A BC Ferries vessel on its way to Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal on Oct. 26, 2013.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
Aboriginal entrepreneurs looking to develop tourism ventures along British Columbia's coast say their plans have been set adrift by Liberals' cuts to BC Ferries.
The government's decision to sink the money-losing summer run between Port Hardy on Vancouver Island and Bella Coola on the Central Coast has prompted one First Nation and a major tourism agency to re-evalutate their tourism strategies.
After investing $1.5-million over the past two years, the Aboriginal Tourism Association of B.C. says the impending cuts to ferry service have forced it to gear down campaigns to train coastal First Nations to embrace tourism opportunities.
What's the point of going full-speed-ahead on tourism when the government has left operators and residents with the 16-vehicle, barge-like MV Nimpkish, to provide a milk-run service for the nine-hour voyage from Bella Bella to Bella Coola, says Keith Henry, the association's chief executive.
Transportation Minister Todd Stone says the government and B.C. taxpayers can't keep bailing out BC Ferries, which is why service and route cuts are coming next month in an effort to hold down fare increases and keep the service sustainable.
Mr. Henry said the decision to eliminate Route 40, or the Discovery Coast route, this year downgrades the Central Coast's circle tour travel package that included a 115-vehicle vessel with full services that made stops at the traditional communities of Bella Bella, Klemtu, Ocean Falls and Bella Coola, where travellers would get off to take a land journey through the Cariboo-Chilcotin to the Lower Mainland.
BC Ferries will continue to sail the Northern Expedition from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, with a stop at Bella Bella. But at Bella Bella tourists and locals would have to board the MV Nimpkish, currently undergoing a refit to install seats, interior heat and potable water, for the voyage up the fjord to Bella Coola.
"Organizations like ours, we're doing a lot to try and bring more people through," Mr. Henry said in an interview. "That's critical to our success. But if we can't get visitors there efficiently, that's unfortunate. I can tell you confidently, we've started to minimize our investments around training and product development."
The association sent Premier Christy Clark a letter last December outlining its concerns about the impending cuts.
"The proposed BC Ferries reductions will have an immediate and significant negative financial impact to aboriginal market-ready businesses and product development work currently in the regions of Vancouver Island, Vancouver coast and mountains, Cariboo Chilcotin coast and northern British Columbia," the letter stated.
Mr. Henry said the numbers of travellers wanting an aboriginal tourism experience in B.C. are increasing every year, and he believes it's tied to the authenticity being offered travellers. Aboriginal tourism in B.C. earned $45-million last year, up from $20-million in 2012.
The Tourism Industry Association of B.C. also publicly expressed concern about the impact of the ferry service and route cuts.
"The timing of this announcement couldn't have been worse," said Ian Robertson, association executive director in a statement last month. "Tourism operators in these regions have been receiving bookings for the 2014 season for months, and now they will have to be cancelled."
Mr. Stone was not available to comment, but his ministry provided a statement saying it is aware cuts will hurt, but the government's goal is to run an affordable, efficient, sustainable ferry system.
"These are tough decisions to make. We recognize that any reduction in service will impact ferry users."
BC Ferries is expected to make $54-million in cuts through efficiencies by 2016 and the service reductions are estimated to save $18.9-million over two years, while fares are set to increase 4 per cent this year and 3.9 per cent in 2015.