Destination BC Releases 2023 Survey Results on Resident Perceptions of BC’s Tourism Industry

The results from Destination BC’s 2023 Resident Perceptions of BC’s Tourism Industry survey, launched in November 2023 to understand the perceptions BC residents have of the tourism industry on both community and provincial levels, are now available. Insights from this annual survey contribute to shaping the Globally Competitive Tourism Ecosystem strategy, which is one of three strategic levers highlighted in Destination BC’s 2023-2025 Corporate Strategy.

The key research objectives were:

1. Identify how the tourism industry is perceived when it comes to being a contributor to new jobs and economic activity in local communities and in BC.
2. Determine how important the tourism industry is perceived to be to the well-being of local communities and BC.
3. Measure perceptions of the economic, social/cultural, and environmental impacts tourism has in local communities and in BC.
4. Gauge resident attitudes toward tourism volume in their communities and in BC during each season.

In line with 2022 results, the survey found that the majority of BC residents continue to value the impact that tourism has on their communities. Residents place especially high value on the economic benefits of tourism for their communities with a strong proportion (80%) valuing the contribution visitors make to their local economy and agreeing that tourism supports local businesses. A large percentage also agreed that tourism supports a greater diversity of amenities (78%), contributes positively to the quality of life of their community (72%), and its positive impacts in their community outweigh the negative ones (75%).

Looking at the tourism industry in the context of communities as tourism destinations, residents take pride in making visitors feel welcome (75%) and a strong majority agree their community is a desirable place to visit (79%).

Overall, 7-in-10 residents feel that the spring and fall bring just the right amount of tourism to their community and the amount of tourism residents would like to see in their community varies across seasons and by region and subregion. Province-wide, residents are more likely to support tourism growth during winter (December-February), followed by fall (September-November), and then spring (March-May).

Links & Resources:

• Download and read the full report here.
• Download a one page infographic and social media tiles to share report highlights and key findings.

Summary of Key Insights:

• Destination BC launched the 2023 Resident Perceptions of Tourism survey in November 2023 to understand BC residents’ perspectives on the impacts of tourism. The survey was completed by 4,684 BC residents.
• BC residents place especially high value on the economic benefits of tourism for their communities. They value the contribution visitors make to their local economy (80%) and believe tourism supports local businesses in their community (80%).
• The extent to which residents value the economic contribution of visitors to the local economy is the strongest driver of whether they feel that tourism positively impacts the quality of life in their communities with 75% agreeing the positive impacts of tourism in their community outweigh the negative impacts.
• A high proportion (78%) also agreed that tourism supports a greater diversity of amenities and that it contributes positively to the quality of life in their community (72%).
• 75% of residents take pride in making visitors feel welcome in their communities and 79% agree their community is a desirable place to visit.
• For residents, the most positive impacts of tourism are experienced in the Social-Cultural aspects of their lives, including the range of amenities, the development of local businesses, and the diversity of people supported by tourism.
• Roughly half of respondents (48%) believe that tourism supports additional infrastructure services.
• Residents are much less likely to see tourism as contributing to local infrastructure like water and sewage systems and highways and roadways.
• 36% feel that careers in tourism offer better opportunities than careers in other industries and 17% believe that wages in the tourism industry are higher than they are in other industries. Those working in the tourism industry are more likely to feel that tourism offers better career opportunities (51%) than those not working in the industry (36%).
• There are a range of perceptions of the tourism industry’s commitment to sustainability with 54% of residents agreeing the industry uses more locally produced goods and services than other industries and close to half (45%) agreeing that tourism contributes to the protection of nature.