02/02/2026
A shout out to all the tourism businesses in BC who are struggling to deal with the constantly changing regulatory landscape of their businesses. Mostly small and medium-sized, family-run, they are particularly important in the more rural areas of BC. BC's no. 1 industry and employer! However, Destination BC receives less funding now than it got back in 2015. Approx $52 Million. So in 2025 dollars it is about 30% less in real terms! Defunding our No. 1 industry in its ability to compete internationally is not good business decision. 1 out of 8 jobs in the province. Tourism contributed $9.7 billion (approximately 3.1%) to BC's GDP in 2023, exceeding several major resource sectors:
Mining: $5.3 billion
Oil & Gas Extraction: $4.6 billion
Agriculture & Fishing: $3.1 billion
Forestry & Logging: $1.7 billion