VICTORIA – As 2015 comes to a close, Greater Victoria’s tourism businesses and the Victoria Conference Centre (VCC) are celebrating a year that saw incredible growth and set the tone to continue driving further visitation and economic impact to the region in 2016, especially through the off-peak season.
Chemistry Consulting Group’s November 2015 Victoria Tourism Bulletin will be released in full in early January but indicators show solid growth over 2014, with a significant increase year-over-year in Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR).
Tourism Victoria is preparing for 2016 with a variety of upcoming campaigns to drive business through the off-peak season, including a romance campaign through late January and February, Dine Around & Stay in Town in late February, a short push around Chinese New Year and continuing Halloween and Christmas through October, November and December. The team is also working on a spring campaign to run from late March through May or June.
“All segments of the tourism industry performed well in 2015 in Greater Victoria,” says Paul Nursey, President & CEO of Tourism Victoria. “Last year saw growth in the leisure segment from international source markets and we saw significant growth in high end travellers from Vancouver, Seattle and San Francisco combined, along with a healthy increase in VCC delegate days.
“In spite of slow growth in the global economy, I am optimistic about our prospects in 2016 and beyond because of increased air access and flights to Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle International Airports, and a strategy that is very focused on conversion and our deepening partnership with the VCC.
“Our economy is seeing new investment in product and renovation to make our accommodation sector more competitive. Overall, there is a deepening sense of collaboration across our community to take advantage of the growth potential that tourism can provide for small and medium sized businesses, allowing for new revenues into our economy.”
From the meetings and convention business, the VCC saw strong results through 2015. As of November 30, 2015, room rental revenues increased 11.62 per cent over 2014, and are forecasted to hit 17% ahead of budget. The team confirmed 35 city-wide bookings in 2015, a 40 per cent increase over the previous year, which generates confirmed business on the books in the destination for future years.
As a result of the perseverance of the VCC sales team, a highlight of 2015 was the confirmation of the American Contract Bridge League biennial event to Victoria and the VCC in 2017. This event was last held downtown and at the venue in 2011 and will bring an added 7,000 delegate days and strong economic impact for the region.
“2015 has been a very successful year for our sales force both revenue and booking-wise which is directly related to their experience, energy and focus in market,” says Jocelyn Jenkyns, Victoria’s Deputy City Manager. “Building on this solid foundation, I am very excited about the synergies and additional business that can be generated for the destination through our partnership with Tourism Victoria on Business Events Victoria.”
In 2015, the VCC, Tourism Victoria and Victoria Conference Hotels, through the activities of the Victoria Conference Optimization Network (VCON), took steps towards a more fully integrated strategic business alignment to maximize all dollars spent on marketing and selling the destination. Tourism Victoria and the VCC look forward to deepening their partnership in 2016 to further build business for the destination and the Centre. In January both teams will attend the Canadian Society of Association Executives’ (CSAE) Tête-à-Tête event that brings together premier suppliers, association executives, government procurers and the meetings industry.
