A new view of Vancouver
The west coast city is a convenient starting point for exploring Canada and beyond, but Claire Dodd says Vancouver is well worth a visit in its own right and highlights top ways to sell it.
On a regular Vancouver April day it’s possible to stand knee-deep in snow, wandering through a mountain-top pine forest, with the white stuff falling thick and fast. Just a 20-minute bus ride away the sun shines on the beaches, downtown rainforest and sky scrapers. People pack the street-side bar patios and a summery vibe prevails.
With its beaches, mountains and achingly hip downtown this is a city ofcontrasts and surprises. A place where, depending on the season, you can ski or watch killer whales out at sea of a morning, and sip cocktails overlooking the ocean and mountains at sunset.
It’s not hard to see why this metropolis, embedded in nature, is often voted one of the world’s most liveable cities. While for a traveller, it’s a mightily convenient destination.
Home to a major cruise terminal, Vancouver’s location on Canada’s Pacific coastline makes it a common starting point for voyages to Alaska and the US west coast. Seattle is a mere 45-minute flight away. From late- November until mid-May, the city is a common entry point for customers heading up to ski destinations such as Whistler. And it is also both the starting point and terminus for travellers boarding the iconic Rocky Mountaineer to the Canadian Rockies and beyond.
But Vancouver shouldn’t be overlooked as a destination in its own right, whether your customers are looking for a city break, outdoor adventure or simply an add-on before joining a cruise or tour. And with Canada marking its 150th anniversary this year, there’s never been a better time to visit.
Neighbourhoods
Small, at just under two square miles, but surrounded on three sides by the ocean, and home to Stanley Park – one of the largest urban parks in North America – there is a reason many visitors don’t venture beyond the downtown peninsula.
Compact it may be, but it’s also diverse, with each area having its own distinct identity. Close to the port, a first stop for many cruise passengers is Gastown. The city’s oldest neighbourhood has streets lined with old brick warehouses, now filled with craft beer bars, independent fashion boutiques and hip coffee shops. Head a few blocks over to Chinatown or shop until you drop at the designer flagships of Robson Street.
Yaletown is the place to see and be seen, where the loading docks of old warehouses have become the city’s trendiest bars and the whole district feels akin to New York.
But visitors that don’t explore beyond downtown are missing out. They’ll find old Italian gents gathered in the delis and coffee shops of Commercial Drive, shouting at football matches on TV. Originally home to the city’s Italian community, the area is now it’s bohemian, counter-cultural heart with radical bookshops and independent record stores galore. While the Main Street and Mount Pleasant area has become Vancouver’s own hipster hotspot in recent years – it’s the place to go for good beer or cool art. The great, good, bearded and tattooed fill its many brew pubs and independent boutiques.
How to sell it: Suggest taking off from the water with Harbour Air Seaplanes (harbourair.com), a decadent way for clients to get their bearings with a 30-minute scenic flight over the city. If your customers want a local perspective, ToursByLocals (toursbylocals.com) connects travellers with knowledgeable local guides for private, tailored tours.
Food and drink
Move over Portland. See you later Seattle. There’s a new experimental food and drink mecca on the west coast. Part hipster paradise, part mad scientist’s laboratory – Vancouver has emerged as an experimental food capital in recent years.
From “fried” ice cream to inhalable chocolate, the city certainly has a sweet tooth. On the list to check-out are: 17°C Dessert Cafe (near Commercial Drive), which serves Instagram-friendly drinks in light-bulbs and “icy bowls” made of milk-infused shaved ice, with fresh fruit, ice cream and other toppings; Yaletown’s Mister, a liquid nitrogen ice cream parlour where flavours such as creme brulee or avocado are frozen before your eyes; or On Yogurt, also in Yaletown, with its ice-fried yogurt, where the homemade liquid is frozen on a super-cold grill to order.
Vancouver’s multicultural population means there’s also several food districts to visit.
Chinatown, the third biggest in North America, is home to hundreds of family-run restaurants. While on Denman Street you’ll find late-night noodle shops, Korean fried chicken joints, Japanese sushi shops and tiny
karaoke bars.
Another must-visit is Granville Island, Vancouver’s famous food market. Hop on the cute Aquabus ferry from downtown to seek out two must-eat dishes: Poutine, chips topped with cheese curds and gravy, and pierogies, Polish dumplings smothered in sour cream and crispy bacon.
How to sell it: Swallow Tail Culinary Tours (swallowtail.ca) runs chef guided food and drink tours in the city, the rainforest or by the sea, with a day of catching and cooking crabs.
If your clients are visiting in the summer, Lotus Land Tours (lotuslandtours.com) offers a sea fjord kayak tour with a salmon BBQ on the beach.
Nature and wildlife
You can’t visit Vancouver without journeying to the top of Grouse, the mountain overlooking the city. Recommend visiting one of its many restaurants and looking out over the city, ocean and Gulf Islands. For the
more active, there’s skiing in the winter months, plus hiking trails and activities such as zip lining.
If heights don’t appeal, there’s always Stanley Park. This rainforest attracts around eight million visitors annually. Visitors can lose themselves among miles of trails through its spruce and fir trees, relax on its beaches or visit the city’s aquarium, all right in the heart of downtown.
But if clients want to get really wild, suggest heading out to sea to spot killer whales and humpbacks that populate the waters between the mainland and Vancouver Island during the summer months. The best time for whale watching is between May and October.
How to sell it: Open year-round, other attractions on Grouse Mountain (grousemountain.com) include breakfast with its resident grizzly bears or snowshoeing tours.
Suggest taking the Skyride gondola to the top. Visitors can hire bikes from Cycle City Tours (cyclevancouver.com) and hit the seawall. This 5.5-mile oceanfront path hugs the edge of downtown and Stanley Park.
Companies including Prince of Whales (princeofwhales.com), Steveston Seabreeze (seabreeze adventures.ca) and Vancouver Whale Watch (vancouverwhalewatch.com), offer trips.
Book it: Prestige Holidays has a five-night room-only stay from £1,752pp including flights and selected excursions departing on June 24. All activities mentioned are commissionable to travel agents.
For more ideas and new product, visit tourismvancouver.com/traveltrade/products-suppliers.
Star spotting
Vancouver is a major filming location. Blockbusters such as Deadpool, Fifty Shades of Grey, Twilight and Fantastic Four had sections filmed in the city. Suggest movie fans stay at hotels favoured by visiting celebs, including Rosewood Hotel Georgia (rosewoodhotels.com), the Shangri-La Vancouver (shangrila.com), or the Sutton Place Hotel (vancouver.suttonplace.com).
Alternatively for luxury with coastal views, recommend the Fairmont Pacific Rim (fairmont.com). A word of warning though – the ice cream parlour, Bella Gelateria, named the world’s best, is located right underneath.
Overall with more than 25,000 hotel rooms in more than 210 properties, your clients are spoilt for choice in Vancouver, and more than half are located in downtown. Prices and styles vary widely from family-friendly budget options to blow-the-budget luxury, but the cheapest rates are offered from October to April.
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