Full ferries, pricey hotel rooms, busy roads in store this long weekend
Posted August 3, 2018 6:26 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s the second-last long weekend of the summer and it is also one of the busiest of the entire year in Metro Vancouver.
From Pride to the Celebration of Light to the simple fact that it’s a long weekend, it’s going to be a busy few days in Vancouver proper. That means pricey hotel rooms and full ferries.
Amber Sessions with Tourism Vancouver says it’s a simple matter of supply and demand.
“If our hotel occupancy is high, the average daily rate would be high as well,” she says. “You would be looking at some of the highest hotel rates of the year in Vancouver over the four months of the summer, and probably this weekend.”
Last year’s hotel occupancy rate hit 97.2 on this same weekend.
While many people are coming into the city, others are leaving.
“We want to make sure that everyone’s safe this weekend,” says Sgt. Judy Bird with Abbotsford Police. “If you’re on the roadways, make sure you give yourself lots of time to get to where you’re going. Remember that we’re all trying to have a good time this weekend. So, let’s keep our road rage left at home.”
She notes there is often an increase in the number of accidents over long weekends.
BC Ferries is at full strength, after one of its main vessels was out of service over the Canada Day long weekend.
“We do have our full summer schedule in effect. Lots of extra sailings, and we do expect to be quite popular over the weekend,” says Deborah Marshall with BC Ferries.
– With files from Hana Mae Nassar
