Destination BC Launches Partner Call-Out for Resident Perceptions of Tourism Survey

To support community-aligned tourism planning, Destination BC is launching a call for partnership opportunities, inviting Regional and City Destination Management Organizations (RDMOs and CDMOs) to participate in the 2025–2026 Resident Perceptions of Tourism Research Survey, scheduled for fall 2025. 

Tourism contributes significantly to community well-being and local economic growth across BC. Understanding how residents perceive its impacts is essential for effective marketing and destination management. Destination BC’s Resident Perceptions of Tourism Research plays a key role in this, collecting BC residents’ views on the economic, social/cultural, environmental, job/career, and Indigenous impacts of tourism at provincial, regional, sub-regional, and local levels. 

The survey is designed to gather insights from residents on tourism’s impacts within their communities and offers three partnership opportunities for RDMOs and CDMOs interested in deepening their understanding of resident perceptions to inform data-driven decision making and strategic planning.  

*Please note that the availability of partnership opportunities may vary by community, subregion, or region 

Partnership Opportunity #1:  

• Who is This For: Larger communities that had over 100 respondents in last year’s survey. 

• Opportunity: Purchase 1–3 community-specific questions, or add sample specific to your needs, for inclusion in Destination BC’s survey to receive detailed analysis and reporting. 

• Community-Specific Data: Questions added will directly target your community, ensuring focused insights based on your needs.  

• Sample Availability: Subject to research panel availability in your area. 

• Deadline: Contact Gazal Dhillon at [email protected] by Friday August 1, 2025 to participate. 

Partnership Opportunity #2 

• Who is This For: Communities currently conducting their own Resident Perceptions of Tourism research. 

• Opportunity: Align your research efforts with Destination BC’s survey to ensure consistency between the questions asked in the provincial survey and those used in your community research. 

• What Questions to Use: Destination BC encourages communities to use the ‘Key 15 questions’ outlined in Destination BC’s Resident Perceptions of Research Toolkit. 

• Reporting: Destination BC will generate free detailed analysis and reporting based on the data your community shares with us.  

• Sample Size: The ideal sample size is 200+ completed surveys and the minimum for reporting is 100. 

• Deadline: Contact Gazal Dhillon at [email protected] by Friday August 29, 2025 to discuss how to integrate Destination BC’s ‘Key 15 questions’ for your 2025-2026 resident perceptions research cycle. 

Partnership Opportunity #3 

• Who is This For: Communities new to conducting Resident Perceptions of Tourism research. 

• Opportunity: Receive guidance from Destination BC on launching this valuable research in your community. 

• Resources: Begin by reading Destination BC’s Resident Perceptions of Tourism Research Toolkit to understand the fundamentals, step by step process(es), and research best practices. 

• Deadline: Contact Gazal Dhillon at [email protected] by Friday August 29, 2025 for more information on next steps and guidance on how to start your journey into resident perceptions tourism research. 

This valuable research helps ensure that tourism planning reflects community values, demonstrates the benefits of tourism, and supports positive relationships between residents and the tourism industry in BC.  

Destination BC encourages all eligible RDMOs and CDMOs to consider these partnership opportunities and reach out to our Research & Analytics team to learn how to participate in the 2025–2026 Resident Perceptions of Tourism Survey research. As the tourism landscape continues to evolve, understanding resident perceptions is essential for developing sustainable and community-centred tourism strategies.