Mountain biking a boon for Kamloops tourism; spending tripled in ten years
If you ask any mountain biker in Canada about about Kamloops, they'll probably tell you it's one of the premier riding destinations in BC. If you ask them about money, they may not want to admit how much they spend on the sport.
Combined, they bring in millions to the local and regional economy and it's grown more than triple spending estimates from a decade ago, according to Tourism Kamloops.
A recent Tourism Kamloops study estimated locals and tourists together contributed $18 million to the regional economy in the past year. CEO Erik Fisher said it confirmed a suspicion that growth in the sport since the COVID-19 pandemic translated to big spending locally, but Kamloops has been established on the mountain biking map for more than 30 years.
"Kamloops is widely recognized as the birthplace of freeride due to the emergence of the sport in the late-80s and 90s. Kamloops played a pivotal role and was very visible in shaping the culture and identity of freeride mountain biking as a whole," Fisher said.
Past and present, Kamloops has pumped out pro riders with names like Brett Tippie, Wade Simmons and Matt Hunter bringing the city to the forefront early on. Meanwhile, the City invested in the sport by opening the Bike Ranch in 2005, the world's largest municipally-owned bike park, Fisher said.
Riders from across BC and even the world make their pilgrimage to Kamloops as a mountain biking mecca among the province's numerous riding destinations.
The study estimated more than 104,000 riders hit Kamloops area trails and around 40 per cent of them are from out-of-town. They directly contributed $13.6 million in local spending over the last year, with tourists responsible for $7 million.
Overall, the survey estimated $18 million in spending across the Thompson-Nicola region.
The study found common out-of-province traffic include travellers from Washington and Alberta, but the bulk of non-local riders are BC residents. Among locals and tourists, Fisher said the average rider in Kamloops is in their mid-40s and the majority consider themselves advanced and highly-skilled riders.
"We're very excited about the results. We've long suspected mountain biking was elevated in recent years," Fisher said.
Tourism Kamloops estimates there around two million annual visitors who contribute more than $300 million to the Kamloops economy as a whole. Mountain biking alone is taking up a larger chunk of that total, with related local spending now three to four times higher than it was a decade ago.
"Mountain biking is a really important component of that, with all kinds of phenomenal riding areas throughout the city," Fisher said, adding that the hotel industry and bike shops are the obvious benefactors of that activity.
Almost every rider surveyed said mountain biking both supports their mental health and it deepens their connection to nature. Ninety per cent said they would recommend Kamloops to other riders and consistently praise the diverse trail networks, conditions and access to trail heads.
The sport has grown in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic, but how spending in Kamloops compares to other BC cities is difficult to tell.
A 2023 study in Golden found mountain biking tourism contributed nearly $6 million to the local economy from 7,300 unique riders. However, Kamloops pales in comparison to communities to the west.
A 2019 study estimated the Fraser Valley saw $28.5 million in mountain bike-related spending, but only around 26% came from tourists. In 2016, a study focusing on the Sea-to-Sky corridor estimated a nearly $30 million impact in Whistler, $10 million in Squamish and more than $70 million in the region when including North Vancouver.
There is another ongoing study examining the economic impact six BC communities including Kamloops and Vernon.
Though there are only a few results to compare to for now, Fisher said he's optimistic the Kamloops study shows the importance of mountain biking in particular for tourism in the Thompson Valleys.
"For a regional population, I think we're punching above our weight class, and I think it's a testament to the great work that the bike clubs have done and the foresight the City had with the Bike Ranch," he said.
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