Downtown Vancouver Stabilizes, but Challenges Remain

0:00It's April 7th, Canada News Today starts now, AI-powered and ready. I'm Cory with the story. Vancouver's downtown core is showing signs of stabilization, according to the 8th annual State of Downtown Report. Hotels are back to pre-pandemic occupancy at 80.5%, and they're set to hit near full capacity this year, thanks to the FIFA World, cut-boosting tourism. That tourism surge is sparking new growth with more than 6,500 hotel rooms in various stages of development by March 20th. 26. Meanwhile, office visits held steady in 2025, and for the first time since the pandemic, transit boardings in the core stabilized around. 45 million. Business leaders like the head of downtown Vance say, stabilizing just isn't enough to unlock the city's full potential, especially with ongoing. Pressures hitting shops and restaurants hard. Consumers are still spending cautiously, though travel and entertainment dollars ticked up a bit,

1:00matching national trends. Retail vacancies dropped to the lowest in three years at 12.7%, and Granville Street improved to 24.9% in January. But safety concerns linger, as calls for service rows across the board last year, especially for open drug use and welfare checks. While the core bounces back in key areas, tackling crime and business woes head on will be crucial to keep the momentum rolling.