The normal blast off for the summer season on the Island’s west coast has been hampered by highway closures, leading to millions lost in revenue during a crucial time of year.
According to Tourism Tofino chair and Pacific Sands general manager Sabrina Donovan, an economic impact study on the 17-day closure in June revealed a $30 million loss for Tofino’s tourism industry, and about a total $45 million lost for the entire west coast.
“That was just the direct results of that 17-day closure, but there’s other things that are a little bit more difficult to quantify in terms of if a business ends up having to lose staff because of it and then we’re struggling to get back up to staffing levels for when the road did reopen,” said Donovan.
“It’s really hard to determine at this point what will come in place of that revenue that was lost, we can only hope that things will stay strong through the fall.”
She adds it was a bit “deflating” as they were gearing up for a very strong summer season before taking the hit.
Following the full closure of Highway 4 near the Cameron Lake bluffs due to a wildfire, there are now intermittent closures while crews work to make the road safe once again. At the moment, the road is closed on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. with flushes scheduled at two times during the day.
However, the highway is only open for single lane alternating traffic the rest of the time.
Despite this being a slight deterrent for tourists coming to the west coast communities, Donovan says they are feeling optimistic about an uptick in tourists, and people seem to be keen to wait out the closures.
“It’s definitely not the normal ramp up to the summer and busy season that we’re normally used to,” said Donovan. “But I would say as of right now, it’s still business as usual, maybe not as busy as we anticipated or as we would like it to be.
“I think with the next round of complications with the highway closures is still yet to be determined, it’s just something people are taking day by day now.”
She adds that the town feels about as busy as it has including pre-pandemic levels, and people are going through with their travels especially internationally.
There is a glimmer of hope that towards the end of summer and into fall, the highway will fully reopen, and most of the closures will be behind them, according to Donovan. She adds that it is not something the town is unfamiliar with, considering the last few years, and encourages tourists to continue to come.
“It’s always been about the journey to get out to the coast here, we’re no strangers to highway closures and upgrades with the Highway 4 Kennedy Hill improvement project that lasted five years,” she said. “It’s all worth the wait once you do arrive.”
