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Worker shortage pushes tourism industry wages higher in B.C.

B.C. tourism industry wages rose by an average of 10 per cent in the past two years -- with outdoor adventure guides topping the list with a 28-per-cent wage hike, according to the industry's human resources association. Source.

BC's hot sectors

Current and emerging industry sectors facing labour shortages. Please click here for summaries of some of BC’s Hot Sectors: Agriculture, Aquaculture, Call Centers, Arts & Culture,  Construction, Education, Health, Finance Insurance and Real Estate, Forestry, Mining, Oil and Gas, Policing, Professional Services, Technology, Tourism, Trades, Transportation, and Trucking. 

Source: BC Career Management Association

New magazine to focus on sustainability

Canada Wide Media will launch a new quarterly Vancouver magazine in May -- Granville -- that will focus on sustainability issues for urban consumers.  Canada Wide representative Samantha Legge said every story will bring sustainability to the foreground and give readers the tools to make informed decisions.  Regular sections will cover local food, fashion and homes, while in-depth features will research issues like housing, transportation and energy options.  "It will be a city magazine, first and foremost, but everything will have a sustainable element to it," Legge said in an interview. "So if we write about a restaurant, we'll feature one that engages in sustainable practices."  Source.

China a hot destination for tourists

Lonely Planet, the guidebook publisher, recently named China No.1 on its annual list of hot destinations. The U.S. Tour Operators' Association billed it the best value destination. At trade shows across North America, China tour operators are descending in such force that organizers are carving out dedicated sections separate from Asia.

Number crunchers at the World Travel and Tourism Council have weighed in too, reporting that China's travel and tourism industry generated $353.7 billion in 2006, a figure that will grow to $1.3 trillion in 2016, or roughly 8.7 per cent a year on average. Last year, 499,700 Canadians traveled to China, up 16.5 per cent from the year before, according to the China National Tourist Office in Toronto. The figure makes for an impressive per capita comparison against estimates that some 900,000 Americans visit China annually.  Full article here.

Eateries catering to big-spending boomers

Baby boomers, opting for salads and smaller portions, are driving new trends in the restaurant industry, says author David Foot.  CBC

Tourism in 2006

Coming to America wasn't the big thing in the global tourism industry last year, which set a record of 842 million international arrivals. That was an increase of 4.5% over 2005, but visits to North America were up just 2%. By regions, Africa posted the biggest growth rate at 8.1 per cent, benefiting from travellers' fears of terrorism elsewhere in the world. All these numbers come courtesy of the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization. Source.

Forestry & Tourism

The mountain pine beetle epidemic is expected to sweep through the Okanagan this year, raising the risk of wildfires and threatening the region's vital forestry and tourism sectors.  Source.

Lack of snow in Europe is Whitler's gain

The pain of strangely snowless European ski resorts is turning out to be the gain of snowbound Whistler, which has seen a surge of bookings from the continent.  Tourism Whistler's early-season counts show that visitors from the United Kingdom -- its biggest continental market -- are holding at its usually high levels.  Year-to-date bookings from Germany, however, are up 68 per cent, and visitors from the rest of Europe are up 115 per cent, Michele Comeau-Thompson, Tourism Whistler's director of communications, said in an interview.  More at Vancouver Sun.

More Canadians vacation in Canada

A surge in domestic tourism spending more than offset a $100-million drop in spending levels by foreign tourists in Canada during the third quarter last year.  Statistics Canada reports Canadian tourists spent more than $10.8 billion across Canada between July and September -- a $237-million increase over the second quarter.  More here.

Opportunity abounds in Tourism

When it comes to winning the perception battle about tourism jobs, Lynne Henshaw says it's two steps forward and one step back.  "The big misconception is that it's all part-time, low-paying work," said the marketing director for the B.C. tourism industry's human resources association, go2. "But when we look at other sectors of the economy, we find our wages are at par or above retail and some financial services positions."  Tourism officials acknowledge they can't offer the starting wages found in the red-hot resource and construction industries. (If you add seven to 10 per cent to the average B.C. tourism salaries found in a 2005 survey, tour guides would now make between $10 to $12.25 an hour, while food servers would earn from $9 to $11 an hour. B.C. construction labourers made an average of $16.50 an hour in 2005.)  Source.