VANCOUVER — The tourism business hasn't been a walk in the park for Gerry O'Neil lately.
Vancouver's escalating municipal workers strike, a record-breaking stretch of rain and the high dollar have cut the small business owner's profits by more than 20 per cent, he said.
“Unfortunately, it seems we're getting hammered with different things every couple of months these days,” said the owner of Triple A Horse and Carriage, which takes tourists for rides around Stanley Park. “Everybody's got their own problems, but it seems like we got a larger share than the rest lately.”
The city has already seen dwindling tourism from the United States, due to the high dollar, new passport regulations and high gas prices. But those numbers may be further compounded by the municipal strike. Vancouver's streets are lined with pickets and the growing garbage piles could turn off tourists.
Last Friday, the city's outside workers, including garbage collectors, walked off the job. Monday, about 2,500 inside workers joined them. The full-scale strike has closed community centres and some park facilities, including the Stanley Park miniature train and children's farmyard. Park maintenance workers have also walked out, but the lush urban forest remains open.
Mr. O'Neil, who has operated Triple A for 25 years, started to feel the strike's sting Monday as he fielded calls from customers who called to check whether they could still take a carriage ride.
“The phone hasn't stopped all day,” he said. “It's nice we're getting the phone calls. But the point is, what about all the people who don't call?”
It's a troublesome thought considering that is peak season, the time when Mr. O'Neill makes most of his revenue.
The rain, another in the list of unfortunate circumstances for this summer, is set to let up Tuesday, according to David Jones, a spokesman for Environment Canada.
Vancouverites saw seven straight days of rain – the longest stretch in July in 70 years on record, Mr. Jones said.
Typically, tourists are greeted with dry and dusty days this time of year.
“If anyone asked a meteorologist or climatologist when to go on holidays or when to get married, we'd say mid-July to mid-August, because the odds of the weather being good are highest,” he said.
Amanda Grace, 27, said that's why she scheduled her holiday for this time.
The child-and-youth worker from Kitchener, Ont., said she was on the verge of cutting short her month-long visit because of the weather.
“I planned on being outside, going to the beaches and experiencing nature … so far it's been the opposite of the trip I wanted, I haven't really enjoyed it,” she said as she left the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The experience may put her off coming back to Vancouver, she said, adding that she doesn't want to spend money to see the city live up to its rainy reputation.
Ms. Grace may see some sunshine today, but cooler weather may be better for the city's aroma, as the piles of rotting refuse on the streets start to grow.
However, Walt Judas of Tourism Vancouver said it's still early days in the strike, and most tourists haven't noticed anything.
“If you walk around the downtown core, you'll notice a few garbage receptacles overflowing, but not enough to really make an impact at this stage,” Mr. Judas said.
Foreign tourists likely won't hear about the strike before their arrival, but Canadian visitors may switch their destination to another West Coast city, he said.
“If the civil strike were to carry on, a lot of the visitors who would come from other parts of Canada, our largest audience, their plans might change,” he said.
Mr. Judas called that market the city's “bread and butter.”
And, in this age of the Internet and YouTube, it won't take much for the word to spread, Mr. Judas said.
“People could be left with a negative impression when there's garbage on the streets, and it's not green and safe as they expected it to be … if this continues for any length of time, people will blog about it, capture it on their camera phones, all of that will happen.”
