C-19 BULLETIN - June 30, 2020

___________________________________________________________________
International Border Crossing Travel Restrictions
to Stay in Place for July Holidays

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is reminding all travellers, ahead of the July 1st (Canada) and July 4th (United States) holidays, that travel restrictions are still in place at all Canadian international border crossings.

These measures remain in place until at least July 21st.
_______________________________________________________________
TIABC 2021 Budget Submission

TIABC has delivered a submission for Budget 2021 to the Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. On behalf of our members and stakeholders TIABC provided recommendations on provincial investment in COVID-19 recovery measures, as well as destination development projects and expansion the Resort Municipality Initiative.

In summary, the submission outlines that the Province invest in industry recovery through:
a. Emergency aid
b. Modernization and innovation
c. Support for the development of resilient, BC-focused supply chains
d. Sustaining and promoting Super, Natural British Columbia

The submission also recommends that the Province assist regions, communities and First Nations by investing in destination development initiatives that support the local visitor economy thereby creating jobs, private sector partnerships, and opportunities to transition to a long-term sustainable business sector with significant growth potential; and

Finally, TIABC asked the Province to consider a similar investment program to the Resort Municipality Initiative (RMI) for other tourism-dependent communities to realize similar benefits.

Read the full submission here or visit our website at: www.tiabc.ca/tiabc-policies
_______________________________________________________________
Making a Case to Government to Address Liquidity Issues Now
 
The federal government has put several programs in place to provide support for businesses but both TIABC and its national counterparts at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) know some of these short-term measures are not meeting the needs of the industry.

In order to help us help you, we need data showing where the gaps are and how some programs are not working as they were intended. The accessibility of loans through programs offered by EDC and BDC is falling short of meeting needs as many businesses are reporting being rejected outright; incredibly long waiting periods; unreasonably high interest rates; requirements to submit to costly and lengthy risk assessments, as well as myriad other issues.

The government is reviewing current programs but requires strong data showing where the shortfalls are. Both TIABC and TIAC have been advocating on your behalf for months now and we continue to press for extensions for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, changes to the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP) and others. 

Please complete this survey to help us make the case for much-needed change. Results of this survey will be shared with senior government officials who influence these decisions.

*Note:  Accommodation sector businesses that responded to the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) survey in June may find this survey redundant.

We greatly appreciate your time and understand that we are asking you to complete another survey in the midst of a crisis period. Please know that we realize how valuable your time is, but in order to bring about change, we need to show how difficult it is for the industry to access loan programs. We also need to show the value of extending programs such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. 
Take the survey here:
_______________________________________________________________
TIABC Media Engagement

Walt Judas was interviewed by The Vancouver Sun/Province last week regarding Phase 3 of BC's Restart Plan:

Reopening B.C.: COVID-19 hits tourism hard, operators hope to entice locals to be tourists at home
_______________________________________________________________
Meetings & Events Industry Guidelines Initiative

The BC Meetings & Events Industry Working Group constitutes a cross section of the BC businesses from the meetings and events industry, with consultation and input provided by industry leaders and stakeholders.

As a working group they are focused on creating guidelines for meetings and events that are defined as "closed events", meaning they are not open to the public, (e.g. corporate meetings, incentives, conferences and events, (MICE), celebration galas, fundraisers, etc.) They are not tailoring to conventions, exhibitions, public events, concerts, festivals, or weddings at this time.

_______________________________________________________________
Indigenous Business Survey Highlights Need for Urgent Support

The Indigenous Business COVID-19 Response Taskforce brings together the leadership of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis organizations to provide the Government of Canada with a single, unified Indigenous business voice during this time of crisis.

A survey led by the Indigenous Business COVID-19 Response Taskforce has found an urgent need for additional liquidity financing and support services for Indigenous businesses. When asked how long their business could continue to operate if no further supports were made available, just under half (44%) of Indigenous businesses indicated that, without support, they were likely to fail after 3-6 months. 10% of businesses predicted operations could not last more than a month without support, and 2% indicated that the business had already closed. View  Key Findings  for detailed survey results.  
_______________________________________________________________
Tourism Kelowna Hosts
Its First Virtual AGM

On Tuesday, June 16th, the Tourism Kelowna Society held their 2018-19 Annual General Meeting, its first through a virtual format, to update stakeholders on the organization’s recent operations and provide a further update on plans to help the industry recover from COVID-19.

Notable achievements in 2019 included Kelowna's highest-ever hotel occupancy levels with increases in every season, another year of strong operations for the Kelowna Visitor Centre, and exploring new destination development and sustainable tourism initiatives to position Kelowna and area for long-term viability. 

During the AGM, Tourism Kelowna also outlined marketing plans to help the destination recover from COVID-19 noting work already implemented and new initiatives underway, adding a full recovery for the tourism industry will take months if not years.

For more information, including a full 2019 in review video and the 2019 Report to the Community document, please visit  Tourism Kelowna’s Website .  
_______________________________________________________________
2020 Camping Appreciation Weekend

It's not too early to reserve your campsite for  Camping Appreciation Weekend September 11-13 . Due to travel restrictions this summer, camping in BC is even more popular than usual and reservations are a must to secure your piece of the outdoors. Special weekend offers and 5 nights for the price of 4 are available at participating campgrounds. 

_______________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Destination BC Webinars

Destination BC is hosting a series of webinars to support BC’s tourism industry in areas of response, recovery, and resilience from COVID-19. The Road to Recovery webinar series has reached over 1,700 participants since launching on May 12th.

  • July 7: Revisiting your COVID-19 Safety Plan | Register here

Watch recordings of previous webinars:
  • May 12: Business After Re-opening: A Look at the Post-closure Traveller | View recording here
  • May 14: Essential Strategies to Innovate your Visitor Experience and Offerings | View recording here
  • May 19: Planning for Doors Open | View recording here
  • May 21: Managing Expectations and Reputation through Effective Communication | View recording here
  • May 26: Using Social Media to Support Re-opening | View recording here
  • May 28: Building a Digital Marketing Strategy for Re-opening | View recording here
  • June 4: ExploreBC… Virtually | View recording here
  • June 9: Restart Safely: Health & Safety Essentials to Support Re-opening | View recording here
  • June 11: Work Refusal & Other HR Challenges Amid the Restart | View recording here
  • June 16: SEO in Uncertain Times: How it can Help Recovery Efforts | View recording here
  • June 18: Adapting Customer Service & Guest Communication in a Pandemic Impacted Business Environment | View recording here
  • June 25: Returning to Work: Protecting Mental Health | View recording here

_________________________________________________________________

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.