C-19 BULLETIN - November 9, 2020

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CEO Message

Over the weekend I really tried to take a bit of a break from the crisis to catch up on much-needed exercise and long overdue chores. So, I took advantage of the gorgeous weather to go for a bike ride, rake leaves, cut the lawn (hopefully for the final time this year) and hang Christmas lights within a few short hours knowing that typical November weather is imminent and those activities will become much less doable in the days ahead.

Although I resisted answering emails and phone calls for the most part, I nonetheless actively monitored media reports to keep abreast of breaking news. Aside from learning of the important US election results and the death of beloved Canadian gameshow host Alex Trebek, I also heard about the latest COVID-19 developments and fretted about the potential consequences on BC’s visitor economy.

As I anticipated, following Dr. Henry’s latest health order (details below) pertaining to social gatherings, we're now seeing a flood of inquiries on how tourism and hospitality businesses are affected, and what operators need to implement or prepare for, if anything.

From my perspective, there remain several unanswered questions. For example…What does travel in and out of both Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions be limited to essential travel only is strongly recommended actually mean? Are bars, pubs and restaurants required to enforce the immediate family order for social gatherings in their (controlled setting) establishments? How is immediate family actually defined for events such as weddings and funerals? What does stay local mean? Are residents of Metro Vancouver still free to travel (non-essential) to other parts of the province without repercussions? Are the doors still open to visitors from other areas of BC and other provinces (non-essential travel), particularly to Metro Vancouver?

As you might expect, the flurry of business and media queries happen nearly every time further restrictions are imposed on either individuals or in this case tourism and hospitality businesses. What’s more, even when myriad questions have been answered in our favour, many people have already been spooked and cancelled their travel plans, striking yet another blow to the visitor economy.

Along with our sector partners, TIABC’s job is to not only hear from you as industry on the ramifications of provincial directives, but to convey your concerns to government and work with authorities to mitigate the impacts of various orders, as well as develop messaging that instills confidence and not fear in residents and visitors. It's something we work toward every single day including Saturdays and Sundays.

Despite the growing number of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, I take solace in the fact that across the entire tourism spectrum, virtually all businesses have largely supported provincial measures and implemented detailed and stringent health and safety measures to protect workers and customers, including visitors. By and large our industry is not the culprit for transmissions, as the op-ed by Tourism Vancouver Island and the BCHA (below) so aptly expresses. In fact, many businesses and tourism destinations across the province either have or are in the process of receiving the World Travel & Tourism Council’s Safe Travels Stamp that allows travellers to confidently recognize those operators and communities that have adopted globally standardized health and hygiene protocols.

Although for many British Columbians Remembrance Day is a stat holiday and a chance to take a mid-week break, it is not a day of rest for many of us that work in or represent BC's visitor economy. Along with paying respects to Canadians and veterans that fought for our freedom, employees and business operators will double down on efforts to do their part in ensuring the safety of customers and visitors while also trying to keep their doors open.

It's what our industry has been doing since the crisis began and will continue to do 24/7, including weekends and holidays regardless of other personal responsibilities like raking leaves or shovelling snow.

Walt Judas
CEO, TIABC
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PHO Order on Limiting Social Interactions &Travel

By order of the PHO, all individuals, places of work and businesses within the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions must significantly reduce social interactions and travel.

The following are excerpts from Dr. Bonnie Henry's news conferences from both Saturday and today (includes answers to reporter's questions):

  • Today, I am putting in place new provincial health officer orders for all individuals, places of work, and businesses in communities within the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions, with the exception of the Central Coast and Bella Coola Valley. The orders will be in effect for the next two weeks. From today at 10:00pm through to Monday, November 23rd at 12:00pm. This will give us a chance to stop the transmission. To have a break in that rising transmission rate that we're seeing. We need to focus our attention on that now.

  • The orders will focus on four areas: on social gatherings, on travel, on indoor group physical activities, and on workplace safety. Right now, it's very important that everyone in these areas of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health significantly reduce their social interactions. We also need to better manage indoor group physical activities where we have seen rapid transmission of this virus.

  • We also are requiring all businesses and worksites in this area to revisit and ensure strict adherence to COVID-19 safety plans and adequate COVID-19 safety plans. We'll be working with WorkSafe BC, with our public health inspectors, and our bylaw officers around this region to facilitate that.

  • For workplace safety, all businesses and worksites must conduct active, in-person screening according to our COVID-19 safety plans for their workers on site now. We must go back to those plans and re-enforce the importance that they have. Workplaces must ensure that all workers and customers maintain appropriate physical distancing, wear masks as appropriate and be especially vigilant in small office spaces, in break rooms and kitchens. This is where we're seeing people transmit the virus to each other in our work settings.

  • We also know that in some work settings, places like restaurants when COVID safety plans and the new restrictions are reducing the hours, making sure that we have physical barriers, small numbers of people, that we don't see transmission of this virus, but we do see it when those plans slip, or when they're not being followed or adhered to religiously. Right now we have to go back. If we cannot maintain those plans, then local medical health officers will shut those businesses down and we have seen that happen. It may need for people, if they feel they cannot maintain those COVID safety plans in a restaurant, then looking at other options like take-out only. In addition, we need to consider going back to actively supporting people working from home for certain businesses if that's possible.

  • We will be, as I mentioned, increasing active inspections with public health, WorkSafe BC, and our bylaw officers in this local area. We know that this has been hard for businesses. We have seen measures slip in some businesses, and that has led to transmission. So now is time for you to re-look at your COVID safety plans, to go to the WorkSafe BC website, to update the plans, and to re-enforce them. And if you are a worker, you need to look at those plans and make sure you are adhering as well.

  • So today's orders include, in more detail, for social gatherings there are to be no social gatherings of any size with anyone other than your immediate household. This includes indoor gatherings of fewer than 50 people, even in controlled settings. It supersedes our masked gathering order that we've had in place for some time. Funerals and weddings may proceed with your immediate household, but there are to be no associated receptions inside or outside your home, or at any public or community venues.

  • This is a time-limited order, but this is what we need to do now. We need to stop our social connections where we, unfortunately, are seeing this virus spread, and spread to those we are closest to and that we care most about.

  • For travel, we are strongly recommending that travel into and out of areas of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health should be limited to essential travel only. Those who live outside these areas should not visit unless it is urgently required or essential and travel through only when needed. In addition, travel for sports into and out of this region is suspended for this period of time.

  • We have across the province here which means no more than six people at a table, no table hopping, everybody wearing masks, keeping their distances, those restrictions are still in place and we have also, as you may recall, we have limited the hours of operation and serving of alcohol. Since we have done that, restaurants that have been following those rules have not had transmission events. We are now, however, in this region, you know, we know that the community transmission is higher so we need to pay attention to those rules and I know there have been concerns that in some restaurants there has been slippage of these rules or that we as consumers in the community have maybe become complacent and feel that these rules don't apply to us.

  • We will be cracking down on those. We know, the inspectors know where the restaurants are, we have been working with WorkSafeBC and we will be paying attention, particularly to restaurants because we know it can become an environment where we have seen transmission to large numbers of people when these rules aren't being followed so now, fair warning, but now is the time, we need to all pull back in this region and make sure that we are following those safety plans because when we follow those, they work.

  • If you're in doubt about whether to travel or see somebody, right now, don't do it. This is our time to regroup so say no to those play dates right now. This is not the time to have those social interactions. If you have visits planned from friends or family, or you're going to visit friends or family outside of the region, now is the time to postpone those. Do it at a time when it is safe.

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Rent Freeze Extended, Pending Increases Cancelled

Effective immediately, the Province is extending the freeze on rent increases until July 10th, 2021, under the powers of the Emergency Program Act and COVID-19 Related Measures Act.

This is an interim measure to provide stability and advance notice for renters and landlords while a new cabinet is sworn in. Increases set to happen on December 1st are cancelled, along with all pending increases through to July.

The Province originally froze rent increases on March 18th, with the ban set to expire December 1st. All renters who have received notice their rent was set to increase should disregard those notices and continue to pay their current rent amount until July 10th, 2021.

If landlords or renters have questions, they are encouraged to contact the Residential Tenancy Branch at 1 800 665-8779 or by email: HSRTO@gov.bc.ca
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Tourism Campaign
Aims to Keep Both Visitors and Locals Safe

Tourism Vancouver Island and the BC Hotel Association respond to recent concerns raised about Vancouver Island being a magnet for Canadian snowbirds this winter:

It is a balancing act. There seems to be a false notion that the Tourism Vancouver Island and British Columbia Hotel Association campaign was created to invite more travellers to the island.

It is, in fact, about educating the visitors already choosing to come.

Despite the pockets of thriving tourism on the island, we must not forget that this is a dire time for our region’s tourism sector. The visitor economy typically generates $3.5 billion and supports 70,000 jobs. When this sector is hurting, our communities all feel the pain.

Islanders who work in tourism are your friends and neighbours, and are struggling to keep their jobs, their businesses open and their families supported.

This is a desperate time as we struggle to survive the long, challenging off-season — an off-season that may be slightly offset by tourists who are already planning on visiting the island.

One of Tourism Vancouver Island’s guiding principles is to develop a sustainable visitor economy that balances the health of our natural systems, the vibrancy of our communities and the prosperity of our businesses. With the support of partners like the British Columbia Hotel Association, we will continue to move forward, educating our visitors and keeping the safety of everyone in our community a top priority.

The resource guide is at ­vancouverisland.travel/snowbirds — scroll down to see the safety tip messages.

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Rebuilding Traveller Confidence

Destination Canada has produced a new guide entitled Rebuilding Traveller Confidence: the importance of keeping safety top of mind and in plain sight. We know that safety is top of mind for Canadians across the country. We also know that you, as a tourism business, have implemented safety measures for travellers, your staff and your communities. As we enter a resurgence of COVID-19 in several provinces across the country, keeping safety top of mind and in plain sight remains critical as ever.

Looking back on past months, we’ve compiled some practices highlighted by government, research and consumer surveys and tourism businesses. Whether these are measures you already have in place, or new ideas to consider, this guide offers four simple themes that have risen to the top for small businesses to help restore and cultivate confidence within Canadian travellers by showing that safety is in everyone’s best interest.

We also share some best-in-class examples from your tourism industry peers from coast-to-coast- to-coast. Tourism operators across Canada are exhibiting strong resilience and innovation as they
adapt to this new, ever-changing state of play.

Download the guide here
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Insights into COVID-19’s
Impact on Employment

The Labour Force Survey (LFS), conducted by Statistics Canada, is the source of monthly employment estimates for Canadian industries. The monthly LFS sample size is approximately 56,000 households, covering 100,000 individuals.

Tourism HR Canada receives customized LFS tables that follow the Tourism Satellite Account’s definition of tourism. This allows Tourism HR Canada to track employment and unemployment in the tourism sector and compare it with the overall economy.

October Highlights:

  • Overall, the seasonally adjusted data shows the Canadian economy adding 84,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate dropping 0.1 percentage point to 8.9%

  • Unsurprisingly, the tourism specific employment data for October is bleak. Because seasonality tourism employment usually decreases from September to October, this year the decrease was well outside the normal range. The average decrease from September to October for the years 2001 to 2019, is only -0.8%. This year tourism employment dropped -4.8% between September and October

  • The sector lost 70,400 jobs, mostly full-time positions. Our unemployment rate rose to 14.5%

  • Accommodation services was the hardest hit on a percentage basis. Employment dropped 18.5% from September, a loss of 22,700 jobs. Both full and part-time positions were lost. The unemployment rate is 20.5%

  • Employment in food and beverage services dropped by 27,800 jobs, a loss of 3.4% compared to September. The unemployment rate is 13.4%

  • Recreation and Entertainment had the largest employment loss, dropping 29,300 jobs between September and October, a loss of 7.4%. The unemployment rate is 16.4%

  • Transportation lost 2,800 jobs overall, due to a loss of 7,800 full-time positions while gaining 5,100 part-time positions. The unemployment rate is 11.0%

  • The travel services industry was the only industry group to add jobs, gaining 12,200 jobs. Despite the gain, this industry has the highest unemployment rate in the tourism sector at 23.5%

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BC Tourism Looks to COVID-19 Rapid Testing
to Begin Recovery

In a tourism recovery forum organized by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Monday, Vancouver International Airport CEO Tamara Vrooman said a pilot program for rapid testing of arriving international passengers at Calgary Airport began two weeks ago, and a program to test arriving passengers is about to start in Toronto. Testing people days before they fly, screening as they board and testing as they arrive at a destination is the path to carefully winding down the quarantine rules that have put the international travel business on life support, Vrooman and other travel executives said.

The picture is currently grim for Air Canada, senior vice president Ferio Pugliese told the forum, hosted on the Zoom video conferencing platform from Vancouver. Demand is down 92%, 20,000 employees are laid off, and 200 aircraft are parked waiting for some easing of travel restrictions as has been seen in Europe and Asia, which have safe country agreements and are deploying rapid testing.

Tourism Vancouver CEO Royce Chwin said the city is the “anchor tenant” for the rebuilding of tourism business across BC. Like other urban centres, it has taken a “triple hit” of pandemic effects on residents, office workers and travellers, with an estimated loss of $9.8 billion in visitor spending, $2.6 billion in taxes paid to government and 72,000 jobs.

Vrooman noted that Canada is the only G7 country that has not provided any assistance to its airports and airlines in the pandemic, calling the ability to prove virus-negative status “essential” to a recovery.

COVID-19: Surviving Pandemic Far from Certain for Many BC Businesses

Society might appear to have settled into a sense of normalcy nearly eight months into the pandemic, but beneath the surface many businesses continue to struggle. This article provides examples of how four businesses are surviving - a theatre in Vancouver, a retail store Kamloops, a restaurant in Kitsilano and a gift shop in Courtenay. The common theme for survival is reliance on government relief programs and cooperative landlords.
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Workshops for Shoulder Season & the Culinary Sector
on the Sunshine Coast

November 19 & 20: 9am - 12pm
 
Sunshine Coast Tourism was one of two regions in BC selected to tap into the pilot project, Elevating Canadian Experiences. Coordinated by TIABC, our national counterparts at TIAC are offering a series of workshops across Canada that are designed to support, rebuild and grow Canada’s winter, shoulder season and culinary sector.

Originally designed to help bolster Canada’s tourism expansion in high-potential growth areas, the COVID-19 global health pandemic has drastically changed the tourism landscape in Canada. This has left tourism operators across the country worried about what this means for their future. In response, TIAC has pivoted the design of the workshops to reflect the new tourism reality for most operators. These workshops will now assist small and medium tourism operators and other tourism organizations across the country in developing strategies to maintain their businesses and develop winter and shoulder season and culinary experiences to attract visitors back once Canada is ready to welcome them again.

The time is now to come together and focus on capacity building content and strategy development. Please take advantage of this opportunity and register for this event ASAP! 

Register today at:
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November is FREE Education Month at Small Business BC

Small Business BC, alongside their partners WorkSafeBC, is pleased to announce November is FREE Education Month.

This means you can attend over 25 webinars, and Talk to the Expert sessions during this month – for FREE. Whether you are looking to start, grow a business, or build resiliency during COVID-19, their educational calendar for the month is stacked with informative and practical sessions that will put your business on the road to success.

If that’s not enough, you’re also invited to join us for Build. Grow. Thrive. a day of FREE education on November 18th.
 
Learn more at:
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Virtual Freshwater Fishing
Tourism Symposium

TIABC will be presenting as part of the Virtual Freshwater Fishing Tourism Symposium on November 18th from 11am to 2:30pm.

The event will also include updates from:
  • Fish and Aquatic Habitat Branch
  • The Adventure Tourism Coalition
  • Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC
  • Fishing BC Marketing Campaign

For further details, contact: explore@fishingbc.com
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Sport Fishing Institute
Conference and Webinar Series 2020

The Sport Fishing Institute is hosting a series of virtual discussions intended to seek pathways for recovery of salmon stocks and predictable opportunity and reliable access for BC’s public fishery. Each session will be approximately 90 minutes long and will cover topics within this year's theme, Charting a Predictable Path for Salmon and BC’s Public Fishery.


Attendance is free, with thanks to conference sponsors, but you must register in advance for each session. Please visit the SFI website and the 2020 Conference page for registration links and conference updates.
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Together with the Tourism Cafe, the BC Regional Tourism Secretariat is pleased to announce expanded support through the BC Tourism Resiliency Network. Launching this month, Ideas Labs are a series of 30 online sessions on nine original topics selected from requests from tourism operators across the province. The labs will bring small groups together in a business-to-business learning environment to address hot topics where solutions to common problems are discussed and shared, and new ideas are incubated. These are 1-hour online peer-to-peer discussions led by an inspiring industry topic specialist.

Each session is limited to only 12 participants and space is limited. Ideas Labs is a program created and produced by the Tourism Cafe.

Learn more at:
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TIAC Congress (virtual, free event)
November 17 & 18

November 25 & 26, 2020

Indigenous Tourism BC AGM
November 25

TIABC AGM
December 2nd, 4pm (PT)
TIABC's C-19 Bulletin is published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Feel free to send us your ideas on what information would be valuable for TIABC to share through our COVID-19 Bulletin going forward. Drop us a line at info@tiabc.ca.