Remarkable summer in Tofino
Tourism Tofino forecasting summer of 2015 was best ever; fall looking strong.It has been an exceptional summer for visitors staying in Tofino hotels, for residents enjoying the warm Tofino weather and for businesses, such as Long Beach Lodge Resort, offering accommodation and other services.
The executive director of Tourism Tofino recently told the Westerly News that she expects the summer of 2015 will go down as one of the best on record.
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“One would be hard-pressed to find a local business on the coast that has indicated this isn't their best year ever,” Kirsten Soder told the Westerly.
Soder reported that the number of people coming to the Cox Bay visitor centre is on par with 2014 – 12,642 this July compared to 12,766 the same month last year – but those numbers don’t reflect changes in how people get their information.
Soder told the newspaper that Tourism Tofino is seeing “huge gains” in social media interactions and that, in speaking to area businesses, Tofino, B.C. continues to grow as one of the top destinations on Vancouver Island.
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Soder credited hard work on behalf of her organization as well as the exceptional weather and strong U.S. dollar for creating the conditions that helped attract visitors from across North America and around the world.
Tofino hotels have been busy, with guests booking up rooms quickly and resorts reporting very healthy occupancy rates.
Numbers from early summer show that overall accommodation occupancy was up 18.9 per cent over last year.
“Combined with the hard work and creative marketing efforts of our staff, our stakeholders and our partners, Tofino is well positioned to see continued growth across all sectors in our industry,” she told the paper.
“As the experiences offered here continue to grow and become more sophisticated, more of our local industry businesses and employees are seeing the extension of a previously seasonal industry becoming a sustainable, more year-round one, and that is very exciting.”
Tourism Tofino is currently showcasing the benefits of visiting Tofino in the fall.
As the summer weather begins to wane, tourists flock to Tofino hotels in search of the autumn colours, the chance to storm watch and, of course, the exceptional cold water surfing.
Here’s a look at a few upcoming events:
- Surf's Up – Sept. 12-13 - Rip Curl and Tofino’s surf community come together to support a surf day for children with autism and their families.
- Bruhwiler Kids Classic – Sept. 19 - A day at the beach with competitive and non-competitive sessions for kids from toddlers to teenagers under 19.
- Cultural Heritage Festival – Sept. 19-27 - This year’s theme is "Surfing the West Coast.” A natural choice to celebrate Tofino, B.C.’s favourite sport through art and culture.
