C-19 BULLETIN - July 9, 2020

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Provincial Government Update

Premier John Horgan said today that he's happy with where the province is at in its COVID-19 recovery, but cautioned B.C. is still "far from out of the woods."

"I think there's great reasons for optimism as we look at how our restart has been going across the province. We continue to see relatively low cases of COVID-19," Horgan said. "I'm pretty excited about where we are."

Horgan is confident federal stimulus spending will flow to British Columbia and said hundreds of millions was confirmed by the feds just last week, solidifying his plans to make strategic investments in infrastructure.

Along with low cases, Horgan said many sectors have started to see recovery after dramatic downturns because of the pandemic, like BC Ferries and transit.


Watch the Premier's Update: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5wkGFNTbSI
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Leger National Pandemic Tracker

From July 3rd to July 5th, 1,517 Canadians and 1,006 Americans, 18 years of age or older, were surveyed.

Some sample questions:

Social Distancing Measures on Airplanes
Some Canadian airlines have decided to relax their in-flight physical distancing requirements by allowing passengers to be seated next to each other and selling adjacent seats; but they maintain the requirement for passengers to wear a face mask while on board. Are you comfortable or uncomfortable to fly under these new conditions?
72% uncomfortable; 22% comfortable; 6% don't know/prefer not to answer

Now that some travel wholesalers are back in business and destinations in the south and Europe are reopened to tourists, do you plan to travel outside the country by the end of the year?
85% no; 8% yes; 7% don't know/prefer not to answer

Do you agree or disagree with the reopening of the borders between Canada and the United States at the end of July, allowing American tourists to enter the country?
11% strongly or somewhat agree; 86% somewhat or strongly disagree; 3% don't know/prefer not to answer

Download the full report here
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Resident Sentiment Survey - Kamloops

Tourism Kamloops' second Resident Sentiment survey was issued last week and the results are in. As BC moves through various stages of reopening, Tourism Kamloops is seeking to understand how Kamloops residents feel about visiting local businesses and welcoming tourists to their community. 

Of the 171 responses collected:
  • 72% of residents plan to travel within BC this summer
  • 92% of residents feel it is important to support local businesses
Meetings and Conventions Update from Tourism Vancouver

Tourism Vancouver’s Meeting &Conventions team continues to develop new business opportunities but are primarily focused on protecting as many citywide clients as possible, many of which continue to cancel or move dates.

  • Many of the 2021 and beyond cancellations are due to a change in rotation of their annual meetings, uncertainty over 2021 international travel restrictions and the impact on the economy as it relates to sponsors, attendee travel budgets and loss of income from cancelling their own 2020 conference. Many need the annual revenue from their conference to sustain their association and the 2020 cancellations are negatively impacting their budget.
  • Almost all lifestyle events are cancelling through to Q1 2021 (a lifestyle event would include E-sport, International Wine Show, Pride, etc.)
  • Bids for future citywide conferences continue, most virtual events cannot replace in-person events and associations need to have their annual conference to generate revenue. For citywide conferences and events that are continuing, Tourism Vancouver is starting to forecast attendance as attendee numbers will change. As the team learns more, this is a statistic that the team is starting to track and will add likely in the fall.
  • In US market updates, last week, Tourism Vancouver attended the first Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals Virtual Conference. FICP is an industry partnership under the BEC umbrella. FICP members are a priority market because they book short-term and will come out strong in the recovery phase. They still plan to have their annual conference, Nov 15-18, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
  • Through the funding of the VHDA, Tourism Vancouver will be the title sponsor of the SITE Canada Education Day on October 29th, 2020. This will be a virtual event so all are welcome to participate. The team is currently reviewing other sponsorship opportunities with Canadian chapters of MPI, PCMA and CSAE.
  • Tourism Vancouver has joined the Canada Life Return to Physical Meetings Advisory Group to gain insights to our Canadian corporate clientele and share what our destination is doing to successfully navigate through COVID-19. Apart from the citywide conference market, the Canadian corporate market is a key priority and will continue to be for some time to come.
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BC Wine Institute Update

The BC Wine Institute (BCWI), with support from Destination BC, recently launched its Local Time campaign, inviting wine lovers from across the province to explore BC wine through the new Wines of BC Explorer app and Sip LOVE Local contest. As BC begins to recover and reopen, the Wines of British Columbia are ready to welcome wine lovers from across the province back safely and responsibly to discover what they love in BC wine country.

On July 1st, the BCWI launched its  Wines of BC Explorer app , a user-friendly tool designed to help wine lovers find BC wine that suits their unique tastes, offering personalized, expert recommendations based on their flavour profile, available through the app’s taste test. With more than 234 BC wineries now open for tastings with new rules of engagement in place, the app offers up-to-date information on new and elevated winery experiences, locations, operating hours and promotions. It also directs wine lovers to their nearest liquor store, private liquor store,  BCWI BC Wine Store  or winery retail online store to purchase their favourite wines.

Throughout July and August, BC Liquor Stores will feature 19 small-lot, boutique BC wines as part of their  Boutique Wines from BC campaign . With 19 additional small-lot, boutique BC wines featured in May and June, the campaign not only supports local BC wineries at a critical time of recovery for the industry, it also introduces wine lovers to boutique BC wines they may have yet to discover at their favourite BC Liquor Store.

Read the full media release:
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Indigenous Tourism BC Launches Trip Planner App

The Indigenous BC Trip Planner App is a must-have tool for planning an unforgettable trip. Find authentic Indigenous experiences and businesses, learn common Indigenous words and phrases, and hear traditional songs, stories, and legends.

Use the Indigenous BC Trip Planner App to search for experiences, accommodations, and businesses. Save your favourites to create your own custom itinerary, then use the interactive map to find attractions and experiences close to you once you’ve arrived in British Columbia. View the most up-to-date business reopening information, including hours of operation. 
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BC Hotel Association Launches Resource Guide for Accommodation Providers

The BC Hotel Association has prepared a guide to help its members with identifying trusted partners for essential supplies, as well as educational resources and special offers from its associate members.  

Topics include:
Cleaning & Disinfection, PPE, Sanitizer & Dispensing, Temperature Monitoring, Barriers & Screens, Touchless Technology, Broadline Distributors, HR Services & Consulting, IT & Telecom, Printing & Signage, Textiles, In Room Supplies, Energy & Environmental.
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Youth Aviation Newsletter Takes Flight

The first issue of Blue Skies & Beyond, the BC Aviation Council 's (BCAC) new Youth Aviation eNewsletter has been published. The idea for this publication grew through feedback that the BCAC sought with the COVID-19 Youth Impact Survey they circulated earlier this year, which provided the BCAC with valuable insight and perspectives about the challenges our Youth Aviation Community faces in the wake of the pandemic.

Since then, BCAC’s Youth Engagement Committee has been busy working tirelessly on projects designed specifically to provide tailored support and guidance for their youth members. The hope is that these collections of pieces in Blue Skies & Beyond will help give youth in the aviation industry hope, develop resilience, and inspire them to maintain passion during this time of industry uncertainty.
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Pulse Check #4

In these unprecedented times, we are collaborating with business associations across the province to collect and provide the best information we can to government from businesses of all sizes, sectors and regions. Information gathered will inform a holistic approach between government and society in acting on the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Your feedback to this survey is essential to inform governments’ understanding of the most pressing impacts you are experiencing and what can be done to ensure government is enacting measures to provide the greatest relief.

The survey will take under ~7 minutes to complete. Survey will close on July 13th.

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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 .  

3-part series of dialogues on the following themes:
 
Tuesday July 21 @ 3:30 pm (PT)
What are the most important decision making factors that will influence whether you physically partake in an activity like work, school, or recreation? How are you looking to move about now? What's safe now and what do we need to change to ensure we're safer in the long run?   These are the questions we will be exploring with you and with experts in the mobility space. 

Monday July 27 @ 3:30 pm (PT)
Is density a bad word after COVID-19? Are we better off in sprawling communities instead? Does COVID-19 shift how we plan our cities? What does this mean for housing prices and cost of living? Is there still hope for reducing our GHG emissions?  These questions look at how the pandemic will affect our community planning in the future and will allow us to separate myths from facts when it comes to safety risks.

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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****NOTE: Starting July 13th, distribution of TIABC's C-19 Bulletin will be limited to 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.