The Northern View, January 18, 2012
Will China provide tourism opportunities for Prince Rupert?
The question sometimes arises about the potential for Chinese tourism to Prince Rupert​. I don’t think that this is a realistic short-term goal.
Well-known industry analysts Chemistry Consulting touched on Chinese tourism during a presentation I attended back in October. According to the UN’s World Tourism Organization, “China has shown by far the fastest growth with regard to expenditure on international tourism in the last decade.” There was an 85 per cent increase in Chinese overseas travel 2005-2010, and the 2010 number will almost double by 2020.
Canada finally received Approved Destination Status (ADS) in June 2010. Even without ADS Canada saw a 66 per cent increase during that same 2005-2010 period, and BC saw a 42 per cent increase. However, during that period the proportion of total Chinese outbound tourists coming to Canada declined from .38 per cent to .34 per cent - meaning that Canada is losing market share to other countries. And in the percentage of total Chinese visitors coming to Canada, BC declined from 71 per cent to 61 per cent in 2005-2010.
