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Over the past year, Canadians have been rethinking how—and where—they travel. Rising geopolitical tensions, a weaker dollar, border hassles, and shifting lifestyle preferences have all contributed to a powerful trend: Canadians are increasingly choosing to vacation at home rather than abroad.
This growing “Buy Canadian” and “Travel Local” mindset is now reshaping British Columbia’s recreational real estate market in ways that matter directly to real estate agents, investors, and property managers. From ski towns to lake regions to rural short-term rental (STR) friendly communities, demand patterns are shifting—and so are the opportunities.
Let’s start with the stats, to paint a more complete picture of this current BC real estate trend.
Domestic travel is dominating Canadian tourism
Travel to the U.S. has plummeted
When Canadians stay in Canada, they vacation more often in BC, and that demand fuels interest in recreational properties, short-term rentals, resort condos, and investment opportunities across the province.
BC has always been a favourite travel destination in Canada. BC has much to offer visitors in terms of both activities, views and culture. It makes it an easy choice for Canadians looking to get away, without leaving the country.
In fact, even BC residents themselves are traveling locally within BC
There are abundant opportunities for popular activities during the winter (downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and sledding) and summer (water sports on the many lakes and rivers or hiking, backpacking and camping in national and provincial parks). Source: Destination BC
These travel activities, of course, align with BC’s recreational real estate regions. They are exactly the environments where demand for resort condos, cabins, STR-friendly rural homes, and strata-managed complexes is growing.
Whistler Blackcomb recorded over 2.1 million skier visits in the 2023–2024 season, supporting approximately 13,000 jobs and generating an estimated $1.6 billion in annual economic output for the region.
Source: Tourism Whistler Annual Reports & Whistler Blackcomb economic impact modelling.
This showcases the scale and sustained demand driving the ski-town real estate boom.
Yoho National Park attracts approximately 700,000 visitors annually, with visitation rebounding sharply in 2023–2024 as Canadians chose domestic nature-based travel.
The Yoho–Glacier corridor boosts tourism economies in Field, Golden, and Revelstoke—areas now seeing rising interest from recreational buyers and STR investors.
Source: Parks Canada Visitor Use Statistics.
These examples tie directly to real estate growth in Golden, Revelstoke, and Kicking Horse resort regions.
According to Royal LePage’s 2025 Winter Recreational Property Report:
Some of the top-performing BC markets include:
The message is clear: BC resort towns are outperforming traditional urban markets.
Following BC’s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act (May 2024) and principal-residence restrictions:
Short-term rental activity dropped sharply in major cities like Vancouver, Victoria, and Kelowna.
Source: AirDNA 2025 STR Market Impact Reports.
STR demand shifted toward exempt or rural zones, including:
Investors are now directing capital toward:
This shift has created a surge in demand for knowledgeable property managers and strata managers who can navigate short-term rental compliance, bookings, guest turnover, maintenance cycles, and safety regulations.
Canada’s Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act was extended to January 2027.
Source: Federal Government announcement, Feb 2024.
The effect of this Act means that BC’s recreational and resort markets are now driven almost entirely by Canadian buyers, which makes domestic travel patterns (not international investors) the dominant force behind market performance.
As recreational markets heat up, buyers are increasingly turning to ownership structures that offer flexibility, affordability, and managed use. Essentially people are tired of the work and headaches involved with having to manage a property on their own. Or even worse, split those duties between two or more people or groups, which can get messy.
Because of this, BC is seeing rapid growth in three models:
Two or more buyers jointly purchase a property and share:
Co-ownership creates complex operational needs—ideal for trained strata and rental property managers.
Buyers purchase a fraction of a property (often 1/4, 1/6, or 1/12) tied to a specific number of annual weeks. These are usually on-title and regulated—not traditional timeshares.
Fractional buildings require:
Fractional resorts rely almost entirely on professional management frameworks, opening opportunities for new strata and rental property careers and contracting.
A group of units join a centrally managed rental pool run by a resort operator or hotel brand. Income is split between the operator and owners.
These complexes need:
Resort rental pools represent one of BC’s fastest-growing streams of managed real estate.
Demand in BC’s resort regions is surging due to:
This represents a major opportunity for companies and individuals entering the field.
While these trends provide opportunities both for investors and for strata and rental property managers, it will be important for them to keep an eye on trends like:
Staying informed is critical to success for real-estate professionals, now more than ever.
👉 GOBC is partnering with BC-based companies to train and recruit future strata and property managers. Call our office at +16042393575 to learn more.
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