VICTORIA – Tourism Victoria and WestJet announced today they are entering into a Partnership
Marketing Agreement (PMA). The agreement is designed to drive passenger growth and overnight visitation – specifically within the conference and business sector – throughout Greater Victoria.
“Greater Victoria is becoming a major conference destination in Canada,” said Paul Nursey, President and CEO of Greater Victoria. “WestJet plays an important role in connecting Greater Victoria to the rest of the country.
“This innovative agreement builds on the successful conferences we have hosted in recent months, such as the Impact Sustainability Conference and Capital City Comic Con. Conference hosting is an increasingly competitive space and we need to maintain our momentum with agreements such as this.”
“Our 22 years of operations into Greater Victoria is a testament to the dedication of Tourism Victoria, Victoria International Airport, the community and our loyal guests,” said Robert Dungan, WestJet Director of Business Development.
“WestJet and Victoria have grown together since our inception and we now operate 18 flights per day at our peak summer schedule – a 50 per cent increase in seats the past 10 years alone. We are proud to formalize our partnership with Tourism Victoria to further connect communities, economies and provide more tourism and business growth opportunities.”
Through this partnership, Tourism Victoria and WestJet will align marketing strategies aimed at
encouraging travel to Victoria for both tourism and business.
“We are very excited about this agreement between Tourism Victoria and WestJet as the two organizations are very important partners of ours,” said Geoff Dickson, President and CEO of Victoria Airport Authority.
“This agreement for WestJet and Tourism Victoria assists in the growth of Victoria
International Airport while contributing to the economies of Victoria and BC. Every full flight helps us promote new air service and brings both jobs and economic benefit.”
The PMA supports WestJet’s hub strategy where flights between Victoria and Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto allow for convenient connections into WestJet’s growing international flight network.
WestJet currently offers direct flights to Victoria from Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary and Edmonton. As part of its summer flight schedule, WestJet will also offer four weekly non-stop flights from Victoria to Toronto.
In 2016, Tourism Victoria assumed leadership of the sales and marketing function of the Victoria
Conference Centre from the City of Victoria, with the goal of driving conference business and hotel room occupancy in the traditional Greater Victoria shoulder and off-seasons. The PMA builds on this strategy of creating business in the fall and winter months.
Tourism Victoria (Greater Victoria Visitors and Convention Bureau) is our region’s official, not-for-profit destination marketing organization working in partnership with nearly 1,000 businesses and municipalities in Greater Victoria.
WestJet Airlines was named Best Airline in Canada and one of the best Low Cost Airlines in North
America, based on authentic reviews from the travelling public on Trip Advisor, the world’s largest travel site.
Together with our regional airline, WestJet Encore, offers scheduled service to more than 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe and to more than 175 destinations in over 20 countries through its airline partnerships.
WestJet is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol WJA. More information can be found at westjet.com.
