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International visitors are flocking to British Columbia.
More than 5.1 million international visitors arrived in B.C. for 2016, a 12.2 per cent increase over the same time period in 2015.
“Tourism is a key economic driver in B.C. and the latest numbers show that more than five million international visitors selected British Columbia as their destination of choice last year,” said Shirley Bond, minister of jobs, tourism and skills training.
Statistics Canada said 5,143,414 international visitors came to B.C. to date for 2016.
Australians took spot number 1 for visitors to B.C., up 59.5 per cent, Visitors from Mexico were second, up 34.8 per cent.
According to Statistics Canada that is due to improved air access from Australia and Mexico.
“This data shows the impact that our tourism industry has on our economy, creating jobs and helping to keep B.C. diverse, strong and growing,” said Bond.
B.C.’s tourism industry employed over 127,000 people in 2015.
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