B.C. tourism industry leaders concerned about hazards of Northern Gateway oil pipeline

With regulatory hearings regarding Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline hitting towns and cities across the province, resort owners, ecotourism businesses and others in the B.C. tourism industry are raising serious concerns over the potential impact of the project.

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As people around the world struggle to find solutions to global warming, discussion around the controversial oil sands pipeline has now become an international issue. Here in British Columbia, organizations and individuals on the front lines are fighting to have their voices heard.

Tourism is just one of many sectors that could be affected by potential spills or other pipeline-related hazards, and given the industry’s emphasis on our “super, natural” landscape, they’ve got a particular interest in protecting the province’s pristine wilderness.

Evan Loveless is the Executive Director of the B.C. Wilderness Tourism Association (WTA). His organization is dedicated to protecting the environment to ensure access to wilderness tourism and activities, and like many others in the industry he’s worried about the Northern Gateway project.

“The industry and our individual members and operators are certainly concerned,” said Loveless.

“The biggest concern is the threat of a spill on the coast…we think that a spill is inevitable if there’s that much tanker traffic going down Douglas Channel, and a spill would have irreparable damage in our industry,” he said.

According to the WTA, clients spend an average of $1.5 billion a year on nature-based tourism in British Columbia. There are over 2,200 businesses operating in both rural and urban settings, and all of these businesses rely on maintaining the health of the province’s wild spaces.

“One of the biggest attractions certainly on the coast for our operators is wildlife viewing,” said Loveless, noting the huge market for marine tours and things like bear and whale watching.

If a spill were to occur, he explained, it would have drastic effects all the way up the food chain. If there’s no fish for the bigger animals to eat, there won’t be much for visitors to see.

“If those experiences are damaged, then the whole industry is impacted—whether it’s sport fishing or wildlife viewing, or scuba diving or just the aspect of the cruising charters transecting the coast,” said Loveless.

“So there’s the actual physical impacts that could occur, the impacts to the marine environment and how that flows into the actual tourism experiences. But then there’s the actual reputation itself. If there’s a branding, and an imaging and a reputation on the B.C. coast of an oil spill, that’s going to deter tourists coming to B.C.”

Loveless also pointed out an important fact: tourists who come for a wilderness adventure on the coast are also usually spending time in urban centres like Vancouver or Victoria.

“B.C.’s tourism industry, as you know it’s ‘Super, Natural B.C.’ and it’s based on nature. If people aren’t coming for those experiences, they’re also not coming to Vancouver. They’re also not coming to Victoria. It has a ripple effect throughout the whole industry.”

Michael Uehara, President of the coastal resort King Pacific Lodge, echoed Loveless’ concerns about the pipeline.

“I think it’s going to have quite a negative impact on tourism, particularly in our area,” said Uehara.

King Pacific Lodge is located on Princess Royal Island, a small and isolated island off the north B.C. coast near Prince Rupert. It is only accessible by air and by boat, and has essentially no human population apart from the resort.