Free passes to Joffre Lakes Park being flipped for profit, hiker says

Free passes to Joffre Lakes Park being flipped for profit, hiker says

'There's no one monitoring it,' frustrated hiker Ghazaleh Akhoundi says

A Vancouver woman is raising concerns that people are snapping up free day passes to the popular Pipi7íyekw/Joffre Lakes Park and then flipping them for money online.

"It's being monetized," said Ghazaleh Akhoundi. "It just seems quite unfair."

Joffre Lakes Park is one of British Columbia's most popular parks, located in the Sea-to-Sky region, and drew close to 200,000 visitors in 2019.

The province implemented a mandatory, but free, day-use pass program during the COVID-19 pandemic, and kept it in place after finding it reduced environmental damage and congestion.

Passes become available at 7 a.m., 48 hours before a calendar date, and are capped at 500 visitors per day.

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Akhoundi, a hiker, said she discovered the ticket flipping after trying and failing to secure passes for multiple dates, even after logging on immediately at 7 a.m.

"Within five seconds, only five seconds — and it said sold out," she said. "I was like, there's no way."

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Thinking that the B.C. Parks website may have crashed, she turned to outdoor Facebook groups where she made a startling discovery.

"I came across, like, these users that are buying, like, the maximum number of passes you can buy ... they keep saying 'Four passes available for Thursday,'" she said.

"And I was like, 'That's weird,' so I went to the profile and then see the same thing — four passes available for Wednesday, four passes available for Tuesday, four passes available for Monday."

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When Akhoundi contacted the person posting the passes, they tried to sell them to her for $40, according to screenshots reviewed by CBC News. She opted not to pay.

CBC News attempted to message the seller, but did not received a response.

The Facebook group they operate, called Joffre Lakes and Garabaldi Provincial Park - Pass Assistance BC, describes itself as "a place to post photos, ask questions, search for or transfer day passes."

But virtually all of the group's more than 50 posts dating back to late June are from one person, the group administrator named "Oneclick pass," and are offering day passes to Joffre Lakes Park — though they do not mention money.

Akhoundi added she saw people making similar offers in other Facebook groups.

She said the province needs to do something about it.

"There's no one monitoring it. You can buy it under any name, give it to anyone for free or for money," she said.

"No one's there to notice such a thing."

The park is located on the unceded traditional territory of the Líl̓wat Nation and N'Quatqua First Nation.

Lil'Wat Nation Political Chief Dean Nelson said Pipi7íyekw/Joffre Lakes Park is a spiritual place for the nation.

"Our focus continues to be protecting the natural and cultural values of our territory," Nelson said.

B.C. Parks investigating irregular booking patterns

In an email statement, the Ministry of Environment and Parks said it's investigating irregular booking patterns that it believes point to "bots being employed" to book more than the allowable amount of passes.

"We have received correspondence and inquiries about pass reselling," states the ministry. "[B.C.] Parks is always looking at how to improve the reservation system and have better protections for equitable access."

If B.C. Parks suspect someone is reselling day-use passes or operating an illegal commercial operation in the park, an investigation will be conducted to confirm the behaviour and take action against the individual, according to the ministry.

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Akhoundi, meanwhile, believes the ticket flippers are locking legitimate park users out of an experience they should have a right to.

She said if anyone is charging, it should be the province — who could then use the money to maintain facilities.

"It's systematic at this point," she said.

"If we are paying for it, at least use it to take care of that area so everyone else can enjoy that space — not for me to pay personal expenses of somebody else just because they have five laptops open in front of them to book multiple passes."