- British Columbia's tourism revenues reached $13.8 billion in 2008.
- Tourism directly employs more than 131,000 British Columbians.
- British Columbia’s tourism industry is projected to create 84,000 new job openings between 2005-2015 in a wide range of professions.
- British Columbia hosted nearly 4.5 million overnight international visitors in 2008.
- The United States was British Columbia’s number one source of international visitors in 2008, bringing in nearly three million overnight visitors.
- In 2008, tourism was the second largest earner of export income in the provincial economy.
- Tourism accounted for over $6.6 billion of British Columbia's total GDP in 2008.
- In 2008, there were over 18,000 tourism-related business establishments operating in British Columbia.
- Accommodation room revenue in 2008 was nearly $2 billion.
- As well as generating revenue for British Columbian businesses and creating employment, the tourism industry contributes approximately $1 billion in revenue to the provincial treasury based on the latest statistics available.
Source: BC Stats, Tourism British Columbia and go2
Media Contact:
Lynne Henshaw, go2
604-633-9787 x 234 or 778-834-1735
lhenshaw@go2hr.ca