Challenges faced by rural/remote tourism businesses on Vancouver Island: an exploratory study

Businesses in rural/remote regions face challenges associated with their location which are not faced by operations in urban areas. These challenges can include lack of paved roads, and limited access to banking, electricity, and other standard business infrastructure. Businesses must overcome these and other challenges in order to start up, survive, and thrive. This study explores the challenges faced by a group of businesses on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands and the ways in which they are addressed. The research will be of interest to other businesses, governments, regions, national and international, business support organizations, and other parties, which are facing similar issues. Introduction and rationale for research Vancouver Island, British Columbia, contains a mix of urban and rural settings, which creates challenges for economic development. A handful of cities/towns contain the majority of the population, and the remainder is located in small communities scattered across the island in places that are difficult to access. For many of these smaller,