Canada’s Greater Victoria Sees Record Hotel Occupancy – Here’s Why You Should Visit This Exploding Travel Destination!

Published on September 27, 2025

Destination Greater Victoria is celebrating a singular tourism season, marking nan champion summertime for hotels successful nan region successful nan past decade. According to Paul Nursey, CEO of Destination Greater Victoria, nan area has knowledgeable its astir successful summertime successful position of edifice occupancy rates, underscoring nan region’s increasing entreaty among travelers. The 2025 summertime play saw a 79.9 percent occupancy rate, pinch nan busiest period being August, which recorded a 94.3 percent occupancy rate. This represents a much than 4 percent summation compared to August 2024, highlighting nan spot of Victoria’s tourism sector.

Record-Breaking Hotel Occupancy for Greater Victoria

The summertime of 2025 has undoubtedly been a milestone for nan Greater Victoria edifice industry. The region’s edifice occupancy has reached heights not seen successful nan past decade, proving nan expanding request for accommodations. August, typically 1 of nan busiest months for tourism, saw occupancy levels soar to 94.3 percent, marking a important year-over-year improvement. The beardown capacity successful edifice bookings is simply a clear denotation of nan region’s continued maturation arsenic a apical recreation destination successful Canada.

Paul Nursey credits nan surge successful Canadian home recreation arsenic a cardinal driver for this success. He explains that much Canadians are choosing to recreation wrong their ain country, which has positively impacted nan region’s tourism figures. Additionally, nan influx of American visitors has besides played a role, pinch a humble summation of 2 to 3 percent successful visitors from nan U.S. compared to past year. This uptick is peculiarly important fixed nan challenges faced by nan world tourism industry.

International Travelers Boost Victoria’s Tourism Appeal

In summation to Canadian and American visitors, Greater Victoria has seen a noticeable emergence successful visitors from Europe, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and Mexico. Collectively, world visitors now correspond astir 11 to 12 percent of nan full tourism marketplace successful nan region. This maturation successful world tourism has helped to propel nan wide summation successful edifice occupancy and has bolstered nan occurrence of nan summertime season. The divers influx of travelers from astir nan world reflects nan increasing world liking successful Victoria arsenic a picnic destination.

Support from Local Travel Industries

The edifice industry’s occurrence is mirrored by affirmative numbers from different sectors of nan tourism system successful Greater Victoria. Victoria International Airport has reported a robust summation successful rider traffic, pinch monthly increases of astir 10 percent compared to past summer. This maturation successful aerial recreation is different denotation of nan beardown request for Victoria arsenic a tourism hub.

Additionally, BC Ferries, a cardinal proscription supplier for travelers successful nan region, besides reported awesome figures for nan summer. A grounds 9.4 cardinal passengers and 3.7 cardinal vehicles sailed pinch BC Ferries, highlighting nan value of ferry services successful facilitating tourism to and from nan island.

Challenges for Ferry Services to nan U.S.

However, contempt nan beardown capacity successful section tourism, ferry services to nan U.S. faced challenges this summer. According to Ryan Burles, CEO of Black Ball Ferries, ferry postulation to Washington State was down by astir 15 percent compared to 2024. This diminution tin beryllium attributed to respective factors, including ongoing governmental tensions and uncertainties surrounding cross-border travel. As Canadians progressively debar U.S. recreation owed to governmental concerns, and Americans stay cautious astir imaginable changes astatine nan border, ferry services to Washington struggled to meet expectations.

The reduced request for ferry services has led to operational adjustments, pinch Mark Collins, CEO of Clipper Vacations, noting that nan institution had to trim respective round-trip sailings from its schedule. Clipper Vacations typically operates pinch 75 to 80 percent capacity connected its ferries, but this summertime saw load factors autumn to astir 50 percent, prompting nan institution to standard backmost services and make unit reductions.

Looking Ahead: A Strong Future for Victoria’s Tourism Industry

Despite nan challenges faced by ferry services to nan U.S., nan outlook for Victoria’s tourism manufacture remains optimistic. The beardown summertime play has laid a coagulated instauration for early growth, and nan edifice manufacture successful nan region is poised to proceed thriving. Industry leaders are already anticipating that nan occurrence of 2025 will lead to further finance successful nan tourism sector, pinch a peculiar attraction connected expanding edifice accommodations. Greater Victoria intends to adhd 2,000 caller edifice rooms wrong nan adjacent 10 years to meet nan expanding request from some home and world visitors.

Destination Greater Victoria is besides mounting its sights connected early developments, including nan imaginable building of a caller normal center. As nan region continues to pull larger volumes of visitors and events, nan summation of a normal halfway would supply a valuable plus for nan section tourism economy, further solidifying Victoria’s position arsenic a starring destination for some leisure and business travel.

Victoria’s Growing Appeal and Long-Term Vision

The region’s tourism manufacture has demonstrated resilience and adaptability, and nan awesome edifice occupancy figures from this past summertime awesome that Greater Victoria is connected a affirmative trajectory. With increasing liking from world travelers, expanding home tourism, and beardown support from section industries for illustration aerial recreation and ferry services, Victoria is well-positioned for early success. The city’s activity successful nan tourism assemblage has laid nan groundwork for an moreover brighter future, pinch plans for continued maturation and finance successful nan years to come.

As nan region looks to grow its offerings and infrastructure, nan tourism organization tin expect different beardown summertime play successful 2026, fueled by nan ongoing occurrence of initiatives for illustration caller edifice investments and nan imaginable for a normal center. With nan instauration of a successful 2025 summertime season, Greater Victoria’s tourism assemblage is poised to proceed its upward trajectory and stay a premier destination for travelers worldwide.