C-19 BULLETIN - July 29, 2020

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Province Responds to Tourism & Hospitality Recovery Submission

Hon. Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture today formally responded to TIABC's recent recovery submission on behalf of the tourism and hospitality sector by stating, "Please be assured that your proposal will be considered along with the other feedback we are receiving through the COVID-19 Economic Recovery engagement process."

Read the full response  here
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BC Weekly Domestic Overnight Visitor Insights

The Measuring Canadian Travel Patterns dashboard created by Environics Analytics helps the Canadian travel and tourism industry understand the impact of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to Domestic Overnight Visitors within Canada, its provinces, territories, and tourism regions.

This dashboard compares visitors and travel patterns (to prior weeks in 2020 and year over year 2019). It also compares different regions to assess the impact of the pandemic on Canadian travel patterns and identifies when visitors start to return to BC's respective tourism regions.

Summary of Findings
The week of April 19 (Week 11) saw the largest drop in domestic overnight visitors in British Columbia, falling 81% from the previous year. Findings are consistent across all BC sub-regions.

While overnight travel is significantly down compared to 2019, an upward trend in movement and overnight stays on a week-over-week basis was apparent during weeks 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22 and 24.

All of the BC regions saw an increase in visitation from Week 23 (July 6-12) to Week 24 (July 13-
19), with the exception of the Kootenay Rockies, which saw a decrease.

The Thompson Okanagan and the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast saw an increase in visitation over British Columbia during Week 24 (July 13-19).

Kootenay Rockies, Northern BC, Vancouver Island and Vancouver Coast and Mountains saw a decrease in visitation compared to BC during Week 24 (July 13-19).

Download the full report here .
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Federal Government Update

Over $95 Million in Relief and Recovery Funds Flow to Businesses in Western Canada

Yesterday, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada, announced that businesses across Western Canada have received over $95 million in support from the RRRF. These interest-free repayable contributions are now flowing to more than 1,760 businesses across the West that were unable to get access to existing Government of Canada relief measures.
Learn more at:

Note - if your business applied and was turned down for funding support through RRRF, please let TIABC know so that we can inform WED and provide recommendations on how to improve the program.
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BCHA Submits Recovery Recommendations

The BC Hotel Association (BCHA)wrote to Premier Horgan to express the detrimental impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry, and in particular, the accommodation sector. As the letter states " 80% of all accommodators in BC are small, independently owned businesses that are currently experiencing extreme solvency issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Simply put, there is no capacity to endure continued lack of revenue with the fixed costs remaining. It is critical to ensure businesses stay in business, that they survive these unprecedented times, and they continue to provide a livelihood and jobs for our citizens, ensuring the BC economy thrives once again ." 

The letter also outlines BCHA's support for the recent industry stimulus proposal submitted by TIABC. In addition, the BCHA outlines additional recommendations for investment including addressing lost tax revenue from Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). The BC Hotel Association is currently working with the Regional Secretariat and Check in Canada to blanket the province on a new platform to mitigate commissions for the industry, take back our guests, and support the provincial tax structure . 

Read the letter to Premier Horgan here
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Restaurants Canada Submits Recovery Recommendations

Restaurants Canada’s BC recovery consultation submission was sent to the provincial government on July 21st outlining 16 recommendations. The submission reiterates and supports TIABC's submission recommendations and adds some specific foodservice recommendations as well.

As the submission outlines, Restaurant Canada's June survey indicated that despite reopening, more than 60% of their members were still operating at a loss and only 22% of independent operators and 15% of multi-unit operators were just breaking even. The survey confirmed that restaurants will need ongoing government support to survive the long road to recovery. In particular members need help with labour costs (CEWS), commercial tenant eviction protection and rent relief (CECRA), as well as help with cash flow and rising debt levels (working capital grants). Even with ongoing support it will be a long road to recovery with members indicating that it will take between 17-35 months to return to positive cash flow given growing indebtedness, reopening restrictions, and average restart up costs of over $46,000.

Read the submission here
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ABLE BC Update
Industry recommendation: all front of house staff should wear masks

ABLE BC is deeply concerned about the  recent increase  in COVID-19 cases - they know and trust that operators are doing everything they can to keep patrons and staff safe.

However, ABLE BC and their restaurant partners are now  recommending that all members have their front of house staff wear masks or other PPE while serving and interacting with customers .

ABLE BC associate member BWI Business World sells two varieties of  PPE approved PVC Plastic Face Shields .

Small Business BC’s  PPE Marketplace  also connects businesses with suppliers of non-medical PPE, plexiglass and signage.

Please understand you are not required to do this, but we are hearing from more and more consumers who expect their servers to be wearing masks.

It is also vitally important that all operators are adhering to the  public health order  rules. As you may have seen in the media, the hospitality industry has recently been 'called out' for contributing to the spike in cases.

ABLE BC has heard from members that, while they have protocols in place, not all customers follow them. ABLE BC and their industry partners are currently working on a public campaign to help address this issue. Please stay tuned for more details.
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Leger Weekly COVID-19 Survey

Every week, Leger surveys Canadians and Americans to explore their perspectives on COVID-19 and other current events.

COVID Tracking
  • A majority of Canadians still feel governments are getting the pace of re-opening right (55% maintain current pace); however, an increasing number of Canadians feel things should slow down (36% up 3 points from last week and 13 points from mid-June).
  • Support for slowing down the pace are highest in Alberta (46%) and Manitoba/Saskatchewan(45%).

  • Canadians self-assessed mental health ticked up slightly from last week to 37% saying excellent or very good (up 2 points). Interestingly, the self-assessed mental health among US respondents is 10 points higher (47%).

  • Stress leaving the house stands at 43% saying they feel stressed (down 3 points from last week), while fear of contracting the virus dropped 4 points from last week to 57%.

  • There has been a considerable jump in the incidence of mask wearing among Canadians while out in public; much of this increase is driven by large increases in Quebec and Ontario. This week…
  • 76% say they are regularly wearing a protective mask in retail stores
  • 75% are wearing one while grocery shopping
  • 68% are wearing one while inside public spaces such as offices

  • Satisfaction with governments’ management during the crisis is unchanged overall this week for the 3 levels of government.

  • Regionally, Quebec and Saskatchewan saw improvements in government satisfaction levels while Ontario, Alberta and BC are virtually unchanged.

The 2 nd  Wave
  • Even though just over half of Canadian respondents (52%) say we are not out of the 1st wave of the virus, 81% say there is a 2nd wave of the virus still to come.

  • 63% of Canadians expect the 2nd wave of the virus to be severe enough to force a similar lockdown and social isolation measures as experienced in March and April.
  • Expectations of a 2nd lockdown are highest among those aged 18 to 34 (67% say likely)

  • 30% of Canadians say the worst is behind us while 40% say the worst is yet to come. The sense the worst is yet to come is highest among Manitoba/Saskatchewan residents (51%) and lowest among Ontario residents (35%).

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Supporting Local Business
Continues to be a Critical Part of Recovery

The new City of Langford website features local businesses, outlines things to do and places to shop, eat and recreate, a message from the mayor and highlights their Acts of Kindness Van traveling throughout the city rewarding shoppers for their loyalty to local businesses.

We are living in unprecedented times. Things have changed and they have changed for everyone. Now, more than ever, we need to connect with our community to leverage our strengths, to lead and help each other stay strong. Langford is unlike any other, we have grit and determination and we don’t back down when times get tough. Whether it’s residents or businesses we support each other as neighbours, friends and family. I am proud. I am loyal. I am strong. I am resilient. I am Langford.

Learn more at: iamlangford.com
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#LangleyFresh Campaign
Invites Summer Travellers to Explore Langley

The defining word for tourism in Summer 2020 is “local” — exploring the joys in your own backyard at a time when long-distance travel isn’t possible.

With this in mind,   Tourism Langley   has launched an exciting six-week marketing campaign named #LangleyFresh — a celebration of everything the Township of Langley has to offer, and a reminder to BC residents that there’s never been a better moment to discover (or rediscover) its many attractions.

Throughout the campaign and beyond, local businesses, residents and visitors are encouraged to use the #LangleyFresh hashtag, and to tell their stories about the town on social media; the best of these will be shared by Tourism Langley on their  website , as well as on  Instagram  and  Facebook . Tourism Langley has also unveiled a beautifully produced one-minute campaign video called Reconnect & Refresh — click  here   to view it.
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Moving Van Webinars

Moving in a Livable Region (MLR) is hosting a new series of community dialogues entitled  Moving Van: Building our Region for a New Normal .  

Friday July 31 @3:30 pm (PT)
Why was our public transit infrastructure under threat of financial collapse because of COVID-19? Are we funding our priorities sustainably? Has COVID-19 highlighted system vulnerabilities that organizations have been pointing out for years?  This event will explore how we fund our public transit system, where the dollars go, and what other funding methods exist out there that we could learn from.
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Join Leger for a webinar about the results of their latest study on travel and tourism, Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism in North America.

This study provides a comprehensive look at the current and future state of travel and tourism in Canada and the United States, as well as insights and recommendations to help the industry achieve success moving forward.

Thursday, August 6 @ 9:00 am (PT)
Register at:
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BCHA / Ministry of Labour Webinar

The BC Hotel Association is hosting a webinar and open forum in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and The Employment Standards Branch. The webinar will outline important information surrounding the Temporary Layoff Variance tool and how to apply. 

Thursday, August 6 @ 1:00-2:00pm (PT)
    
The webinar will be 45 minutes in duration with a 15 minute Q&A to follow.

Please complete the  registration form  and a  Zoom link will be sent to you with meeting details the day prior to the webinar.
  
Register HERE
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****NOTE: TIABC's C-19 Bulletin is now 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.