Those who read the financial tea leaves think Victoria鈥檚 economy will do well over the next few years. That鈥檚 welcome news as we drag ourselves back from the slump.
At Chemistry Consulting鈥檚 annual economic-outlook breakfast this week, the crowd nibbled from a buffet of good news about the city鈥檚 future.
With Seaspan anticipating $7.3 billion for 17 new vessels in the federal shipbuilding program, that sector is generating a lot of the buzz. A healthy slice of the work will come to Victoria Shipyards.
But the region鈥檚 high-tech businesses are also expecting good numbers, with the Victoria Advanced Technology Council predicting growth of eight to 12 per cent. For those hungry for jobs, that translates into job growth of around five per cent.
Good news for Victoria鈥檚 film industry came from provincial Finance Minister Mike de Jong, whose budget corrected the bizarre rule that suggested Victoria was part of the Lower Mainland. The industry has griped that the tax breaks available for filming outside the Lower Mainland should also apply to Victoria. Now they do.
Local film crews, who have suffered through lean times, expect to see more lights, cameras and action as the tax deal lures production companies to the capital region.
Tourism had a strong year in 2013, but insiders are cautious about the prospects for 2014, pointing out that we haven鈥檛 returned to the pre-crash levels of 2007. Tourism Victoria CEO Paul Nursey thinks we will need aggressive marketing to attract the limited tourist dollars.
With industries old and new showing signs of strength, the city鈥檚 prospects are good.
