Ah, summer time. The season where getting out of town is everyone's goal, and Jasper's streets and hotels swell with an influx of tourists enjoying all the town has to offer.
The same goes for Jasper residents, such as myself. Vacations mean getting out of the Athabasca Valley and out into the world beyond.
I have heard many claims of Jasper being too expensive to travel too. We're compared to Banff and so on, but I stumbled across a new comparison during my summer vacation that kind of put it all into perspective. Is Jasper really that bad compared to the rest of the Canadian tourist market?
I had never been to Vancouver before, except to take the ferry from Tsawwassen to Victoria, and I demanded that this year's Vancouver Island trip take us there. My travelling companion and mother agreed that a night spent there would be fantastic. We got a nice hotel for a reasonable amount of money, found a cheap and delicious in-room meal, and in the morning we discovered a free hot breakfast – this was not your typical continental spread of muffins and old cereal boxes. There were fresh eggs, sausages and french toast and so much more. We left the hotel happy, and early after deciding to ditch our 12 o'clock ferry reservation that set us back by $17. Arriving at the ferry terminal we were near the front for the 10 o'clock. We pulled up to the ticket booth, and were utterly astounded to be slapped with a $77 fare – one way – for two passengers and a small Toyota car.
I hate to be that 23-year-old, but when I was a kid, I remember thinking $50 was too much for the ferry. Now I realize it's a crown corporation with a high-paid CEO that is constantly running into scandals and money problems – forcing the fares to be hiked ever higher. That CEO David Hahn made over $1 million last year – including “performance-based incentives” – to captain a corporation that appears to be in grave danger of running aground.
We paid our $77, because obviously we were ill-equipped to pull a Huckleberry Finn and sail across the Straight of Georgia ourselves -- but we weren't happy about it. Once in Campbell River, our destination, we took Grandma to Quadra Island for a day – which we paid over $30 for a 10 minute ferry ride. Towards the end of our vacation, we heard on the news that BC Ferries will be dropping a few routes due to decreased traffic.
Do they really have to wonder why it's happening? How many families can afford such a trip? Looking on the BC Ferries website, I discovered that for a family of five with a camper trailer and truck totaling 30 feet in length, it would cost $147.75. Then there's the gas to power the truck, the food for three kids, the lure of the video games on the ferry (They had Super Mario Kart in the arcade. Even I had a hard time not blowing all my money on it) and the food they will inevitably need halfway through unless you had the chance to make a lunch before you left for the ferry terminal to catch a 6 a.m. sailing. Once you arrive to your destination, you better hope you have already found a good campground or a cheap hotel. If not, you are at the mercy of last minute hotel finding.
It's just plain expensive to travel now, no matter where you go. When Josh and I drove across the country last year, we had his tiny Kia, packed full of stuff to the roof, and we tented whenever we could, or whenever I was not too lazy to help him set up camp. When we did hotel it, we went cheap. REAL cheap. It was a great way to travel, but it is certainly not feasible for a family. The two of us were just fine, and had a wonderful routine by the end of it; we'd roll in, park, both hop out of the car and start moving. The cooking stuff came out first, and I cooked and prepared dinner while Josh set up the tent.
We work for a living so we can get out on vacations, yet when we do, it's too expensive to truly enjoy yourself. What the hell, tourism industry? You wonder why the economy is affecting you so much, but it's glaringly obvious. Give people their ability to vacation back.
In related news, thanks for stepping down, David Hahn. As I've previously stated here, your resignation was seriously needed -- but quit acting so high and mighty like you are single-handedly saving BC Ferries. You are the one that got them in this situation in the first place.
Love,
Annalee.
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