ECONOMY

Economy refers to economic development, and means building a fair and resilient visitor economy that supports local livelihoods and quality of life and reinvests and/or redistributes benefits.

We invest tourism's returns into the ecosystems and communities that make the Island worth visiting.

Economy is the economic logic of the CARE Framework, and it asks us to consider how our actions support long-term resilience.

Visitor spending is concentrated in accommodation and transportation, with only 9% going to recreation and entertainment. This sector is where the community-rooted, experience-based visitors most want to spend and where economic benefit circulates broadly. Seventy-eight percent of visitors are willing to travel in shoulder seasons, yet the sector still rides a significant occupancy swing from August to January. Sixty-nine percent of visitors want to incorporate Indigenous tourism experiences into their plans, yet Indigenous operators currently capture only a fraction of the economy.

The CARE Framework asks the tourism sector to expand its definition of success from visitor volume to community wellbeing, from occupancy rates to year-round economic stability, and from raw revenue to equitable benefit distribution. These are not constraints for a strong economy; rather, they are the conditions that unlock a resilient economy.

Consider: If your tourism business or destination were successful by CARE’s definition: thriving community, healthy ecosystems, equitable Indigenous economic participation, resilient local livelihoods, what would need to change about how you currently measure and pursue success?

Scroll down to read the Economy Practices you can take today, and learn about the initiatives 4TVI is leading.

“We don’t want this to become like every other overtouristed destination. We want it to stay real, and that means thinking differently about what success looks like.”

  • - 4TVI What We Heard Report

Economy Practices, Tools, and Resources

Practice 1: Economic Activity and Impact Audit

START HERE!

Practice Description: Use the Economy Activity Impact Audit to assess how your tourism activities build or drain local economic resilience, employment quality, and community wealth. Score each activity across five categories: Local Employment, Local Procurement, Job Quality, Long-term Resilience, and Community Impact. Use the results to identify priority areas where you can support local economic resilience. Complete annually or after any major staffing, procurement, or business model change.

    • 85% of VI residents believe tourism supports local businesses, but 'tension between economic growth and community costs' is also widely documented. The audit helps operators understand which side of this tension their activities sit on. (DSS WWH Report; DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 4.2)

    • Capital investments on VI grew to $354M in 2023, but are 'not always directed toward regenerative projects.' The Long-term Resilience scoring category helps operators assess whether their investments are building toward or away from community benefit. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 8) *Note that the 2023 figure includes the Belleville Terminal capital project.

    • Analysis of 22 Vancouver Island tourism plans consistently identifies housing, workforce shortages, and economic leakage as regional challenges. The Local Employment and Community Impact categories make these systemic concerns actionable at the individual operator level. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 4.2)

    • The tourism job and career impact score on Vancouver Island is 2.60, compared to the provincial average of 3.01. The audit's Job Quality scoring category gives operators a structured way to assess and act on this gap. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 7)

  • Economic Activity and Impact Audit

    • Local Procurement & Circular Economy Scorecard: Worksheet or online tool for businesses to track percent of spending on local suppliers, Indigenous businesses, regional services, outside the region, etc. Identify gaps and opportunities to strengthen regional wealth circulation.

    • SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth

    • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

    • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities

Practice 2: Review Economic and Social Impacts Together

BEGINNER PRACTICES

Practice Description: After each season, assess not just your financial results but also your effects on workforce wellbeing, housing pressures, and community quality of life. Ask: Did our business make this community a better place to live and work this season? Track both financial and social measures over time, the full picture is what guides good decisions.

    • Analysis of 22 Vancouver Island tourism plans identified 'Tension Between Economic Growth and Community Costs: housing affordability, labour market stress, and uneven benefit distribution' as a core challenge. Financial success without social review is incomplete stewardship. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 4.2, Table 4)

    • ‘Emphasis on Quality over Quantity (Value over Volume)' was a consistent strategic direction across the 22 VI tourism plans reviewed. Social impact review is how operators move from volume metrics to value metrics. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 4.2, Table 4)

    • DSS WWH Key Insights: 'We need to focus on regeneration over expansion, how can economic development support the community without leading to overwhelming growth?' This question only gets answered when social and economic data are reviewed together. (DSS WWH Report)

    • Only 25% of Vancouver Island tourism businesses have emergency or climate resilience plans (BCTCRI). Regular social-economic review builds the awareness that leads to better preparedness. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 8)

    • Economic and Social Impact Review Template

    • Economic Impact Reporting with a Stewardship Lens: Right now, 4TVI's economic reporting tracks revenue, visitation, and jobs. Adding community benefit metrics, for example, the percentage of spending retained locally, Indigenous economic participation, job quality indicators, housing cost pressure, and other beautiful KPIs would make the full picture visible and create accountability for improvement.

    • SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth

    • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

    • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities

Practice Description: Identify shoulder-season experiences linked to nature, culture, learning, or slow travel and develop them as offerings for weekenders, locals, retirees, and off-peak visitors. Extending your operating season can reduce peak pressure, create more stable employment, and can make your business more financially resilient. However, be sure to design your seasonal calendar to also include slower periods, for rest, training, maintenance, and staff renewal.

Practice 3: Strategically Extend Your Season

INTERMEDIATE PRACTICES

    • 'Seasonality and Underdeveloped Tourism Products' is consistently cited as a top challenge across Vancouver Island tourism planning. There is wide agreement that shoulder-season development is a strategic priority. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 4.2, Table 4)

    • 66% of Vancouver Island residents want visitors to travel year-round and 62% want visitors to participate in slower forms of tourism. Roughly 79% of visitors are willing to travel year-round, especially if it is more affordable. Resident preferences and operator opportunity are aligned. Further, designing for seasonality may support a shift away from unsustainable peak season loading (DSS WWH Report, Sec. 2.3)

    • 80% of travellers are willing to spend 10% more on sustainable, meaningful travel experiences. Shoulder-season offerings that connect visitors to place have strong market pull. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 3.2)

    • Current visitor spending on VI is concentrated in accommodation (29%), food & beverage (28%), and transportation (27%), but 'remains largely transactional.' Shoulder-season cultural, nature, and learning experiences may create higher-value, lower-volume alternatives. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 7)

    • During COVID, some BC restaurants shared servers between operators to maintain employment and capacity through slower periods, a practical model for recovery-oriented seasonal collaboration. (In-Person Engagement Anecdote)

    • Seasonal Extension Planning Guide: Shift regional marketing toward value over volume and shoulder season. The situation analysis and the resident survey both point to seasonality and overcrowding as persistent problems, and 66% of residents want visitors year-round. By deliberately allocating marketing investment toward shoulder-season experiences, slow travel, and high-quality low-volume products, 4TVI can shift the economic pressure across the calendar and across the Island, creating more stable employment, reducing peak burnout, and extending benefits to more communities.

    • Market Opportunity Guide: Develop an accompanying guide with a market opportunity worksheet for businesses (e.g., who travels off-peak), an experience design guide rooted in data, a revenue projection planner, and a marketing timing calendar.

    • SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth

    • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities

    • SDG 12: Responsible Consumption

Practice 4: Focus on Stable, Quality Jobs

Practice Description: Focus on building living wages, skills training, mentorship programs, and long-term employment progression. Review your retention rates and job satisfaction. A quality job is not just well-paid, it builds skills, treats people with dignity, offers a future, and keeps talented people connected to their community. Ask: What does quality seasonal employment look like here? What are we doing well, and where are there areas to improve?

    • The tourism job and career impact score on Vancouver Island is 2.60 vs. the provincial average of 3.01, a significant gap reflecting community concerns about wage levels, job quality, and long-term employment sustainability. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 7)

    • Indigenous representation in the Vancouver Island tourism workforce sits at approximately 5%, below the provincial average, despite Indigenous lands and cultures being central to the tourism offer. Intentional hiring practices can begin to shift this. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 7)

    • The Tla-o-qui-aht Nation saw Indigenous employment in Tofino's tourism sector drop from roughly 90% pre-COVID to approximately 10% in its aftermath, a sharp reversal that underscores how fragile employment equity gains can be without structural support. (Indigenous Pathways Conference Report)

    • COVID-era staff-sharing programs between winter and summer operators were noted as a practical model for creating year-round, stable employment, keeping skilled workers and community knowledge local. (Practice design notes)

    • Regional Tourism Workforce Strategy: Housing shortages and workforce gaps are critical issues, but there is no coordinated regional response. 4TVI can convene industry, CDMOs, government, and Indigenous Nations around a shared workforce strategy, one that includes affordable housing advocacy, seasonal employment bridging programs, Indigenous employment targets, and shared training resources.

    • SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth

    • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

Practice Description: Look for partners to share marketing costs, equipment, training programs, storage, and transportation. Collaboration can make smaller operators more viable, especially when it creates partnerships built on shared values and community trust. Note: not all partnerships are good partnerships. Prioritize those that are culturally safe, values-aligned, and mutually beneficial.

Practice 5: Collaborate to Reduce Costs

    • Vancouver Island has approximately 2,700 tourism businesses and 26,300 employees. The collaboration potential for shared marketing, equipment, and training is significant and largely untapped. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 7)

    • 'Collaboration and Coordinated Planning' is one of the most frequently recurring recommendations across the 22 Vancouver Island tourism plans reviewed, operators consistently identify silos and duplication as barriers to resilience. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 4.2)

    • Indigenous tourism businesses on VI face barriers, including access to capital, infrastructure limitations, and labour constraints. Ethical collaboration with Indigenous operators on their terms can help address these structural gaps. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 6)

    • Capital investments on Vancouver Island grew from $38.1M in 2022 to $354M in 2023, but this investment is 'not always directed toward regenerative projects.' Collaboration can redirect collective resources toward community-benefit outcomes. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 8) *Note that the 2023 figure includes the Belleville Terminal capital project.

    • SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth

    • SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Practice Description: Invest in developing tourism experiences that meet the standards required to sell through regional and national distribution channels, travel trade, online travel agents, tour operators, and DMO platforms. A market-ready experience has consistent quality, clear pricing, a reliable booking system, appropriate insurance and liability coverage, and the capacity to handle wholesale relationships. This practice asks operators to move beyond informal word-of-mouth offerings and build products that can generate stable, year-round revenue, especially regenerative, eco, low-impact, and Indigenous-led experiences that visitors are actively seeking.

Practice 6: Develop Market-Ready Experiences

ADVANCED PRACTICES

    • Visitor spending on Vancouver Island remains concentrated in accommodation (29%), food & beverage (28%), and transportation (27%) and "remains largely transactional." There is significant unrealized revenue potential in experience-based tourism, but only if those experiences are bookable, discoverable, and consistently delivered. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 7)

    • 69% of visitors are interested in Indigenous-led experiences but most have never participated. The barrier is not desire, it's access and discoverability. Market readiness is what closes this gap. (DSS WWH Report; DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 6)

    • The top experience types visitors want but are not finding include wildlife conservation tours, slow food and farm-to-table experiences, cycling and kayaking, and sustainability-focused events, all of which require product development investment to become consistently bookable. (DSS WWH Report, Phase 2 Engagement Presentation)

    • 80% of travellers are willing to spend 10% more on sustainable, meaningful travel. Market-ready stewardship experiences are a growth market with a premium price point available to operators who invest in product development. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 3.2)

      Indigenous tourism businesses on Vancouver Island grew 47% between 2019 and 2023, with 114 businesses listed with ITBC. Persistent barriers include market visibility, access to capital, and labour constraints. Supporting market readiness directly addresses these barriers and helps tourism benefits flow more equitably to Indigenous-owned businesses. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 6)

    • 'Seasonality and Underdeveloped Tourism Products' is identified as a consistent challenge across all 22 Vancouver Island tourism plans reviewed. Market-ready shoulder-season and low-impact experiences are the product solution to this structural problem. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 4.2, Table 4)

    • Regional Visitor Stewardship Contribution Fund: 77% of visitors are willing to pay a sustainability fee (between $5 - $10). Operators doing this individually are fragmented, administratively burdensome, and invisible at scale. 4TVI can create a regional give-back mechanism, a stewardship pass, a round-up fund integrated with booking platforms, or an MRDT-aligned community fund, and direct it back to communities to make decisions on transparent and visible stewardship outcomes, like ecosystem restoration, conservation projects, community events, and climate resilience.

    • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities

    • SDG 15: Life on Land

    • SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Practice Description: Publicly support projects through advocacy or funding, if possible, that benefit both residents and visitors, like transit routes, trails, EV charging, public amenities like washrooms, workforce housing, and community spaces. Investing in shared infrastructure is an act of economic stewardship that extends your impact beyond your own bottom line and builds the social license your business depends on for long-term viability.

Practice 7: Invest in Shared Infrastructure

    • Analysis of 22 Vancouver Island tourism plans: 'Housing and Workforce Shortages: A consistent challenge' across the Island. Infrastructure investment — particularly workforce housing and transit — directly addresses the most acute barrier to sustainable tourism employment. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 4.2, Table 4)

    • The MRDT (Municipal and Regional District Tax) system in BC allows CDMOs to direct tourism-generated funding toward local infrastructure priorities. Operators who engage with this system contribute to collective community investment. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 7)

    • Practitioner feedback: 'Investing in housing and transit helps lower the living wage threshold in communities.' Infrastructure investment has a multiplier effect on workforce retention and community affordability. (In Person Engagement)

    • Capital investments on Vancouver Island grew to $354M in 2023 but are 'not always directed toward regenerative projects' — shared infrastructure investment is one of the clearest ways to direct tourism capital toward community benefit. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 8)

    • Tourism Aligned Infrastructure and Housing Investments: Leverage 4TVI’s relationships to make the case that tourism workforce housing, transit investment, and shared infrastructure are legitimate tourism investments, not separate from the industry's interests but central to its long-term viability. Advocate to diverse levels of government.

    • SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth

    • SDG 9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure

    • SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities

    • Vancouver Island's tourism economy is $3.2 billion, with 2,700 businesses and 26,300 employees, but visitor spending remains concentrated in accommodation, F&B, and transportation. The strategy calls for 'meaningful, reciprocal, experience-based opportunities that allow visitors to give back in alignment with host values.' (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 7).

    • Malahat FN described tourism as valuable when it means 'bringing money in, supporting local businesses, and investing in economic development.' This is the community's definition of success and operators can align their purchasing to meet it. (Malahat FN Community Survey)

    • Indigenous tourism businesses on VI grew 47% between 2019 and 2023; ITBC lists 114 Indigenous tourism businesses on Vancouver Island. Intentional local procurement and referrals from non-Indigenous operators accelerate this growth. (DSS Situation Analysis, Ch. 6)

    • Robynn Keras (Métis Nation BC) highlighted that over 300 Métis artists and 400 businesses operate on Vancouver Island but are underrepresented in tourism marketing and economic development plans. Intentional inclusion starts with knowing who is there. (Indigenous Pathways Conference Report)

    • Regional Local Procurement and Indigenous Business Directory: Operators want to buy local but often don't know who is available or how to connect. 4TVI can maintain a living directory of local suppliers, Indigenous businesses, and artisans, actively curated and promoted to operators, which makes keeping spending local the path of least resistance rather than the path of most effort.

    • SDG 1: No Poverty

    • SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth

    • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

Practice Description: Prioritize local and Indigenous hiring, local suppliers, and local partnerships, and set targets for the percentage of your spending that stays in the community. Practice checking in annually: What percent of our budget is staying local? Who are we sourcing from, and could we be doing more? Intentionality turns good intentions into traceable economic impact.

Practice 8: Build Local Wealth

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