C-19 BULLETIN - April 29, 2020
New Support Strengthens Zoos, Aquarium's and BC Animal Care Facilities During COVID-19

High-quality care for animals in BC’s shelters, BC SPCA facilities, zoos and aquariums will continue during the COVID-19 response, with funding available to help organizations cover the costs of food and medicine for their animals.

In response to the provincial health officer’s guidance around minimizing and containing the spread of COVID-19, dozens of animal attractions and animal care facilities, including those operated by the BC SPCA, have been closed to the public in B.C. communities. Facilities have been reporting a dramatic decrease in the donation of food, supplies and volunteers, and have been unable to hold fundraisers that support feeding their animals.

The Ministry of Agriculture will work with BC animal care facility operators to identify instances where emergency funding may be applicable. Funding will be available for animal hygiene, habitat upkeep, veterinarian care, limited transportation and repairs to equipment required to ensure the welfare of the animals in care.

BC animal refuges and rehabilitation centres that lack the revenue to ensure animals in their care will not be in distress will also qualify for funding. This will allow their animals to have a stable food supply and any medication they need.

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The Regional Destination Management Organizations of British Columbia (as a group, BC’s Regional Tourism Secretariat) have partnered to bring tourism businesses some guiding help during this time. 

While it’s not safe to travel now, they can hope to inspire the followers on social media to visit BC's destinations when the time is right, reinjecting vigour into our tourism industry. In fact, going dark on social media during a time of crises can have a negative impact on your brand. 

In an effort to offer resources to our incredible business partners in British Columbia, BC's Regional Tourism Secretariat have compiled guidelines to help you provide ongoing virtual experiences to your guests, continue sharing what you love, and maintain engagement during this challenging time.
 
While it is essential to stay informed with the local health authorities about what’s going on, we can brighten up our social feeds and give our followers what they crave by sharing uplifting stories and dreamy online experiences. 

From virtual educational tours to moments in nature and cooking demos to wine tastings, you name it; we will share it. Let’s invite our followers on a virtual journey, as an armchair traveller to our local businesses and backyard playground. 

Download the Social Media Toolkit:
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BC Ferries

BC Ferries is asking customers to avoid non-essential travel. If you are driving on board, please stay in your vehicle regardless of what deck you are on. This is a temporary measure to support #PhysicalDistancing .

Learn more at:
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BC Residents Struggle with Mental Health
as COVID-19 Pandemic Progresses

In a COVID-19 era of social distancing and social isolation, a new Insights West poll conducted recently with 817 BC residents shows that people are experiencing higher levels of worry, stress, boredom, anxiety and loneliness compared to before the pandemic, but at the same time they are also creating stronger bonds with their family and friends during this challenging time.

BC residents not coping well in COVID-19 world feeling more worried (62%), stressed (59%), bored (59%), anxious (57%), and lonely (43%) than before the pandemic.

On an overall basis, although the majority of British Columbians (74%) are doing an ‘excellent’ (25%) or ‘good’ (49%) on an emotional or personal level, there is a worrisome number who are doing ‘fair’ (22%) or ‘poor’ (4%) in dealing with the COVID-19 situation.

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On March 23, 2020 Tourism Squamish distributed a second COVID-19 Member Indicator Survey to over 170 recipients. Responses were collected between March 23 – 30, 2020 with a sample of 46 complete responses collected.

Summary of findings:
  • 98% of respondents have been impacted by COVID-19.
  • 77% of respondents who have been impacted, have experienced an extreme impact, with a critical downward shift in revenue
  • 83% of respondents forecast a high or extreme impact from COVID-19, with an extreme or critical downward shift in revenue

In terms of respondents preferred support from their DMO: 40% want Tourism Squamish to continue providing regular updates regarding government assistance and 20% want recovery planning information.

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COVID-19 Business Resiliency Webinars

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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Destination Canada Webinars

Previous webinars:

  • April 28th with 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, Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO). Please visit this page to see a recording.

  • April 1st with the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages; Ben Cowan-Dewar, Chair of the Board, Destination Canada; and Charlotte Bell, President & CEO, Tourism Industry Association of Canada. Please visit this page to see a recording.

  • March 20th with representatives from Destination Canada, Business Development Bank of Canada, Parks Canada, Tourism Industry Association of Canada and Tourism HR Canada. Please visit this page to see a recording.

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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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BC Hospitality Hustle

Don't forget!

The BC Hospitality Foundation is organizing a province-wide virtual event: hospitality workers, as well as foodies who have missed getting out and dining, can get moving by training for the province-wide  #HospitalityHustle  taking place on May 31 anytime from sunrise to sunset. 


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].