There was jubilation amongst tourism association and tourist facility operator when Premier Christy Clark and her B.C. Liberal government promised to return BC Ferries summer service between Port Hardy and Bella Coola in 2018.
Obviously, tourism stakeholders see this as a major victory after Clark, through Transportation Minister Todd Stone, yanked the Queen of Chilliwack from Route 40 in 2014.
A lot of credit has to go to local tourism leader Pat Corbett, who along with some other tourism leaders, did a lot of ground work during his time as past chair of the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association (CCCTA) to bring back the ferry and the huge tourist economy so vital to the B.C. Coast, Bella Coola and the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
Since Stone announced the cancellation in 2014 as part of an overall West Coast ferry reduction plan, Corbett started working on returning a summer ferry route to service the Great Bear Rainforest aboriginal tourism route.
The Mid Coast Working Group (MCWG), an aboriginal and non-aboriginal tourism industry partnership, has been working since then to bring back this service through extensive research, studies, and developing and analyzing options for marine transportation on the province’s coastal tourism destination.
The return of summer ferry service will be good for the South Cariboo communities along the route to Bella Coola from Quesnel, Barkerville (and the Rockies) to the north and from the south via Cache Creek and Whistler.
It will encourage Vancouver Island residents to take the ferry across to Bella Coola, tour the Chilcotin, and then turn north or south to see more of the Cariboo region.
It was part of a natural and highly effective circle tour route that was widely advertised both in B.C. and throughout Europe.
After stone-walling all of the efforts of the CCCTA and area tourism operators’ efforts to save businesses on Vancouver Island, Bella Coola and the route through the Cariboo-Chilcotin in 2014, replaced the Queen of Chilliwack with a 16-vehicle barge called the Nimpkish.
Tourists decided to forego the uncomfortable nine-hour, round-about ride from Port Hardy to Bella Coola.
The most devastating hit was the European tourist operators who stopped recommending the Discovery tour.
A West Chilcotin Tourism Association-commissioned study showed there was a $3.3-million loss in regional economic activity and a $3.9-million loss in tourism revenue.
Obviously, the B.C. Liberal decision devastated the area, and with a fix not coming until 2018 and years of building up European confidence in the Discovery Route, it’s going to be a tough go for the tourism operators.
So, why the sudden turn-around?
Could it have anything to do with the pending provincial election in 2017?
