The Importance Of Tourism In Vancouver Island

My choice for this particular tourism destination is an island off of the coast of the huge Canadian metropolis of Vancouver called Vancouver Island. This particular island was ranked second in 2009 on Condé Nast Traveler’s Reader’s Choice Awards “Top Islands of North America;” Vancouver Island is a relatively large island with a population of 759,366 inhabitants. It is home to British Columbia’s capital city, otherwise known as Victoria. The island is separated from the mainland by four different straits; the Johnstone Strait, the Queen Charlotte Strait, the Strait of Georgia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Considering that Vancouver Island is located on the west coast and on the Pacific Ocean. Due to its location it has many beach resorts that allow tourists to enjoy many activities like surfing, whale-watching, fishing, hiking, and scuba diving. An example of one of these resorts is Tofino, which is a major surfing hot-spot that is a definite place to check out while on the island. Also, Vancouver Island is surrounded by acres of protected ancient rainforest which gives tourist an amazing experience and mixture of wildlife. Different plants and animals emerge throughout the seasons, so regardless of which one is chosen, everyone will enjoy the atmosphere.

The Stakeholders

Economy wise, tourism in Vancouver Island is a hotbed for making money. Each part of the city is interconnected with the economy because of how compact the main cities are. They are all connected through the airports, lodging companies, hotels, restaurants, transit, ferries and small businesses such as fisheries.

The total revenue of tourism in 2008 for Vancouver Island was $14 billion with accommodation & food making up 36% ($5.04 billion), transportat...

... middle of paper ...

...e products on which the marketing initiative include: magazine advertising, brochure distribution, education and capacity building programs, consumer show attendance, etc. By doing this, the products being sold will allow for stakeholder specific advertising opportunities as well as promotional opportunities while also selling Vancouver Island as a destination.

I feel that this plan has the opportunity to greatly increase the tourism of Vancouver Island, but it will not be very effective in the short run. Advertising takes time, and quality advertising takes even longer. In saying that, to be able to effectively advertise Vancouver Island would be quite expensive and time consuming. But in the long run, as tourists gain greater knowledge of Vancouver Island, both the destination and stakeholders will gain large amounts of revenue if the products are sold correctly