Vancouver’s low tourism grades spur sector reassessment
 

Vancouver’s low tourism grades spur sector reassessment

Greater Vancouver Board of Trade gives city D grade for international visitor counts

By Glen Korstrom | June 26, 2018

https://biv.com/article/2018/06/vanc...r-reassessment

The sooner Vancouver’s self satisfied smugness is erased the better things will become.

Vancouver has a magnificent base but all the NIMBYism / wanting to remain a small town / over reliance on “the mountains” / ideology over practicality nonsense is restraining it from becoming so much more.

The view cones, Vision’s ham fisted reconciliation tactics, black and white views towards roads, no corporate signs above 450 feet, allowing protestors to destroy the Chinatown development plan, allowing a small citizen’s group prevent an observation tower at Queen Elizabeth Park for dubious reasons, etc... are all symptoms of these problems. Each one alone is not a make or break deal, but when they all pile on top of one and other...

Funny because none of the things you're complaining about were mentioned as limiting factors in the article. :rolleyes:

And I didn’t expect them to be, but they are all symptoms of the same attitude that is contributing to this problem. If you can’t see the over arching parallels not much as I can do for you. These general directions of thought and philosophy are exactly why we lack a major (or at least adequate) amusement park, and why our park board has essentially neutered our aquarium despite great protest from marine biologists, and why there is not even a freakin farm animal petting zoo in Vancouver anymore...

That plus not having any money; forget the VAG - the Aquarium (even with the whales), Playland and all the museums seem to have a hard time just breaking even, let alone expanding.

(sigh)... Looks like we're going to need some more corporate sponsors.

the full article brings up those issues, there is also a bit of info on the VAG and needing money etc. to get moving.

Seriously if people aren't going to come to Vancouver or stay here longer because we don't have uber than oh well, give me a break. Who makes that a deciding factor on where you travel to? and if you do, get a life!

Getting around is definitely something many people take into account when planning a trip. Especially when you're not in a European-style city where everything is either within walking distance or you have an excellent public transit system

I'm pretty sure people got around fine before uber

And people communicated fine before smartphones, but try operating a business today without one.

That’s the thing, as new conveniences appear people become accustomed to them.

These criteria seem pretty lame. No amusement park? Honolulu seems to get by fine with out one, as does Palms Springs, Miami etc etc. They don't even seem to acknowledge a bigger threat, the disappearance of affordable rooms from downtown.

Well not having uber is part of our culture. Don't people like discovering different places and cultures??? Lol

But for real, someone is wanting to book a trip to Vancouver and then finds out we don't have uber and what? cancels?? Sorry but that is ridiculous. They May as well just stay in their bubble then

I can assure you that Vancouver's existing ability to park your car and travel almost anywhere by bus or train is fantastic. Uber is more that thing you use when you are with friends after a night of drinking in Gastown and you want to get back to your Kitsilano AirBNB which is totally not a garage-turned-laneway-house.

I loved my first trip to Vancouver but the glaring hole was the dearth of cultural assets: significant museums/galleries, opera, theatre, professional sports (MLB, NBA), major international festivals, etc. I know there's the Museum of Anthropology at UBC but there's not much beyond that.

No one thing alone will boost tourism to Vancouver but collectively they will make a difference.

Again everyone is focusing on a single aspect.
No, no one is going to decide a trip on if a place has ride sharring or not, but all these little aspects together do paint a larger picture that can cause people to choose elsewhere.

Are you serious??

First of all these are sun destinations, but simple quick google searches find major aquariums that even include such activities as swimming with dolphins, adventure parks, water parks, small scale family amusement facilities, large military museums, etc... And then there is the simple fact that 3 hours out of Miami is Disney World and Universal Studios.

Also seeing safari parks, water parks, and other amusement parks for Palm Springs and area. Even so I have never thought of Palm Springs as an “exciting” place to visit. More of a travel destination for the nearly dead.

Very true but the issue of not having uber has nothing to do with Vancouver as it's a provincial decision

Isn't there a petting zoo in Stanley Park or Maplewood Flats in North Van?

Petting zoo in Stanley Park was closed.

I remember going there as a child, good memories.

Not sure about North Van.

There's also the "zoo" in Aldergrove, but for the tourists' and animals' sakes I wouldn't recommend it to anybody.

Plus 5.5 million residents, a rep as a Spring Break destination (and city-sized beaches to match), teams in all four "major leagues," a giant music/club scene, three zoos, and a dozen performing arts centres. We've got big shoes to fill before we can even think of comparing Vancouver to Miami.

Also for one-percenters running away from the city for a week or two. From what I hear it's like a bigger, better Kelowna.