PAUL NURSEY
VICTORIA – With summer two weeks away and students getting ready to bring home report cards, it’s a good time for Destination Greater Victoria (DGV) to issue our own report card as we get ready for our favourite, and busiest, time of the year.
As the popular summer season approaches, numbers from tourism industry analyst STR indicate it’s been a great year so far. And although some of our members in the attractions, restaurants and retail sectors are facing challenges, looking at what’s on the books for the rest of the year suggests 2025 could be our best year since the pandemic.
A look at our region’s performance in April shows that hotel occupancy was 83.7% (a 14.5% increase over last year), our ADR (Average Daily Rate) was $244.48 (up 9.4%). Simply put, that means that compared to last year, our hotels are booking more rooms and visitors are spending more.
That’s not only great news from a revenue point of view, it’s an indication that Greater Victoria’s high season, when we experience the greatest influx of visitors, is gradually expanding as we attract more visitors to our region during what have traditionally been shoulder season months from fall to spring.
That success is due to the tremendous work of our members and the vast array of offerings they provide, as well as the support of local events partners and clubs, Greater Victoria’s favourable weather and the friendly, welcoming nature of local residents and businesses.
Our visitor economy’s excellent performance to date in 2025 is also a result of DGV’s teamwork and our efforts to diversify the visitor economy. The conference business, our sector’s foundation, is as strong as ever with our business events team on track to host several more, large city-wide conferences between now and the end of the year. Our region will also host nearly 40 recurring and new sporting events this year thanks to the work of the Greater Victoria Sport Tourism Commission.
The success we’re enjoying now is especially welcome given how 2025 started with cautious optimism in the face of tariff announcements that had consumers rethinking their travel plans. Thankfully, as we approach this year’s mid-way point, Greater Victoria’s tourism engine is running as impressively as the engines coming to Northwest Deuce Days (July 17-20).
Paul Nursey is the President and CEO of Destination Greater Victoria
