Campbell River’s tourism arm ended 2023 with a surplus despite a challenging year.
Destination Campbell River ended the year with nearly $176,000 in the bank.
The agency had $1.1 million in revenue boosted by higher than expected earnings from the short-term accommodation tax.
The Municipal and Regional District Tax Program saw $663,862 in revenue – 41 per cent more than budgeted and 7.9 per cent growth compared to 2022 ($609,000).
Expenses were around $990,000 with $105,000 of that for administration.
The city had a challenging year after tourism was taken in-house when Destination Think! severed its agreement with the city after six years.
“While there have been challenges with the transition of the DMO (destination marketing organization) from the previous agency to internal municipal operations, we are confident this shift will be beneficial to the promotion of the city’s tourism landscape,” a year-end report reads.
The year-end report, delivered to council on Thursday (May 23), also shows the visitor information center saw a 43 per cent drop in traffic compared to 2022 (7,794-2023, 11,158-2022).
The VIC moved from the Campbell River Art Gallery to the Maritime Heritage Center.
Staff say the decline in visitors may continue as more people do their trip planning on the web.
