PAUL NURSEY
VICTORIA – As the Visitor Economy wraps up a recovery year in 2022, business metrics are solid in many areas of the sector. Pent-up demand, aggressive marketing strategies, better than expected conference delegate attendance, and the return of sports tourism have contributed to a solid recovery year. However, the challenge remains that it will take several successful consecutive years for businesses of all sizes to recover from the ravages of Covid-19-related closures on their balance sheets and to ensure businesses remain going concerns for years to come.
The twist is that we are staring down a recession in the year ahead. No one knows how the economy will land as central banks put restrictive measures on what was an overheated economy. However, travel is almost always one of the first items affected. For our members and stakeholders, we need continued recovery – recession or not. How do we do it?
Looking south of the border is critical to our success and history can by our guide. In 1997 and 1998, the Asian Financial Crisis dampened the global economy. In 2002, as the world was still in shock from the September 11, 2001, attacks and faced new travel restrictions, there were negative effects from the dot com crash. Despite these setbacks, Canada and British Columbia managed to drive excellent business results despite significant economic and societal headwinds. In both cases the US market was critical, and it was much more than the currency differential. In a troubled world, Canada, and Victoria is viewed as a reliable, fun, and relaxing vacation destination.
At Destination Greater Victoria we are now deeply into preparation work for 2023 and recently returned from sales missions in San Francisco and Seattle, building relationships and developing leads for future meetings business. Victoria is an attractive boutique meetings destination for US meetings planners, and we now have strong in market US representation to drive meetings business. Leads are coming in and business is starting to book for future years.
For leisure travellers, Victoria remains top of mind. Our agency partner, MMGY Global, and their research division produces significant work called The Portrait of the American Traveler. Research results demonstrate that Victoria is climbing the rankings of Canadian destinations and that US travellers are interested in visiting, rising from 24 per cent interest in July 2021 to 29 per cent in July 2022. Victoria is now a top five Canadian destination for Americans in terms of interest, behind only Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Quebec City. Combined with Victoria’s recent ranking of #2 Small City in the World by Conde Nast Traveller’s reader poll and #3 City in the World suggest that Victoria’s brand ranking remains strong.
Our opportunity now is to convert latent interest, and we are hard at work on that front. Both 2021 and 2022 were surprisingly strong years for Victoria. If we are successful in 2023, perhaps we can buck the headwinds again and deliver big results for our community.
Paul Nursey is the President and CEO of Destination Greater Victoria
