Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and the national government owns the remaining 1 percent. Private companies log much
of the provincially owned forest under license from the government. Around 90 million
cubic meters of lumber are harvested annually, directly employing 85,000 workers. The
forestry industry generates $12 billion annually in exports, more than all other industries
combined.
Tourism
Tourism has rapidly ascended in economic importance; it's now the second-largest in-
dustry and the province's largest employer (more than 150,000 are directly employed
in the industry). Vancouver and Victoria are the province's two major destinations, with
Whistler one of North America's most visited ski resorts.
The tourism segment continues to grow, as more and more people become aware of
outstanding scenery; numerous national, provincial, historic, and regional parks; and the
bountifuloutdoorrecreationactivitiesavailableyear-round.
Tourism BC
promotesBritish
Columbiatotheworld;latestfiguresrecord26millionannual“visitornights”(thenumber
of visitors multiplied by the number of nights they stayed within British Columbia). Of-
ficial visitor numbers are broken down to show that four million visitors were Canadians
from outside British Columbia, four million were from the United States, and one million
originatedfromoutsideNorthAmerica(Japan,GreatBritain,andGermanyprovidedmost
of these).
Agriculture
CultivatedlandissparseinmountainousBritishColumbia—only4percentoftheprovince
is arable, with just 25 percent of this land regarded as prime for agriculture. Nevertheless,
agriculture is an important part of the provincial economy; 18,000 farms growing 200 dif-
ferent crops contribute $1.8 billion annually. The most valuable sector of the industry is
dairy farming, which is worth $260 million (540 farms produce 690 million liters of milk
a year). The best land for dairy cattle is found in the lower Fraser Valley and on southern
Vancouver Island. Poultry farms, vegetables, bulbs, and ornamental shrubs are also found
mostly in the Fraser River Valley and on the southern end of Vancouver Island.
Fishing
Commercial fishing, oneofBritish Columbia'sprincipal industries, isworth$1billion an-
nually and comes almost entirely from species that inhabit tidal waters around Vancouver
Island. The province's 6,000 registered fishing boats concentrate on salmon (60 percent of
total fishing revenues come from five species of salmon). Other species harvested include
