Vancouver city council has voted to approve major policy changes aimed at speeding up new hotel construction.
The move comes amid growing concern about the city’s hotel capacity as the clock ticks down on Vancouver’s turn as host city for the FIFA 2026 World Cup.
“We have the same amount of rooms today as we did in 2002,” Destination Vancouver CEO Royce Chwin said.
“We need to do something about it, we are a decade and a half behind, and if we don’t, we will lose this important business that’s part of a $9-billion visitor economy to other jurisdictions.”
A city staff report concluded Vancouver currently has 13,000 rooms in 78 hotels. There are another 4,200 in the development pipeline, but just 1,300 of those are under construction or fully permitted.
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Meanwhile, Destination Vancouver estimates the city needs to add 10,000 hotel rooms by 2050 or risk losing out as …