Visitors to Victoria will soon be filling up their water bottles in hotel lobbies across the region as Destination Greater Victoria (DGV) rolls out a bold new initiative to crack down on single-use plastic.
The Circular and Sustainable Drinking Water Program, spearheaded by DGV, aims to install public refill stations in participating hotels and promote tap water as a safe, sustainable alternative to bottled water.
The goal? Cut down on plastic and create a culture of reuse among visitors.
Several hotels are already on board, including the Hotel Grand Pacific and The Parkside Hotel & Spa, where installations are underway.
With full participation, using eight hotels as the base, organizers estimate the project could eliminate more than 150,000 single-use bottles every year.
“Sustainability is at the heart of how we do business and how we support our community,” says Paul Nursey, CEO of Destination Greater Victoria. “It’s not a goal we can achieve alone. Our progress comes through partnership with our members, our industry, our government, and our visitors. Together, we’re building a destination that leads by example.”
Each hotel in the program will receive financial support to install refill stations and will pledge to stop distributing bottled water.
DGV also plans to launch a visitor-friendly map showing refill locations throughout the region.
The idea started at the grassroots level within the hotel community and grew with support from the Hotel Association of Greater Victoria. DGV secured funding through the CleanBC Plastics Action Fund, with backing from the provincial government and Alacrity Canada.
It’s just the latest in a string of sustainability moves from DGV, which has positioned Victoria as a national leader in green tourism.
The region was ranked the most sustainable destination in North America in 2024 by the Global Destination Sustainability Index.
That followed back-to-back Biosphere Certifications in 2023, 2024 and 2025 – a first for any urban destination in Canada or the U.S.
Biosphere Certification is awarded by the Responsible Tourism Institute and measures how destinations stack up against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
DGV currently leads Western Canada with 74 members enrolled in the certification program and 20 fully certified.
The water refill station project is the latest proof that sustainability isn’t just a buzzword in Greater Victoria – it’s a way of doing business.
