C-19 BULLETIN - December 7, 2020

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BC Extends COVID-19 Household Restrictions
into January

Today, BC's provincial health officer extended the ban on social gatherings for another month as the province recorded 35 more deaths related to COVID-19 and recorded 2,020 new cases over the weekend.

Residents will continue to only be able to socialize with people in their household until January 8th at midnight, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced. All events and gatherings are also banned until that time.
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Update from Blake Richards, Official Opposition Whip 

Dear Tourism Partners,

As we enter the winter holiday season, we also remain in the middle of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with uncertainty swirling about what will happen in the future. Cases are spiking across the country, many cities remain on near total lockdown, and widespread vaccinations across Canada seem to be only a far-off prospect. With the pandemic having been with the world for nearly a year, what Canadians and especially the tourism industry require is a clear path forward and realistic solutions for the future.

Fall Fiscal Update
 
On November 30th, the Government tabled its’ 2020 Fall Fiscal Update. This update included several measures of interest to the tourism sector:

  • A Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program, which will include sectors like tourism and hospitality, hotels, arts and entertainment, and will offer 100 per cent government guaranteed financing and provide low-interest loans up to $1 million for up to ten years. However, there were no details available on the eligibility criteria, with the Government saying it will announce these details “soon”.

  • An increase to the maximum of the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) to 75 per cent for the next three months. The previous CEWS extension was to a maximum of 65 per cent until June 2021.

  • An extension of the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy of up to 65 per cent and Lockdown Support of up to an additional 25 per cent until March 13, 2021.

  • Applying GST/HST on cross-border digital products and services, which will include short-term rental companies like Airbnb.

One thing that was noticeably absent from the fiscal update was a concrete plan forward for vaccinations. Prime Minister Trudeau recently stated that he is hopeful that a majority of Canadians can be vaccinated by September 2021. However, other countries including the United States expect to begin vaccinating their populations as early as the end of this month. This is concern for the tourism industry, as it is difficult to have a plan for the economy and for businesses without a plan for vaccines.

I would like to know your thoughts on the measures that were announced the in the fiscal update and whether they will be of assistance to you. Please email me to let me know your thoughts.
 
Conservative Tourism Recovery Caucus Advisory Committee

My colleague, Member of Parliament for Niagara Falls, Tony Baldinelli and I continue to Co-Chair the Conservative Tourism Recovery Caucus Advisory Committee and hold regular meetings with our colleagues to discuss solutions and ideas for the tourism and hospitality industry in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent participants include:
  • Canadian Association of Travel Agencies
  • Canadian Association of Independent Travel Advisors
  • Canadian Federation of Outfitter Associations
  • Tourism HR Canada
  • Canada Airports Council
  • Eagle Pass Heliskiing Ltd.
  • Rockies Heli Canada
  • Regional Community Airports of Canada
  • The Hotel Association of Canada,
  • Restaurants Canada
  • The National Airlines Council of Canada

These meetings are an important way for tourism businesses and organizations to provide their thoughts and input to federal representatives on a path forward. If you are interested in appearing or submitting a brief, please email me.

The way forward post-pandemic will be by working together. Your thoughts and suggestions are important for the recovery of the tourism industry and I want to hear your input. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any thoughts or concerns you may have. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Blake Richards, MP
Banff-Airdrie
Official Opposition Whip  
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Thompson Okanagan Wins World's Responsible Tourism Award for the Third Consecutive Year

Among the world's leading travel, tourism, and hospitality brands, the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) was named the 2020 World’s Responsible Tourism Award Winner for the third consecutive year at the 27th Annual World Travel Awards.

This announcement follows TOTA’s win of North America’s Responsible Tourism Award in November, and recognizes many years of continued leadership efforts to exceed global standards of sustainable tourism.
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The BC Wine Institute (BCWI) is happy to announce this year’s Industry Recognition Awards recipients, and they invite you to say congratulations virtually! Two recipients including one non-winery and one winery representative are recognized each year for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the BC wine industry.

This year’s recipients are:

BCWI Industry Recognition Award
Tim Pawsey, wine and food writer, hiredbelly.com. Tim was nominated for his support of the BC wine industry and his devotion to increasing the awareness and appreciation of local wines.

BCWI Award of Distinction
Robert Smith, Director of Sales for Hester Creek Winery. Robert was nominated for his passion for selling BC VQA Wine, and his countless hours of volunteering to promote British Columbia’s world-class wines.

In honour of this year’s recipients, the BC Wine Institute will host a virtual awards ceremony on Wednesday, December 16th at 10:00 a.m. Please register below. During the awards ceremony, we would like to share a video montage of congratulatory messages from industry peers for both of our deserving recipients. I invite you to share your short video clip to congratulate one or both of our recipients by clicking the buttons below. 

Please submit your videos by Sunday, December 13th and don't forget to register to join us on December 16th at 10:00 a.m. to recognize this year's BCWI Industry Recognition Awards recipients. 

Thank you in advance for sharing your videos!
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Destination Canada
This is Canada Nice

Canada is known the world over for its special brand of “nice.” While many think of our welcoming people, to us, nice means so much more. From our rich history and diverse cultures to stunning natural beauty, iconic foods and just plain old humble Canadian pride, there’s a lot of nice contained within these borders. In a time when the world could use a little more of it, we’re here to welcome you with open arms to discover the true meaning of nice.

Learn more about This is Canada Nice lyrics and cultural references:
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The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) understands that businesses across Canada are facing extraordinary challenges due to the difficult economic conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. This presentation will highlight some of the key economic dynamics impacting Canada’s property and casualty insurers, how the industry, governments and businesses are working in partnership to address the current challenges, and more importantly, share resources you can use to assist members of your community. 

The webinar will be 45 minutes in length with a 15 minute open forum for any questions.
Click here to register.
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RRU
Join Royal Roads University for a panel discussion to explore ways we can care for ourselves and others. Each of us is navigating through this time of uncertainty. Inevitably, worry, anxiety, and stress impact our work performance, as well as our mental and physical health. Three experts consider the challenges of sustaining our bodies, minds, and souls so we can continue to thrive as managers, leaders, and learners in the immediate and long term. Our panelists will provide three interrelated perspectives and a range of practices we can use daily in our lives.

December 10, 2:00-2:50pm (PST)


Panelists
  • Dr. Hilary Leighton, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychotherapist & Registered Clinical Counsellor. School of Environment and Sustainability, Royal Roads University
  • Tina Derix, NSCA – CPT, NCCP, CFit Lvl 1 Instructor. Co-Owner, Forge Gym, Victoria.
  • Dr. Carolin Rekar-Munro, PhD, CPHR, CTDP, Professor, Leadership. School of Business, Royal Roads University

This panel is an initiative of the Tourism and Hospitality Resource Forum of Royal Roads University, a volunteer initiative to support BC's tourism industry. For more information on joining the Resource Forum for free or about this event, please contact Geoff Bird at geoff.2bird@royalroads.ca
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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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.