However, I came to my senses on Canada Day when I joined the hundreds of thousands of patriotic Canadians in downtown Vancouver and the West Vancouver waterfront to commemorate our great nation's birth. To see people of all ages, ethnicities and abilities celebrate the fact that they were born here or have become citizens can't help but evoke feelings of pride and thankfulness for who we are as Canadians and the quality of life we're afforded through hard work, sacrifice by our soldiers, a stable political climate, the vision of our forefathers, and a multitude of other reasons.

 

So whether it's 150, 151 or whatever number, each year acknowledging and celebrating Confederation is extremely important...as I was reminded of again a few days ago on Canada Day.

On a similar note, I visited my American cousin in Birch Bay for the U.S.A. 4th of July celebration which was an experience I won't soon forget. After literally two hours of fireworks (ignited by locals) along the peninsula without one second of silence, I finally had to leave to protect my hearing. As I departed, I noted the difference between Canadians and Americans on celebrating our respective birthdays: Canadians wait patiently all day for night to fall to watch a 20 minute professional fireworks show before going home to bed.  Americans start their fireworks the night before Independence Day and carry on for more than 24 hours straight. Like us, they too are proud of their country and take the opportunity to let the world know it...albeit with much more aplomb.

 

As I approached the border to return to Canada, I couldn't help but notice hundreds of Canadians had taken a seat on the lawns around the Peace Arch enjoying the display of fireworks put on by the City of Blaine.  Canadians celebrating with their American cousins and vice-versa...the way it should be.

 

So how does all of this relate to the work that TIABC and many of our B.C. tourism industry colleagues do? In short, we regularly learn from and work with our U.S. tourism counterparts on issues such as pre-clearance, infrastructure improvements, direct air access, climate change, short-term vacation rentals, invasive species, environmental sustainability, and even funding for tourism marketing, among other issues. As you know, British Columbia and Washington State rely heavily on each other to foster cross-border visitation to sustain and build our respective visitor economies.

 

In that context, later this month I'll be attending the Pacific North-West Economic Region's (PNWER) annual summit in Portland to present on best-practice models for funding tourism marketing and the economic impacts of such. Not only will I be able to tout the benefits of the MRDT program, I will show how B.C. DMOs are generating significant returns for their local communities by attracting record numbers of visitors through effective marketing investments and strong partnerships. At the same time, I'm looking forward to learning about other tourism-related topics from my American colleagues who are always engaging, knowledgeable and keen to share.

 

Incidently, TIABC board member and CEO of Tourism Victoria, Paul Nursey is also part of the tourism session, while Dave Cowan, CEO of the Butchart Gardens serves as PNWER's Tourism Co-chair. Both are highly regarded within PNWER circles, particularly south of the border.

 

On the heels of our respective July holiday celebrations, I'm looking forward to my return visit to the U.S.A. in a couple of weeks. And for the first time, I'll proudly wear the lapel pin I was given by a PNWER colleague that depicts both the Canadian and American flags as a symbol of friendship and as a reminder of how closely we lean on each other in spite of our differences.

Walt Judas

CEO, TIABC