.) and Calgary (7% of skiers in B.C.) are the largest in this scenario.

Of the total skiers in B.C., its residents represent 68%, followed by Albertans at 13% and other Canadians at 9.8%; Americans are only 6%. Yet, Americans alone are a skier market estimated at about 15 million people and more than 55 million skier days. They register some 4.5 million tourists entering directly into B.C. and some 32 million tourists entering Canada as a whole. Overseas visitors to B.C. add another 800,000 tourists.

The future market breakdown on a yearly basis for the Jumbo Glacier Resort clientele, including both visitors and skiers, will contribute to reverse the situation where the majority of visitors to B.C. mountains and ski areas are mainly local residents, and re-establish tourism as an export industry in a more diversified local economy. It will also contribute to counterbalance the Canadian tourist deficit, which is caused by the large number of Canadians vacationing abroad, and it will offer an opportunity to the Canadian Alpine Team to train at home in the summer.

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