By Dan Marshall

Strong start to 2016 tourism season

Jun 6, 2016 | 4:32 PM

The CEO of Tourism Nanaimo says 2016 is off to a strong start for visitors to the city.

John Hankins says operators of RV parks he’s talked to have said they had their best winter ever, and hotel occupancy rates are up as well.

“Chemistry Consulting just released some numbers, comparing April 2015 to April 2016 and we’ve seen about an 18% increase in the occupancy rate,” said Hankins.

“55.59 was the rate in 2015 and it’s sitting around 73.6 for 2016.”

Hankins says the low Canadian dollar is encouraging “staycationers” to stay in B.C., rather than going to the U.S., and it’s also attracting Americans to Nanaimo as well.

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According to numbers from Destination BC, the largest number of tourists to the harbour city are from B.C., followed by Alberta and the United States.

Hankins says a the first weekend in June was a nice boost for the local tourism industry. A combination of the B.C. High School Track and Field Championship and a Jehova’s Witnesses convention brought an estimed 9,000 to 10,000 people to the city.