B.C. Ferries is seeing its lowest level of summer passenger traffic in several decades. A strong Canadian dollar is targeted as the main culprit, keeping American and Canadian visitors from using ferry transport.
Passenger traffic is down 3.7 per cent and vehicles are down 4.2 per cent from 2010, resulting in what B.C. Ferries anticipates as a loss of close to $30 million.
Deborah Marshall, director of media relations for B.C. Ferries, attributes this anticipated loss this to several factors.
"With the economy in the United States right now, people there are staying home," Marshall said.
As for Canadians, Marshall said they are heading south, taking advantage of the exchange rate.
"They're not travelling as much in the country. They see the value of going down to California or something for vacation and get a real value for their dollar right now," she said.
Marshall said the poor weather this summer has also been a big factor. She added that the drop in traffic is across the board, but it does vary.
"Some of the routes that aren't as popular with tourists aren't affected as much, but they are still seeing an impact," she said.
When asked if the loss in revenue could be attributed to what many feel are high ferry fares, Marshall said the cost of the ferry is a factor in customers' decision to travel. A June promotion of the CoastSaver card, a program that includes a 35 per cent discount on major route fares, was unable to drive traffic and increase statistics.
On Wednesday, the news got even worse for B.C. Ferries, as president and CEO David Hahn announced at the company's annual general meeting in Victoria that they will be asking the provincial government to approve the cancellation of more than 400 sailings in a cost-cutting measure.
The cuts, if approved in September, would affect travel during the shoulder season from after Labour Day to Easter.
There is no word yet whether our route would be affected.
While the anticipated company losses may raise alarm bells to communities reliant on the ferry service and tourist dollars, the Sunshine Coast has no need to panic, even with statistics showing a slump in the Coast route's numbers.
According to Celia Robben, president of the Sunshine Coast Tourism Association, summer tourism numbers are positive.
"As I talk anecdotally, most people agree that just as the weather was slow in coming this summer, so were the tourists, but August has just been a very strong and solid month," Robben said. "And I think most people can tell that from the seats in the restaurants and the line-ups in traffic that, overall, August is a very strong month.
"If you look at Canada-wide stats, yes, the Ameri-can market is down, but that just means a changing market. Our best international markets are from Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K., all economies that haven't been hit as hard."
Even with a challenging economy, Robben is positive about the Sunshine Coast remaining a popular destination for tourists.
"What we always try to talk about is that our particular crossing is half the cost and half the time of going to the island," she said. "Even through the recession, the fact that we were still able to increase room revenues over that period says a lot about the Sunshine Coast as a destination."
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