Travel agencies around the world have been dropping like flies, but Vancouver’s two large travel agency chains both substantially outperformed counterparts based outside the Lower Mainland.
Vancouver-based Flight Centre Canada and Uniglobe Travel International are coming off boom years and are on the cusp of substantial expansion.
In contrast, an average of 1.5% of the world’s travel agencies have gone out of business in each of the three years since 2006 while surviving chains shed an average of 8.5% of their locations in each of those years, according to industry journal Travel Agent Central.
Flight Centre Canada’s 164 retail and 16 corporate units combined to generate more sales and profit in the year that ended June 30 than any previous year, said president Greg Dixon.
August 3-9
Proponents of Canada’s bioenergy sector say as much as $500 million could be invested in their industry following a recent trade mission to China, and an upcoming conference in Vancouver could net even more.
“That $500 million is simply an opening salvo. Those are the projects that were concisely stated as likely to move forward from that meeting, but there’s millions [of dollars] more,” said Douglas Bradley, president and executive director of the Canadian Bioenergy Association.
The conference is scheduled for the end of September and will feature local and Canadian energy companies that produce power from renewable technologies such as wood pellets and biomass.
August 3-9
Port Metro Vancouver’s progress in lowering harmful air emissions is being slowed by air pollution from visiting freighters.
According to the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy 2009 implementation report, fewer ships that make frequent calls to Vancouver’s port met or exceeded the 2010 performance measure for the use of low-emission fuels in 2009 than in 2008.
The report, which is an initiative that includes the ports of Metro Vancouver, Seattle and Tacoma, found that only 1.6% (or 12) of the vessels docking at Burrard Inlet and Roberts Bank that participated in emission reduction programs met or exceeded the 2010 performance measure in 2009. That was down from 7% (or 79 calls) in 2008.
August 10-16
The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) is spending more than $24 million to stage its 100th annual fair, and its executives expect the 17-day event will attract more people and rake in more revenue than last year.
That’s thanks in part to an August 21 opening day concert featuring Bryan Adams and the Beach Boys at Empire Field that will cost the PNE about $1 million to stage.
CEO Michael McDaniel said concession sales and revenue from pricing the 23,000 concert tickets at $30 and $40 each will be enough for the opening event to break even.
Despite the concert’s significant setup cost, McDaniel is planning only one show at the temporary stadium on the east side of the PNE site.
August 10-16
A Vancouver company’s decision to restart its Cantung mine in the Yukon will send 190 people back to work amid a growing demand for a relatively unknown metal.
Tungsten is an extraordinarily hard metal that’s used in everything from cutting tools to jet engines and jewelry.
China mines more than 80% of the world’s tungsten, and that’s why North American Tungsten Corp. Ltd. believes it has an edge as the only tungsten producer in the western world.
“I think you’ll see not only increasing demand for the overall market, but as China pulls back and restricts exports for this market the West’s supply is going to be in jeopardy,” said Stephen Leahy, North American’s president and CEO.
The company shuttered Cantung last year after benchmark tungsten prices fell to US$185 per metric tonne unit, which is approximately 10 kilograms.
August 10-16
A Conservative MP says aboriginal fishermen in B.C. operate a “fraudulent fishery” and have created a “huge black market” in illegally caught sockeye salmon.
John Cummins (Delta-Richmond East) said the situation could be mitigated if the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) required all fishermen to mark their catch. The former fisheries critic wants a return to some form of fish marking because he’s convinced that aboriginal fishermen from bands such as the Musqueam First Nation are diverting fish intended to be used for food or ceremonial purposes into their commercial fishery.
The allegation came after the DFO allowed the Musqueam to catch fish for ceremonial purposes two days before the department opened the fishery to the band’s commercial fishermen.
August 17-23
Success in the mining business often depends on something that’s almost impossible to control – commodity prices.
But thanks to the global downturn metal prices have soared and Vancouver miners may reap the rewards for the rest of the year.
“[After] the global financial crisis in 2008, the brakes were put on capital projects, the brakes were put on exploration, so all that did was jam up potential future supply at the big picture, so these strong commodity prices, once demand rebounded, are not surprising to us,” said Tom Whelan, Ernst & Young’s Canadian mining leader. “Our view is because those projects are delayed and because exploration, which is the [research and development] of the mining business, was delayed, we think the supply-side concerns bode well for strong earnings outlooks for the rest of 2010.”
August 17-23
Great Canadian Gaming Corp. is cutting 38% of its harness race days at Fraser Downs this fall and has temporarily suspended all 2011 race days at its Surrey “racino.”
Great Canadian’s poor marketing efforts are largely to blame, say industry insiders who have watched interest in their sport wane.
They say the casino operator actively dissuades people from wagering on horse races and instead focuses on boosting revenue from slot machines and casino games because those forms of gambling deliver a better return on capital and require lower labour costs.
“Great Canadian has done some very damaging things to make it difficult for racing to survive and flourish,” said Rod Hare, who left his post as executive director of Harness Racing BC on June 30.
August 24-30
After years of dismal financial returns, Ballard Power Systems is asking investors to give it a fresh start.
“The way to look at Ballard is that we went public yesterday and we really are a new company,” said Michael Goldstein, Ballard’s chief commercial officer, during an interview at the company’s headquarters in Burnaby.
The interview coincided with a tour of the world’s largest hydrogen fuel-cell generator, which Ballard built and will ship to Ohio to bolster the power grid there during peak demand periods.
But as flashy as the container-sized generator is, Goldstein said it’s a one-off and doesn’t entirely capture the flavour of the “new” Ballard.
August 24-30