Posted:
May 26, 2021
Tourism Fernie looks toward recovery this Tourism Week
This year, Tourism Week (May 23-30) recognizes the resilience of the industry through this unprecedented time while focusing on recovery and encouraging Canadians to travel within Canada this year to support the recovery.
Why does tourism count? Prior to COVID-19, tourism in Canada was a $105 billion industry, accounted for two per cent of Canada’s GDP ($43.5 billion) and employed 1.8 million workers (one in 10 jobs).
In 2020, the pandemic caused Canada’s accommodation revenues to fall an estimated 61%. In B.C., 2019 was the strongest year for tourism generating $22.3 billion in revenues and contributing more to GDP than any other primary resource industry in B.C. In 2020, B.C.’s accommodation revenues fell an estimated 55% compared to 2019.