By Grant Warkentin
The We Wai Kai Nation was finally able to break ground today for a new hotel at Quinsam Crossing west of Campbell River, after six years of anticipation.
“It was an honour to join the We Wai Kai Nation today for the blessing and groundbreaking ceremony for the new Four Points by Sheraton hotel at Quinsam Crossing,” Mayor Kermit Dahl said in a social media post today. “This exciting investment will create new opportunities, strengthen tourism, support local business, and provide benefits for the entire Campbell River community.
“Congratulations to Chief and Council, We Wai Kai Nation Economic Development, and everyone involved in bringing this vision to life. We look forward to watching this project take shape.”
The hotel project was first announced on March 4, 2020. Promotional material at the time said it “will combine Four Points’ classic-modern aesthetic with a timeless nod to the natural serenity inspired by the oceanside communities of Campbell River and the Discovery Islands.
“Travelers, shoppers, outdoor adventurers, and marine enthusiasts alike will experience five star accommodations nestled in a unique town-by-the-sea.”
Enter COVID
Construction was supposed to start in the third quarter of 2020, but only one week after the hotel was announced, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID was officially a global pandemic. On March 16, 2020, Canada closed its borders to most international travellers, funnelling inbound flights to four designated airports. On March 18, Canada and the USA announced the border between both nations was closed to all non-essential travel.
It wasn’t until September 7, 2021 when Canada was re-opened to fully-vaccinated international travellers that BC’s tourism industry started to bounce back from 18 months of restrictions and lockdowns, although it was a slow process — the public health response to the Omicron variant of COVID continued to throttle recovery in early 2022. Statistics show it wasn’t until the later part of 2022, particularly after Ottawa dropped all remaining border requirements on October 1, 2022, that tourism started making a steady recovery.
However, the statistics show that BC did not recover to pre-pandemic tourism numbers until 2024 (see below).
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