C-19 BULLETIN - April 24, 2020
Federal Government Update

Application Process for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) Now Open
To help employers keep and re-hire workers amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government has implemented the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. This important measure provides a subsidy of 75% of an eligible employee's weekly earnings, to a maximum of $847 per employee per week, to eligible employers, for up to 12 weeks. Retroactive to March 15, 2020, the CEWS will prevent further job losses and encourage employers to re-hire workers previously laid off as a result of COVID-19. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is administering the CEWS on behalf of the Government.

Today, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, launched  the application process  for the CEWS. As of today, employers can apply for the CEWS through  My Business Account  or through the CRA’s  online application portal , and their representatives can apply through  Represent a Client .

All claims that are approved through the CRA’s automated verification process will be sent for payment on May 5, so that payments being made through direct deposit should begin to appear in employers’ accounts as of May 7. Some applications will require a secondary verification, done manually, and in these cases the CRA may contact employers to verify information. It is expected that these secondary verifications will take no more than 72 hours in the vast majority of cases.
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Connecting British Columbia Program Phase 3
Funding Intake in Support of COVID-19 Response

The Connecting British Columbia program has a short-term opening for funding applications that can be implemented immediately to upgrade networks and expand rural connectivity bandwidth and coverage where needed. Proposals will be evaluated as received with an expedited turnaround time for funding approvals.
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Metro Vancouver Tourism & Hospitality Industry Response and Recovery Task Force on CBC Radio

Tourism Richmond CEO Nancy Small was a guest on CBC Radio's On the Coast with Gloria Macarenko, speaking on behalf of the Metro Vancouver Tourism & Hospitality Industry Response and Recovery Task Force. Listen to her segment here or view the CBC news story online here .
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Planning for the Travel Industry's Recovery

Mary Charleson, of fiveminutemarketing.com has written an article about the future of travel on her carryonqueen.com site.

The article addresses questions such as:

  • The two big factors that will impact the travel industry over the next 2-3 years
  • The four consumer profiles who will be first out of the gate to travel
  • Why we will travel (hint: it will have changed)
  • Where we will go (this also will have changed)
  • How we will travel (yup, this will change too!)
  • What will be different
  • Who will be threatened
  • What the marketing challenges will be, and how to creatively navigate it

Read the full article at:
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Mayday, Mayday, Mayday

TIABC was given permission to share an impassioned letter by Craig Murray, Co-Owner - Nimmo Bay Resort Ltd. (Est. 1980)

As a small, independent, family owned and operated wilderness tourism business, Nimmo Bay Resort has survived and flourished for 40 years. We rose to a globally accepted and recognized destination as a hospitality paragon, sought after by people world wide seeking a true outdoor BC and Canadian tourism experience. This was and still is a family’s patient and fragile progression toward an uncertain prosperity. All similar businesses across Canada realize there are no guarantees, however sometimes, it is reassuring to know, that governments understand our benefit to the Nation’s economy and have our backs.

Currently, business as usual, is non-existent for all tourism. There is no hope for a successful season and with travel being cancelled from the US and overseas, there is a huge void between incoming revenue and outgoing and ongoing expenses. Seasonal tourism businesses and their treasured employees are especially affected due to the delicate nature of their sporadic revenue stream. Cancellations are now king and deposit revenues that did come in have been dispersed with just staying alive. Jobs are lost, lives are severely altered and the fight for survival has begun. However on Apr 15th, it was announced that additional help from the Federal government is now on the way for seasonal tourism business workers.

... Read more
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Destination Canada Webinar

Tuesday April 28 at 3:00PM ET

Speakers: Ben Cowan-Dewar, Chair of the Board, Destination Canada; Charlotte Bell, President & CEO, Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC); Martin Soucy, President & CEO, Alliance de l'industrie touristique du Québec; and Beth Potter, President & CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO); plus others.
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COVID-19 Business Resiliency Webinars

Tuesday April 28 at 2:00PM PT

Thursday April 30 at 1:00 PM PT

The webinars will be posted on the GVBOT website and YouTube channel following the broadcast. 
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Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance Webinars

Thursday, April 30 @ 1:00 pm Eastern

Thursday, May 7 @ 1:00 pm ET

To view previous webinars, such as The Road to Recovery Starts During the Storm – Lessons Learned from Past Recoveries and Using Economic Impact Data in Your COVID-19 Recovery Strategy, visit:
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Small Business BC Webinars

Small Business BC are hosting a series of specialized free webinars to tackle the challenges faced by COVID-19. These webinars are geared at equipping businesses in our province with the skills and knowledge they need to survive the new realities of our COVID economy.

Visit their website for upcoming webinars, along with the opportunity to watch any sessions you’ve missed.

To view previous webinars, visit:
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Our industry is full of innovative, caring and helpful people.
Share your stories with us and we will share them here in our daily bulletin.
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Pivoting Business Operations

TIABC is enjoying finding and sharing good news stories with Destination BC and our other industry partners. We read the following story in Destination BC's April 23rd Bulletin.

BC businesses are building virtual spaces to stay connected with customers, and stay in business. Wineries are hosting  virtual wine tasting events ,  arts galleries and museums in   Kelowna  and  Vancouver  are offering access to exhibits online, and a  pastry shop  in Vernon has not only expanded online sales to offer in-demand items, like flour and yeast, but also created special donut flavours in honour of Dr Bonnie Henry, and Health Minister, Adrian Dix. 
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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 [email protected].