Victoria Conference Centre business has rebounded to the point where it’s nudging up to its prepandemic level, says Destination Greater Victoria’s chief executive, noting conferences are being booked into 2031.
Victoria was able to move quickly post-pandemic thanks to two rounds of funding totalling $885,025 from the province’s business events and conferences restart fund, aimed at assisting 13 community destination management organizations, Nursey said. For the year to date in April, delegate days jumped by 180 per cent to 24,176 this year from 8,615 last year.
The additional government funding resulted in about 30 conferences being booked in Victoria, he said, which helped tide the tourism sector over as it recovers. “The hotel taxes are coming back up again and now we are on our own again. And that’s fine.”