October marked another strong month of growth for British Columbia’s tourism sector, with an increase in international visitors.  

Statistics Canada reports a 6.1% increase in international overnight custom entries to the province over the same month last year, with 19,100 more visitors arriving in British Columbia. The total year-to-date international visitor arrivals are also up 3.2%, with B.C. welcoming 158,837 more visitors so far this year.

October typically represents about 5.7% of annual international overnight entries to the province. A spike in direct flights to the province, as well as B.C.’s global reputation as a beautiful destination, are contributing factors to the increase in visitors.

Notable increases for October (over October 2016) include:

• Brazil – up 69.5%
• South Korea – up 29.9%
• France – up 25.3%
• New Zealand – up 23.1%
• Southeast Asia – up 19.7%
• Germany – up 18.7%
• Switzerland – up 13.4%
• Australia – up 10.8%
• China – up 6%
• United States – up 7.4%
• Japan – up 2.4%

Notable increases for year-to-date visits include:

• Australia – up 21.7%
• Mexico – up 19.2%
• Brazil – up 15.6%
• Germany – up 15.1%
• Austria – up 8.7%
• China – up 6.2%
• Japan – up 4%
• France – up 3.2%
• Italy – up 3%
• New Zealand – up 2.8%
• United States – up 2.6%
• United Kingdom – up 1.3%
• Taiwan – up 1%
• Southeast Asia – up 0.8%
• South Korea – up 0.7%

Destination BC is an industry-led Crown corporation that works collaboratively with tourism stakeholders around the province to co-ordinate tourism marketing at the international, provincial, regional and local levels. It also supports regions, communities and Indigenous people in developing or expanding tourism experiences, businesses and jobs.

Quick Facts:

In 2015, the tourism sector:

• Employed 127,700 British Columbians
• Paid $4.5 billion in wages and salaries
• Supported nearly 19,000 tourism-related businesses in B.C.
• Contributed $7.4 billion toward the province’s gross domestic product

Learn More:

International Visitor Arrivals publication summarizes customs entries data to B.C. and Canada from select markets of origin. The data is posted monthly by Destination BC once it is released by Statistics Canada: http://www.destinationbc.ca/Research/Industry-Performance/International-Visitor-Arrivals.aspx