British Columbia has become a world-class tourism destination. Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler, and other cities in the province are consistently ranked among the top 10 destinations in the world for visitors.

The tourism industry in British Columbia remains in good economic shape fueled by a competitive business climate, industry innovators and access to valuable resources.

If we were to take a snapshot of the tourism industry in British Columbia, it would look like this:

• Creates 131,000 direct jobs in British Columbia¹
• Generates $13.8 billion in revenues annually¹
• Top employers within tourism are food services, accommodation and retail
• Made up of small-medium sized businesses: 92.2% of firms have fewer than 50 employees, and 43.6% have 1-4

In this section, you’ll get a holistic view of the tourism industry in BC – Industry Development strategies and resources, Product Development and innovations, how to start a business, and valuable resources available to tourism businesses.

¹ From BCStats' Tourism Business Indicators, July 2009