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NORTHWEST SUMMER
EXPLORE YOUR OWN BACKYARD
Former Canuck Trevor Linden weighs in on BC’s best options for summer travel.
AN INDEPENDENT SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET TO THE PROVINCE
Tourism in BCThere’s something for everyone
Our wildernessDiscover a wide variety of species
March 2013
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ABOUT BC
Survivorman Les Stroud shares his
love for BC’s endless
o� erings
2 · MARCH 2013 AN INDEPENDENT SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET TO THE PROVINCE
ism industry would be an under-statement. Mt Washington had a 300 percent increase in visitors. Mount Seymour saw record-breaking numbers of people, in fact, they had more skiers than any time in Mt. Seymour’s sea-son so far, more than over the Christmas holidays. More than 85,000 skiers and snowboarders converged on Whistler Black-comb that weekend, a number comparable only to the Christmas holidays and U.S. President’s Day. Big White Ski Resort Ltd. reported a 67 percent increase in skier visits and a four-fold increase in occupancy over the weekend compared to last year. Finally, Tourism Sun Peaks reports the resort scored its best single day in history for lift tickets. Skier visits Friday through Monday were up 45 percent with rental accommo-dation up 60 percent.
From skiing to wine tasting to fly fishing, British Colum-bia is home to some of the best travel experiences in the world. Whether you’re considering a trip to our province for the first time, or if you’ve lived here all your life, I encourage you to visit HelloBC.com for incredible vaca-tion ideas and even better deals. I hope that you’ll join me in exploring our beautiful province and experiencing the wide vari-ety of exciting activities it has to offer!
CHALLENGESLooking for a unique adventure this summer? Why not explore British Columbia and help keep our tourism industry booming.
BC tourism — a strong and prosperous industry
Just as it is for many of you, travel is a pas-sion of mine. People I talk to are often surprised to hear that over the past 15 years, I’ve done all of
my travelling right here in British Columbia. Each and every one of my vacations has taken place in our backyard – from skiing at Sun Peaks Resort in the Okanagan to riding the Hells Gate Tram in the Fraser Canyon to swimming in Vancouver’s Island’s Shawnigan Lake. And so I speak from per-sonal experience when I say that BC has the most diverse and excit-ing travel opportunities in the
world, even for those of us who have lived here all our lives.
Locals create an awesome tourist experienceAs Minister, my responsibility is to ensure that our tourism sec-tor is growing, and I’m proud to say that despite tough economic times, visitors are still coming to BC (especially from growing mar-kets like China and India), rev-enues are up and jobs are stable. In 2011, the sector earned $13.4 billion and employed 126,700 people. In short, tourism con-tributes more added value to BC’s GDP than other primary resource industries (source: 2012 Value
of Tourism in British Columbia Report). This accomplishment is a testament to the thousands of people working every day to cre-ate unforgettable experiences for those who come to visit us.
Family Day in BCAlready 2013 has been a big year for tourism, thanks in large part to our fi rst-ever Family Day on February 11th. To say that Family Day was a success for our tour-
WE RECOMMENDOutdoor AdventurerTrevor Linden explains why BC is the ultimate summer travel destination
PAGE 4
NORTHWEST SUMMER1ST EDITION, MARCH 2013
Publisher: Simon Griffi thssimon.griffi [email protected] Director: Jon [email protected] Developer: Emily O’[email protected] Manager: Maggie [email protected] Designer: Alana [email protected]: Adam [email protected]: Pat Bell, Laura Bombier, Damian Cromwell, Peter Linter, Diana McLaren
Top Cover Photos: PictureBC.ca
Distributed within: The Province, March 2013This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The Province or its Editorial Departments.
Mediaplanet’s business is to create new customers for our advertisers by providing readers with high quality editorial content that motivates them to act.
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PAT BELL [email protected]
Pat BellMinister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, Minister responsible for labour
MARCH 2013 · 3AN INDEPENDENT SECTION BY MEDIAPLANET TO THE PROVINCE
■ BC is home to more than 1138 species of animals which includes BC’s provincial mam-mal the Spirit Bear.
■ BC’s sport fi sh include salmon, trout, char, steelhead, sturgeon, rockfi sh, lingcod and halibut.
■ With an abundance of for-ests and wetlands, BC offers bird watchers a variety of song birds, waterfowl, raptors, marine birds and more. Some of the fi n-est eagle viewing in the world results from BC’s prolifi c salmon runs.
BC ADVENTURE NETWORK
INSIGHT
DID YOU KNOW?
Stroud goes so far as to credit a sea kayaking trip with his young family around North Vancouver Island in 1999 as
the inspiration for his desire to “experience nature that is power-ful, awe-inspiring.”
That trip around places like Tofi no and Telegraph Cove, part of what he had planned to be a cross-country sea kayaking adventure, was “the fi rst time I’d seen that kind of jaw-dropping nature. There was a magical feeling about that experience that was like nothing else I had experienced. My reaction to it was wow! I want more of this.”
Inspired by the waterThe sea kayak trip turned into something much bigger when Stroud conceived his highly suc-cessful Survivorman television series and specials. While this has taken him into many of the world’s most challenging and beautiful environments including
canyons, mountains, and desserts, he maintains that BC outdoor adventures are some of the most spectacular nature has to o£ er.
“Some places like the dessert have a more subtle form of beauty that is revealed to you over time. In BC, it’s big, in-your-face nature. The province is blessed.”
He says he loves sea kayaking because you’re submerged right in the water, becoming part of it, able to see sea life all around and up close. “In fact on that fi rst trip my son who was young at the time, came face-to-face with a sea lion.”
Go out and exploreOf course BC o£ ers much more than water adventures. “The ruggedness of the interior and the mountains are the stu£ of legends.” For novices who’d like to experience an outdoor travel adventure, Stroud says to “start close to home.” Go down the street into a park with your kids. Take o£ your shoes and feel the earth under your feet, he says. From there you might try some hik-ing, or take a wilderness course
DIANA [email protected]
o£ ered by a local college or from an outdoor store. Add some canoe-ing, camping, and go a bit farther afi eld.
“You can’t just go out there unprepared,” he cautions. “So start humbly and build up to it.
Nature isn’t dangerous or some-thing to be afraid of,” he says. “It’s a matter of educating yourself and minimizing your risks.”
2THERE ARE MORE THAN
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Question: How does Survivorman Les Stroud rate BC’s outdoor adventure travel?Answer: “It’s second to none,” he says, and that’s high praise coming from the famed adventurer/fi lmmaker who has traveled the globe in search of the most spectacular places nature has to o� er.
LES STROUD’S LOVE FOR BC ADVENTURE
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Who would you recommend BC to as a summer travel desti-nation? BC has something for every-one, from family trips to outdoor adventure seekers. Recently, I did the West Coast Trail, which is world famous for the scenery along its 75km route. There are people from all over the world that come to experience BC dur-ing the summer and they are just blown away by the sheer remoteness of some areas. BC is wonderful in the summer because there are so many world-class opportunities to experience within a short car ride from downtown Vancouver.
Do you have a particu-lar accommodation type that you would recommend to the people of BC to experi-ence? I love going on road trips and driving across the di£ erent parts of our province in order to fi nd some of the many family run businesses that provide really unique accom-modation options such as outdoor adventure lodges. They are usually very well maintained and are often found in extremely unique locations.
In your opinion what makes BC such a great place to spend your summers? BC is an amazing place and has such a wide variety of opportunities to experi-ence. Starting in the whistler area, to the Cariboo Chil-cotin region, right across to Vancouver Island, these locations all provide di£ er-ent opportunities. As well, the interior of BC has such a great climate that it provides endless options for outdoor adventure during the sum-mer months.
Is there anywhere in BC that you visit on a regular basis and if so, why?I am a frequent visitor to the Okanagan during the sum-mer due to its climate and its wide variety of outdoor activities that are available. It is also very accessible from Vancouver by car, in roughly 4 hours. It provides the per-fect getaway as the weather is fairly consistent in the sum-mer and it has beautiful lakes to spend the hot summer days next to.
What is your favourite mode of transporta-tion to get around BC during the summer? There is nothing better than loading up the truck and bringing five to six guys together and go on a road trip. I have taken many road trips all across the world, and there are very few other places that can provide so many di£ erent views. I feel that the journey to your destination should be just as enjoyable as your vacation.
What are your favou-rite outdoor activities to do in BC during the summer? I am mainly drawn to cycling during the summer months, as it has been a big part of my life since I stopped playing hockey. I also enjoy hiking in the wilderness and going for a long nice paddleboard on a calm lake.
Former Canuck Trevor Linden provides insight into what makes BC such a special place.
An athlete’s wonderland
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