1. Develop clear and uniform standards for the safety of travellers and the prevention of COVID-19 transmission through a partnership of government and members of the travel industry. These could include new processes for screening travellers, taking advantage of rapid advances in relevant technologies, and other clear and uniform measures to ensure safety that are easy for travellers to understand. 
2. Work with provincial governments to safely remove inter provincial travel restrictions currently in place to allow Canadians to visit friends and loved ones and explore our country this summer.
3. Continue to assess the efficacy of restrictions on non-essential travel from the United States for any purpose: the twice extended border restriction runs until June 21st and currently discourages all visitors.
4. Thoughtfully ease international travel restrictions based on what is being done in other jurisdictions around the world, notably the European Union; the current blanket restriction that applies to all foreign nationals entering Canada runs to June 30th, and seems likely to be extended.
5. In concert with public health professionals and where appropriate, replace the current universal 14-day quarantine for those arriving in Canada with measures that permit international arrivals without quarantine except in instances where travellers have been in a high-risk jurisdiction in the previous two weeks. This would be consistent with what is being done in other countries. The current provisions have effectively put an end to international tourist and business travel to Canada.

• the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry in British Columbia, with a focus outside the Lower Mainland and Whistler
• business perception of government responses
• businesses expectations for recovery

• $4.5M will be allocated to BC’s largest city/community destination marketing organizations (CDMOs), that generate 74% of industry revenues and employment. These include: Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria, Kelowna, Kamloops, Tofino/Ucluelet, Richmond and Prince George.

• $1.5M will be allocated to BC’s 47 community Consortia (covering over 140 communities across BC) and 15 tourism experience sectors who are participating in Destination BC’s Co-Op Marketing Partnerships program for 2020/21. The $1.5M from Destination Canada will be matched by $1.5M from Destination BC and will be added to the $4.76 million already allocated for Destination BC’s Co-op Marketing program, now with relaxed requirements for community matching. In total, this means $7.76M will be available to community consortia and sectors for locally-driven marketing programs supporting provincial and federal tourism goals. Details of the program will be available later this week.

We envisioned the Regional Pledge as a critical step in reaffirming all that we hold dear. Helping to remind every one of us that we are but visitors and caretakers of this land, whether we call it home, spend our lives here, or merely chance upon it for a moment in time. Impressing upon us the importance of thoughtfulness, mindfulness, kindness, and care in all that we do. 

Little did we know how quickly our world could change, how instantly our lives would be thrown into chaos, and how, in what felt like merely days, our health and well-being whether personal, mental, or financial would be put in grave danger. We have been through a very dark moment in history, one we were not fully prepared for, and by and large did not anticipate. 

Today, as we begin to slowly and cautiously awaken from these weeks of lockdown, begin to open our lives back up, start engaging with neighbors and friends from near and eventually from far; these Seven Affirmations are more important than they have ever been. Take time to read them, to think about their meaning, to understand and appreciate how they can guide us forward and to commit to them. We hope you will share them with those you encounter and ask them to also make a commitment to these values, as we all work toward a new way of  life and a new way of living together safely. news.totabc.org/2020/06/01/manic-monday-regional-tourism-pledge-new-video

• Quentin Smith, President, Pacific Coastal, Airlines
• Parm Sidhu, Airport General Manager, Abbotsford International Airport
• Brant Arnold-Smith, Director, Security and Terminal Operations, Victoria International Airport

• June 9: Restart Safely: Health & Safety Essentials to Support Re-opening | Register here
• June 11: Work Refusal & Other HR Challenges Amid the Restart | Register here
• June 16: SEO in Uncertain Times: How it can Help Recovery Efforts | Register here
• June 18: Adapting Customer Service & Guest Communication in a Pandemic Impacted Business Environment | Register here
• June 25: Returning to Work: Protecting Mental Health | Register here
• July 7: Revisiting your COVID-19 Safety Plan | Register here

• 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

• Dan Roberts - Partner, Tax, BakerTilly WM
• Kandy Cantwell - Managing Partner, Montridge Advisory Group
• Mike McCormack - Director of Business Development and Risk Management Services, Westland Insurance Group
• Ryan Anderson - Partner, Mathews Dinsdale & Clark
• Sara Bauer - Senior HR Consultant, Chemistry Consulting Group