Some fear staff shortages, road construction will impact tourism rebound on Vancouver Island
CTV
Vancouver Island is expecting to see a tourism rebound this summer, but staffing shortages at BC Ferries and road construction could put a damper on that rebound.
On Thursday morning, BC Ferries had to cancel a number of sailings between the Southern Gulf Islands and Tsawwassen, due to a crew shortage after someone called in sick.
"We are facing challenges recruiting sufficient numbers of staff for BC Ferries," said Deborah Marshall, executive director of public affairs with BC Ferries.
"We’re actively out there recruiting, but unfortunately we didn’t have a member this morning to replace this particular crew member."
As a busy travel season approaches, BC Ferries has filled nearly 600 summer positions. But it says it still needs to fill an additional 200 roles.
The shortage has BC Ferries putting out a warning to passengers.
"There may be occasions like this morning where we do have to cancel our service on short notice due to a lack of crew," said Marshall.
The cancellations came on the heels of a recent report released by Destination Greater Victoria showing that tourists are coming back in droves.
"We’re seeing tremendous pent up demand," said Paul Nursey, CEO of Destination Greater Victoria. "We’ve been marketing like crazy and the customers are coming back."
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