By Andru McCracken

A study by the Council of Tourism Associations released in late March suggests that tourism can provide some good paying jobs.

In what he claims is the province’s biggest industry next to Forestry, Peter Larose, director of policy and planning for the council said people working in Management and Information technology, make good wages compared to the average British Columbian.

“Tourism is becoming a lot bigger. We don’t have the kind of information that we need to draw conclusions about where the industry is going,” said Larose.

“We had a couple of surprising findings.”

Larose said that there is a very common perception that all tourism jobs are retail or retail related. The study shows, on the other hand, that the single biggest occupational category was people in management and information technology, representing one in five workers.

“Based on the figures, we got an annual average income over $40,000,” he said.

That is slightly above the province’s average annual salary $36,000.

“The perception of the industry and its value to society is something we have to constantly reiterate,” he said.

The study was dedicated to the industry in north and central BC, including northern Vancouver Island and the North and Central coast.

He said that the average tourism business in these areas was between 5 and 15 employees.

He said that while small operations struggle to generate their own capital and to attract and retain the right people, smaller operations do collaborate.

“Having a bunch of small businesses, people tend to work together more,” he said. “Someone brings people in to enjoy the attractions, and they partner with transportation providers and hotels.”

Incomes were lower in other categories within the tourism industry.

Locally, hoteliers have had to increase their wages and benefits to keep good employees.

Christine Latimer, general manager of the Valemount Cranberry Lodge, said that they have been providing benefits to employees for over a year.

The company pays for 50% of the premiums.

Latimer said that they brought the program in to help attract new employees, though just 9 out of 40 employees have actually signed up for the deal.

“We’ve got it and the ones that have signed up are happy. We advertise everywhere that we have it,” said Latimer. She believes that it has resulted in some new recruits too.

Wendy Dyson runs visitor information centres in Merritt, Valemount and at Mount Robson.

Depending on her employee’s experience and their level of responsibility, she pays between $12.50 and $15 per hour at Mount Robson.

In Valemount, where the budget is smaller, the wages start at $11 per hour.

As far as benefits go, she finds it just doesn’t work to offer seasonal employees benefits, because health insurers have a three-month waiting period.

However in Merritt, she does offer a benefits package, as it runs year round.

She said she tries to offer other incentives though, for instance, employees at Mount Robson get a bonus for hiking on their days off.

“They also get incentives for making reservations,” she said.

Dyson said that some local tourism related jobs have been low paying historically and she recalls chambermaids making minimum wage.

“In the last year or two I have seen wages coming up to $11 per hour,” she said.