As we've highlighted multiple times in recent years, British Columbia has had plenty to celebrate when it comes to our visitor economy. Revenue, visitation and other key tourism measures were up yet again for most of the province last year compared to 2015.

 

When reporters ask TIABC for a '10-second' sound bite on why tourism continues to grow, we typically credit the collective marketing investments of our provincial, regional and community DMOs, our superior tourism products and services in every region of the province, government support, favourable social and travel media reviews, low loonie, new direct air service, the breadth of experiences available, and of course our super, natural environment, among other things.

 

However, there is an even bigger factor (than the aforementioned reasons) for our success that is often overlooked, under-estimated or may be difficult to articulate in a short sound bite; it's simply the skill, professionalism and passion of the tens of thousands of people who work directly for one or more of the 19,000+ tourism businesses around British Columbia. Without a strong, dedicated and committed tourism workforce, all our other attributes would not, in of themselves, allow us to outpace our competition.

 

That's why I'm so looking forward to celebrating our top performers at the upcoming BC Tourism Industry Awards, as part of the BC Tourism Industry Conference in Victoria later this month.  While three of the five awards focus on organizations or initiatives, it's really the people within those businesses that have earned top marks on behalf of their employers.

 

Having the opportunity to recognize the excellence, innovation and customer-service practices being employed throughout our province makes me most proud to be part of British Columbia's visitor economy.

 

Speaking of awards...take note of the article on The Winning Pitch below.  If you're attending the conference, don't miss the Wednesday afternoon session that will leave you confident and impressed by the calibre and skills of our future tourism industry leaders who we will also acknowledge at noon on Thursday.

 

I look forward to raising a glass to our nominees and winners at the awards night and The Winning Pitch session in a few weeks. See you at the conference.