“I’m the most loved or hated person on Bowen these days I guess, depending on who you talk to,” says Murray Atherton, chair of Tourism Bowen. “There are always people who complain about the lineups at the General Store or ferries overloaded with walk-on passengers, but the businesses are loving it. It felt so good to speak with business owners at the beginning of July and hear they’d already achieved positive bank balances.”
Atherton says the latest statistics from the Visitor Information Centre in Snug Cove show the fruition of the Committee’s hard work over the last few years. More than 12,000 visitors stopped into the Visitor Information this summer, whereas last year by this time, the staff their had counted just over 7,000 visitors.
Bowen Tourism’s hard work, as Atherton explains, includes hosting journalists, bloggers, tour operators, the creation of a Marketing and Sales Plan funded by Destination BC, as well as membership in both the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Vancouver, and also, the branding initiative.
“At Bowfest, I met people who told me they landed on Bowen because they were talking to BC Ferries workers in Horseshoe Bay about their plans to go to Vancouver Island for a day, and they were told it was quicker and cheaper to come here,” says Atherton.“I would also say we’ve benefited from the wildfire situation, and the strength of the US dollar in comparison to ours.”
Jan Stevens, owner of five vacation rental units, says she’s noticed a major increase in visitors from the US.
“Bowen Island is basically on-sale to them, I think a lot of people from the US are realizing that,” says Stevens. “I would say the number of people coming from the US has double this summer, and strangely, I get a lot of people from Texas. I think they like Bowen as a contrast to what they’re used to.”
Stevens adds that Tourism Bowen’s hopes to extend the tourist season here seem to be panning out as well.
“Our occupancy for September is not 100 percent, but basically, we have no availability. Just yesterday, I got six new bookings for October and November. Anyone can fill up in the summer, but extending occupancy in the off-season is the goal. Usually winter bookings come in at the last minute, which can make you as a business owner nervous. It’s also good when you can keep work in the different seasons balanced for your staff.”
