Vancouver airport accommodations are located in Richmond BC. A variety of Richmond BC hotels enable the visitor to explore both Richmond and neighbouring Vancouver. Richmond BC occupies Lulu Island, Sea Island (the site of the Vancouver International Airport) and 12 smaller islands at the mouth of the Fraser River, immediately south of Vancouver. The area was famous for salmon canning as early as the 1880s and the community of Steveston had, at one point, 49 canneries.

The railway and airport have provided economic opportunity for the area. Many Japanese people were attracted to Richmond BC because of the thriving commercial fishery. After WWII immigrants from China settled in the area and today there are several shopping malls in the area catering to the Asian community. Today the area is primarily residential/commercial development although several thousand acres remain within the Agriculture Land Reserve. Many high-tech companies have located here. There is a Richmond Library and Cultural Centre that includes a gallery, museum and archives.