C-19 BULLETIN - August 24, 2020
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Provincial Government Update
The Province's Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services released their unanimous report on recommendations to inform Budget 2021. The report is available at:
TIABC, TOTA and Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism presented in succession to the committee in June. All three organizations submitted recommendations on how to help the industry survive the pandemic. In response to the presentations and submissions, the committee specifically referenced tourism in points 43 and 44 of the report:
Tourism
- Provide urgent, targeted recovery funding that is accessible and flexible to the tourism sector, as well as supports to address pandemic-related costs such as personal protective equipment.
- Support stabilization of the tourism sector with multi-year investments in recovery, infrastructure and destination development, and marketing, including exploring the provision of traditional and non-traditional financing options to tourism businesses, and incentives to British Columbians to stimulate safe provincial tourism and travel.
A copy of TIABC's written submission can be downloaded here.
In total, the committee heard 281 presentations, received 1,362 written submissions, and received 3,625 responses to the online survey. The input British Columbians provided during the consultation informed the committee’s 124 recommendations.
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Meetings with Elected Officials Underway Throughout the Province
TIABC has been encouraging members to reach out to their local MLAs, MPs and mayors to talk about what is needed to help the tourism and hospitality industry recover.
L to R:
Michael J Ballingall, Big White Ski Resort; Joyce Ricioppois and Colin Burns, Big White Community Development Association; Linda Larson, MLA Boundary-Similkameen; Everett Baker, constituency Assistant to Linda Larson, and Trevor Hanna, Big White Ski Resort.
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Unacceptable Visitor Behaviour
While supporting the campaign to encourage British Columbians to travel within their own province, some communities are noticing that a small number of BC residents are not as respectful of locals when visiting areas such as beaches and parks. As an example, Tofino has noticed more illegal camping and parking and a marked increase in littering.
Media coverage examples:
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Surfrider Foundation Pacific Rim has organized beach clean ups.
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Tourism Tofino has posted guidelines on their website to ensure visitors know what to expect and what is expected of them.
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The District of Tofino is issuing tickets for bylaw enforcement of littering, illegal parking and illegal camping.
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Tourism Squamish Update
Tourism Squamish recently conducted a fourth COVID-19 Member Indicator Survey - thank you to those who completed the survey.
Uncertainty and volatility continue to impact Squamish tourism businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 75% of tourism businesses in Squamish experiencing a critical or severe downward shift in revenue. Read the full report here.
July 2020 Visitor Insights at a Glance:
Squamish Hotel Occupancy
July 2020 hotel occupancy was 52%, a 27-point decrease from July 2019, yet a 17-point increase from last month. Squamish hotel occupancy has been slightly higher than the BC average across the May to July, 2020 period (32% vs. 38%, +6 points).
Squamish Adventure Centre Visitors Return
The centre saw double the visitation in July 2020 versus last month, yet visitation was only half of July 2019.
Website: Best Ever Month
Despite a near absence of international and US traffic to the website, July saw the highest traffic month ever to the website. Tourism Squamish's Stay & Play promotion, Best Places to Go for a Dip, Trails, Cat Lake, Camping Guide, Stawamus Chief, Hiking and the COVID-19 What’s Open page were the top content viewed.
View the full Visitor Insights Research Snapshot for July 2020 here. _________________________________________________________________
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Provincial Outlook
Summer 2020
As COVID-19 spread throughout the world, countries mandated lockdowns to slow the transmission of the disease. As a result, economic activity ground to a halt around the globe, and Canada was no different.
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TIABC and the BC Hotel Association (BCHA) will be hosting a webinar and open forum to outline the key issues and provide a reality check on the tourism and hospitality industry, our key messages, and ways we can coordinate and work together towards recovery.
Wednesday September 2nd @ 1:00pm-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.
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BCHA, go2HR and ABLE BC Webinar
The BC Hotel Association (BCHA) will be hosting a webinar and open forum in collaboration with go2HR and BC’s Alliance of Beverage Licensees (ABLE BC) and will feature Phil Eastwood, a leading expert in workplace conflict related training.
Wednesday August 26th @ 1:00PM (PT)
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Small Business BC Webinar
During COVID-19, business owners have been looking at different ways to cut costs and become more efficient. What if it was possible to achieve this goal while helping to reduce transmission of COVID-19 at the same time?
Delivered by Sam Thomas, Principal and Kootenay Branch Manager of Prism Engineering, and Tiago Pereira, Energy Solutions Manager at FortisBC, attendees will learn practical steps for making the workplace safer, while also saving money in our “new normal.” We’ll also be covering tips for making your space cost-effective, COVID relief incentives for small biz and plumbing/environmental controls.
What Will I Learn?
Best practices in HVAC and safety during COVID-19 reopening
How to develop a pandemic response plan
Steps to prepare your business for a potential second wave
Identifying opportunities for increased energy efficiency in your business
Available rebates and energy saving resources from Fortis BC
Wednesday September 2nd @ 10:00am (PT)
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October 2
October 7
October 26-27
September 21-25
November 17-18
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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.
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