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Are we thriving?

Editor: Many of the business owners in Gibsons would like to register displeasure and dismay regarding a recent statement in an advertisement against The George (Coast Reporter, Feb. 14).

Editor:

Many of the business owners in Gibsons would like to register displeasure and dismay regarding a recent statement in an advertisement against The George (Coast Reporter, Feb. 14).

The statement, "The Truth is: Gibsons is Thriving" is just not true for everyone. If this were true, much of the retail space in the Sunnycrest Mall and along Gibsons Way would not be empty.

Many of the merchants and restaurants in Gibsons Landing and Upper Gibsons will tell you it is a constant challenge to run a successful year-round business here. If statistics for incorporated businesses have increased by 13 per cent from 2006 to 2011, this doesn't necessarily translate to business profitability for the retail and hospitality businesses in Gibsons.

Most business owners in Gibsons would agree that The George Hotel project will bring much-needed four-season tourism and conference business to Gibsons, improving business sustainability and job creation in this sector on a year round basis.

The recently released Tourism Labour Market Strategy (2012) available from the Go2HR website clearly reflects the growth and opportunities in B.C.'s hospitality and tourism sector including "more than 100,000 new job openings by 2020, according to Roslyn Kunin & Associates." Not only will The George help to keep more people employed in a clean, renewable tourism enterprise that "treads gently" on our environment, it will be a significant economic driver for many businesses in Gibsons and the region.

Peggy Wright

Gibsons, and 21 other businesses in Gibsons