Coast Reporter | BC Ferries CEO and president Mike Corrigan says the public campaign against high ferry fares is keeping tourists away and could become “a self-fulfilling prophecy” that hurts coastal economies . . .
BC Ferries CEO and president Mike Corrigan says the public campaign against high ferry fares is keeping tourists away and could become “a self-fulfilling prophecy” that hurts coastal economies along with the ferry system they rely on.
“At some point in time it becomes almost a pile-on effect,” Corrigan told Coast Reporter in an hour-long interview last week in which he also defended the current BC Ferries business model.
Corrigan said he knows of potential tourists who are avoiding the coastal ferry system due to the negative publicity.
“I know people on the mainland, up in the Interior of B.C., people from back east, Americans, who think our B.C. ferry system is too expensive, so they’re not considering coming out and visiting. They don’t even know what the fares are. They probably couldn’t tell you what our fare is within $20,” he said.
“But if you type BC Ferries into Google and the first four stories that appear are about ferry fares and service reductions, who’s going to want to come out here? When the reality is, especially in the world marketplace, we still provide good value.”
Read the full article here: BC Ferries CEO says fare beefs hurt tourism
Article and photo by: John Gleeson
