Visits to downtown Vancouver dropped in 2024, while the number of vacant storefronts rose
Business improvement association says visits to the downtown took a downturn last year
A new report from Vancouver's Downtown Business Improvement Association says visits to the city's downtown district took a 7.8 per cent downturn in 2024 compared to a year earlier.
According to Downtown Van's Annual State of Downtown report, the decline is the first since 2020.
"This shift, along with changes in other indicators, signals the end of the post-pandemic recovery phase and the beginning of a new chapter: one that requires a proactive and strategic approach," the report says.
"More importantly, what lies ahead requires us to move beyond a mindset of recovery, and toward the goal of prosperity."
While one data point does not make a trend, there are others that indicate a general loss in the vibrancy of downtown.
The number of vacant storefronts is growing, up from 13.7 per cent in 2023 to 14.9 per cent in 2024. That's four points higher than the citywide rate of 9.9 per cent.
The report notes Granville Street continues to struggle with persistent storefront vacancies, "creating challenges for its success as an entertainment district." In 2024, almost a third of the Granville strip's storefronts were vacant at 29.3 per cent, up from 22.1 per cent a year earlier.
The report singles out the loss of The Bay, a downtown anchor and magnet for shoppers for over 110 years.
Vancouver's flagship store is set to be vacated by June 30 after the company filed for creditor protection last month —more bad news for retail and restaurant businesses in the downtown's central core.
"Smaller businesses tend to rely on the big drivers," retail business analyst David Ian Gray told CBC earlier. "If you're a little sandwich shop sort of tucked in there along Nordstrom (closed in June 2023) and the Bay, you're not going to be doing quite so well."
Retail businesses saw a decrease in average weekly sales in 2024 of 1.9 per cent. Restaurants fared even worse, with a 6.5 per cent drop versus 2023.
But not all numbers in the report were negative.
Taylor Swift's three concert stops in Vancouver last December sparked an average 26 per cent increase in downtown spending for the duration and helped fill the city's hotels.
Overall, downtown Vancouver's 2024 hotel occupancy rate matched pre-pandemic levels at 80.4 per cent, according to the report.
"Accelerated hotel project approvals by local governments would be essential for capitalizing on Vancouver's growing tourism demand," it says.
A strong transit system was cited as helping downtown Vancouver remain resilient, with a 2.1 per cent average increase in daily transit boardings across all services.
The president and CEO of Downtown Van said 2025 trade conflicts have resulted in an additional "unsettling layer of uncertainty" that requires the city and business community to rise to the challenge.
"This means reducing barriers to doing business in Vancouver, re-localizing supply chains, building new strategic partnerships both locally and globally, and investing in the economic, cultural, and social core of our region," said Jane Talbot.
Downtown Van is a non-profit organization that represents 8,000 businesses and property owners in the central 90-block area of Vancouver's downtown core.