An interesting article in the paper this morning suggesting that Victoria’s Tourism Board is back to the drawing board to find ways of enticing more traffic to the Capital city. And I actually like this latest effort. It’s no secret the recent economic downturn has forced more than a few families to exercise what they call “Staycations”. This is where people decide to stay home, visit a local restaurant, camp locally or just sit around on the patio deck and enjoy a cold beer. Nowhere is this more evident than the downturn of traffic from the US. However, I tend to think it has more to do with Passport restrictions between the two countries, but what do I know.
The new concept would see various partners chip in to pay for a return trip on BC Ferries to the lower mainland providing your trip to Victoria is booked through Tourism Victoria and your stay is at least two nights. This would include car, driver and all the passengers. Personally, they should just pick up the tab for the whole trip if they really want to stimulate local tourism. I wrote about this a few weeks ago in an earlier blog about the costs and frustrations with BC Ferries so I won’t get into it again here. I had always long thought that to develop a stimulus package to ensure long term integrity of travel between the lower mainland and Vancouver Island, they should take this a step further and offer up a “Frequent Floaters Program.” flash your card and travel between the cities FREE. You want our business? Make it more cost efficient for families to travel.
This is a great step forward for Tourism Victoria. I applaud them, but as the article stated, it does little to bring the US north. Victoria is a great place to visit, and I think if the rest of the industry stepped up and offered incentives like this, perhaps the whining and bitching of empty hotel rooms will be a thing of the past.
Travel Images www.westshoregalleries.ifp3.com
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