Second Year of Results: New Reporting from the BC Tourism Climate Resiliency Initiative

Over the past two years, the BC Tourism Climate Resiliency Initiative (BCTCRI) has contributed significantly to advancing sustainable tourism in British Columbia. Backed by a $3.3 million investment from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport (TACS) through the Destination Development Fund, this two-year project was designed to help tourism businesses and communities prepare for and adapt to the realities of climate change.

The initiative was delivered through a collaborative partnership between TACS, Destination BC, Indigenous Tourism BC, and the six Regional Destination Management Organizations: Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association, Kootenay Rockies Tourism Association, Northern BC Tourism Association, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region, and 4VI. This collective effort reflects what is possible when government and industry partners share a vision for a sustainable, resilient future.

The initiative encompassed four key projects: supporting sustainability and adaptation planning for businesses, offering micro-grants to help implement those plans, building a shared data framework, and strengthening province-wide collaboration through networking and knowledge-sharing.

The goals of the BCTCRI were closely aligned with several key government priorities for tourism. At its core, the initiative was designed to ensure that BC’s tourism industry is better prepared for climate change, is equipped with standardized tools to track and improve sustainable practices, and has a strong foundation for future climate adaptation planning.

More than 305 tourism businesses across BC participated in this second year of reporting.

New reports now available

This update introduces three new types of reports:

• Second Tourism Climate Adaptation and Environmental Sustainability Survey
• Sub-Regional Snapshot Series
• Sector Snapshot Series

These reports represent the second year of results, allowing for comparison against the initial baseline data collected the previous year. Future reporting for further comparison may also be possible.

The data reflects results from 2025. The survey was conducted from February to March 2026, and this update is being released in July 2026.

Tourism Climate Adaptation and Environmental Sustainability Survey

As part of the data framework, this survey establishes a measure of sustainability practices and climate preparedness within the tourism industry. The second wave of the survey was conducted from February to March 2026.

Key takeaways:

• Four in ten tourism businesses (39%) were impacted by a natural hazard in 2025, and 16% had to close for at least one day.
• Over half of tourism businesses (55%) continue to be very concerned about how climate change will impact their business, and the more concerned businesses are, the more likely they are to have completed a plan to prepare for climate change impacts.
• The percentage of tourism businesses that made investments to better adapt to climate change increased from 64% in 2024 to 72% in 2025.
• Businesses are most interested in training resources that support planning for the risks posed by natural hazards and climate change.

Tourism Climate Adaptation & Sustainability Business Survey Snapshot Series

Developed where sufficient survey participation was achieved, these sub-provincial reports offer insights at the sub-regional and sector levels to support tourism businesses with sustainability benchmarking and climate resilience planning.

Sector Snapshot Series

Developed where sufficient survey participation was achieved, these sector snapshots outline actions taken by organizations in 2025. These results provide data to track improvements over time and help inform climate adaptation and environmental sustainability program needs.

View the reports

View the full reports to explore the latest findings from the BC Tourism Climate Resiliency Initiative.