A decline in ferry traffic is partly to blame for a dismal 2012 for Victoria's hotel industry, which saw the average hotel room occupancy rate fall to 62 per cent, down 1 per cent from a year earlier, according to Victoria-based Chemistry Consulting.
Hotel operators also took a hit on their bottom lines with a slip in REVPAR (revenue per available room) - a key indicator in the overall health of the industry. Revenue fell $1.48 to $74.87 per room, reports Chemistry Consulting principal Frank Bourree, who tracks tourism statistics for the region.
"After two months of occupancy increases, Victoria experienced a modest drop in annual occupancy in 2012, largely due to weaker occupancy during the fall months," Bourree said in a his Tourism Bulletin. "The resulting hit to operators is exacerbated by a year-over-year drop in daily room rates."
The average daily room rate for 2012 was $120.51, a decline of 73 cents compared to 2011. In Nanaimo, average occupancy was at 55 per cent, a slight increase from 2011, but there was improvement in both average daily room rates ($113.69) and REVPAR ($62.47).
Declines in B.C. Ferries traffic reflect Victoria's hotel downturn. Vehicle traffic on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route slipped more than 2 per cent to 1,758,791 in 2012. The passenger count on the run was down 1.5 per cent to 5,571,741. There were more buses, however, with a 2 per cent rise to 21,736 vehicles.
The Victoria International Airport - the ninth busiest in Canada - registered 1,506,578 passengers last year, an increase of 0.45 per cent.
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