International Tourism Boom For Tofino
by Sherry Wota
In Feb., the 2010 Olympic Winter
Games brought the world to
Vancouver. While Tofino did not
experience a large influx of international
visitors, the after-effects of
promoting the small surfing village
on the West Coast of Vancouver
Island may be positive in the long
run.
With a mild climate, Tofino is a
popular vacation spot for families,
couples, spring-breakers, and surfers
year round. It was thought that
there would be more of an increase
in international visitors during the
Olympic and Paralympic games.
However, Lynda Kaye of Kaye
Public Relations for Tourism Tofino
says that it “didn’t appear too
much busier than previous years
[in terms of] international travel.”
Kaye also says there were “a number
of Vancouver residents who escaped
from Vancouver,” and “there
were a number of people who added
a trip to Tofino during and after
the Olympics.” Most of the visitors
were residents of B.C.
Some resorts offered a special
accommodation rate during the
Olympics, catering to mainland
residents looking for a short break
from the games. One of these resorts
was Crystal Cove Beach Resort.
An employee at the resort
says that while they did not have
any athletes stay at their resort,
some of the other resorts and hotels
did provide accommodations
for Olympic athletes. The employee
also says that Crystal Cove experienced
a higher number of visitors
than the usual number of spring
break travellers.
At the O-Zone, in Richmond,
Tofino was promoted by volunteers
hoping to show visitors all that the
town has to offer. In a Feb. article
by Keven Drews of the Westcoaster,
a Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation carver
and Tofino pavilion volunteer
named Joe Martin says that following
their visit to the Tofino pavilion,
many international Olympic
spectators have shown interest in
visiting Tofino, including a group
of Russians. Unfortunately, Tourism
Tofino and the volunteers who
worked at the pavilion have no way
of obtaining exact numbers, but
in the article, Martin estimates
that thousands of visitors passed
through the pavilion daily.
Tourism BC partnered with
NBC News to invite Americans to
tour and explore B.C., and Tofino
was one of the featured destinations.
www.NBCOlympics.com
experienced more than 108,000
visits and 200,000 page views, exposing
thousands of consumers to
British Columbia and 2010 Winter
Games messaging.”
Adding to the possibility of an
increase in international tourism
was the success of the O’Neill Coldwater
Classic international surf
competition, held in Oct. 2009. This
resulted in Tofino being named the
best surf town in North America,
by Outside magazine. The competition
will be held for the second year
from Oct. 9-15, 2010.