Poll shows British Columbians concerned Eby's land reform would impact adventure tourism industry

A poll conducted by Research Co. has found that a majority of British Columbians are concerned that BC NDP land reforms will negatively impact the province's adventure tourism industry.The reforms would amend the Land Act to give First Nations co-management rights over public land, which accounts for 95% of the province.According to the poll, of the 1,000 respondents 83% said they believed adventure tourism was "definitely" or "probably" beneficial to BC, with those on Vancouver Island and in the northwestern region of the province feeling the strongest.When asked whether they believed the aforementioned land reform policy would "drive adventure tourists outside of BC," 53% said yes, while 26% said no. Those in the northwest were once again most likely to be worried.The poll was conducted online between August 2-11, among 400 likely voters in Surrey and White Rock, 400 likely voters in central and northern Vancouver Island, and 200 likely voters in northwestern BC. The margin of error is +/- 4.8% for the first two groups, and +/- 6.9% for the latter.Adventure tourism was defined as including activities such as heliskiing, mountaineering, trekking, mountain biking, canoeing, scuba diving, rafting, kayaking, paragliding, hiking, and rock climbing. According to a report by the Fraser Institute, the reforms could impact more than just tourism, given that industries such as forestry, mining, oil and gas, hydroelectricity, and recreation all rely on the use of public land.The government paused the proposed reforms in February 2024, a move that was lauded by those in the business world and beyond. As the CBC reports, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen said the NDP needed, "a bit more time to help make it work and bring people in."