Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
A Vancouver entrepreneur and marijuana activist wants Americans to boost local tourism by coming north to get higher as the Canadian dollar gets lower.
"Hello, American would-be visitors, weed here is $3.50 to $8 US a gram," Marc Emery posted to Instagram on Thursday as Canada's dollar continued to plunge – dropping from about par to the U.S. dollar two years ago to 79 cents on Friday.
"I don't think it's occurring to (American tourists) that they can come up to Canada now, in the last six weeks, and have a holiday at a much greater discount than ever before," the self-styled "Prince of Pot" told the Sunday Province on Saturday.
Emery said there's a wider selection of pot at B.C. dispensaries for a fraction of what it costs in U.S. states where the drug has been legalized: Colorado, Oregon and Washington (Alaska will join the list on Feb. 24).
"I'm thinking we could draw a substantial amount of people from all these legal states because there simply isn't the benefit there of buying pot that they can get here."
Pot tourism isn't the only business that faces a boon from the widening exchange rate, according to local experts.
"A low dollar is good not only because it provides more value for people visiting here from other countries, but it also encourages more Canadians to vacation at home," said Stephen Pearce of Tourism Vancouver.
He said "2014 was a very strong year" for tourism, with overnight visits to Vancouver hitting a new (projected) high of 8.97 million.
That tops the previous high of 8.91 million overnight visits in 2007.
And he said Vancouver is on track to top nine million overnight visits this year, with the number projected to rise to 9.2 million, especially if the dollar stays low.
Visitors are up across the board, including from other parts of Canada, as well as from the U.S., Asia, Mexico and Europe, thanks to economic strength globally and consumer confidence, Pearce said.
The only dark spot is Alberta, a "strong market" for Vancouver, where a downturn because of tanking oil prices could curtail the number of visitors.
But overall, "there is a lot of pent-up tourism demand because of the Olympics," said Pearce.
The dollar, which has been sliding downward all year, may have helped resort towns such as Whistler to become more attractive to Americans and others.
The number of "room visits" shot up 14 per cent in the year to July 2014, said Louise Walker of Tourism Whistler.
And expected occupancy of hotels for the week of the U.S. President's Day holiday in mid-February is running at 90 per cent, she said. That's up 13 per cent for the same period last year.
"The exchange rate will provide a real boost," she said.
American traffic had been slowing ever since the Canadian dollar got stronger back in 2002, she said, and the biggest decline happened in 2008-09 as the global economic crisis hit the U.S.
And while the sinking loonie may be keeping Canadians from flying south, Sunquest spokeswoman Kerry Sharpe said deals can be had at the moment because the company bought up its vacation packages before the dollar drop and hasn't yet raised its prices.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana activist Marc Emery hopes for tourism high as dollar goes to pot
Author: Nick Eagland
Contact: neagland@theprovince.com
Photo Credit: Vancouver Sun
Website: The Province | Latest Breaking News | Business | Sports | Canada Daily News
"Hello, American would-be visitors, weed here is $3.50 to $8 US a gram," Marc Emery posted to Instagram on Thursday as Canada's dollar continued to plunge – dropping from about par to the U.S. dollar two years ago to 79 cents on Friday.
"I don't think it's occurring to (American tourists) that they can come up to Canada now, in the last six weeks, and have a holiday at a much greater discount than ever before," the self-styled "Prince of Pot" told the Sunday Province on Saturday.
Emery said there's a wider selection of pot at B.C. dispensaries for a fraction of what it costs in U.S. states where the drug has been legalized: Colorado, Oregon and Washington (Alaska will join the list on Feb. 24).
"I'm thinking we could draw a substantial amount of people from all these legal states because there simply isn't the benefit there of buying pot that they can get here."
Pot tourism isn't the only business that faces a boon from the widening exchange rate, according to local experts.
"A low dollar is good not only because it provides more value for people visiting here from other countries, but it also encourages more Canadians to vacation at home," said Stephen Pearce of Tourism Vancouver.
He said "2014 was a very strong year" for tourism, with overnight visits to Vancouver hitting a new (projected) high of 8.97 million.
That tops the previous high of 8.91 million overnight visits in 2007.
And he said Vancouver is on track to top nine million overnight visits this year, with the number projected to rise to 9.2 million, especially if the dollar stays low.
Visitors are up across the board, including from other parts of Canada, as well as from the U.S., Asia, Mexico and Europe, thanks to economic strength globally and consumer confidence, Pearce said.
The only dark spot is Alberta, a "strong market" for Vancouver, where a downturn because of tanking oil prices could curtail the number of visitors.
But overall, "there is a lot of pent-up tourism demand because of the Olympics," said Pearce.
The dollar, which has been sliding downward all year, may have helped resort towns such as Whistler to become more attractive to Americans and others.
The number of "room visits" shot up 14 per cent in the year to July 2014, said Louise Walker of Tourism Whistler.
And expected occupancy of hotels for the week of the U.S. President's Day holiday in mid-February is running at 90 per cent, she said. That's up 13 per cent for the same period last year.
"The exchange rate will provide a real boost," she said.
American traffic had been slowing ever since the Canadian dollar got stronger back in 2002, she said, and the biggest decline happened in 2008-09 as the global economic crisis hit the U.S.
And while the sinking loonie may be keeping Canadians from flying south, Sunquest spokeswoman Kerry Sharpe said deals can be had at the moment because the company bought up its vacation packages before the dollar drop and hasn't yet raised its prices.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana activist Marc Emery hopes for tourism high as dollar goes to pot
Author: Nick Eagland
Contact: neagland@theprovince.com
Photo Credit: Vancouver Sun
Website: The Province | Latest Breaking News | Business | Sports | Canada Daily News
