C-19 BULLETIN - March 19, 2021

CEO Message

A company I worked for decades ago championed the mantra…’nothing happens until you sell something’. Loosely translated, none of us would be working unless customers purchased either our products or services. Clearly in a society built on consumption, or if you prefer consumerism, the aforementioned phrase still holds true today even though how we purchase stuff has changed dramatically.

For the tourism industry, there is an obvious added element to the sales process that makes it somewhat more complicated than simply ordering a new bike online from the comfort of your living room couch. Tourism and hospitality rely on the movement of people (as my friend Royce Chwin of Tourism Vancouver often reminds me) to consume an experience within a destination in order to complete the purchase cycle and contribute to the visitor economy. In other words, visitors have to travel here - we can’t deliver the experiences BC provides to consumers in other provinces or countries.

So it stands to reason that our sector needs to see people moving about from region to region, province to province, and country to country soon to have any hope of preventing businesses and employees from being sidelined yet another year because of this dreaded pandemic. I suspect the biggest question that governments around the world are grappling with is, “How can we lift travel restrictions that allow people to move about freely while at the same time ensuring the health and safety of our residents, communities and our vital health care system?”

It’s a totally fair question that is not easily answered given the complexity and constantly changing pandemic operating environment in each jurisdiction. At the same time, it behooves decision-makers in our own country to aggressively explore all options including the notion of a digital safe travel card or passport that provides proof of immunization and/or recent rapid-testing on the part of the visitor upon arrival in British Columbia.

I spoke about the (digital) safe travel passport or concept during a few media interviews earlier in the week that prompted some unsolicited email from people claiming I was supporting medical discrimination and prejudice. Really? Call me ignorant or short-sighted but I fail to see how.

Seems to me that regulations or restrictions already exist for a resident of one country to visit another country (except within the European Union). They’re called passports and/or visas. In some instances, proof of immunization against diseases such as Malaria is also required for passage into certain countries. How is verification of a COVID-19 vaccination any different?

It’s important to distinguish between a digital safe travel passport/card for entering another country versus a concept media have been reporting on that compels customers to prove they’ve been vaccinated in order to frequent a business. The latter is definitely not what I’m advocating for.

In one recent interview I was asked about the prospect of favouring the ‘haves’ versus the ‘have nots’ segment of the population by allowing only those who have been immunized into Canada while barring those not yet vaccinated. By way of context, some politicians have suggested that unless every resident has been immunized, no one should be allowed to travel beyond the border. Notwithstanding the issue of personal choice or the matter of timing vis-a-vis receiving the shot, achieving herd immunity for an entire population before allowing anyone to leave one country for another is ludicrous. That’s like saying every citizen must have a regular passport in order for those that want to travel internationally to be able to skip town.

The other argument I hear is that vaccination programs favour the rich over the poor ultimately leading to inequity and bias. While I don’t believe that to be the case in Canada, I’m not naïve enough to suggest that discrimination is not happening in or against other countries. That said, who am I to judge or tell another country if, when or how to implement their vaccination program not to mention who can or cannot travel.

While there may be systemic, operational, security or authenticity challenges with adopting a safe traveller policy, we have few other options for non-essential travel to resume in absence of worldwide herd immunity or virus eradication…both of which are unlikely for the foreseeable future. The fact is relying only on government support or domestic visitors to save our industry simply won’t cut it.

We need to pull all the levers to get travel restrictions lifted and people moving again sooner than later for the visitor economy to survive. Implementation of universal rapid testing or screening is the first step, or dare I say, hurdle to overcome. Secondly, political will to adopt digital safe travel passports/cards as proof of vaccination and safety is paramount. And finally…unless or until these measures are in place, governments must further extend financial support to tourism and hospitality businesses as a bridge to the other side of COVID-19 later this year or next.

Nothing happens until you sell something. Rest assured, we can sell British Columbia to the world but only if our customers can travel to and within our magnificent province this year. Waiting until next year means even more tourism businesses and employees simply won't be around.

Walt Judas
CEO, TIABC
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Tourism Industry Association of Canada Calls on Federal Government for Urgent Action in 2021 Budget
 
TIABC's national partners have asked the federal government for sector-specific investments and commitments to be included in the upcoming federal budget.

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) recently released its 2021 Tourism Recovery Plan developed by an industry recovery group of tourism leaders from across the country, representing all sectors of the tourism economy. The organization’s new president and CEO, Beth Potter, testified to the Standing Committee on Finance earlier this week, outlining these recommendations.

“It is imperative that we see targeted investment in the upcoming budget. We are here today, over a year into the pandemic, the visitor economy is still in crisis, and yet, we are still waiting on a sector-specific support package,” said Potter.

Prior to COVID-19, tourism was one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The tourism sector in Canada was the 5th largest, responsible for 10% of Canadian jobs, $105 billion in revenues and 2.3% of GDP. Despite the slow recovery of some businesses, Canada’s tourism sector has remained stagnant. The tourism economy has lost over half a million jobs, and unemployment in the sector has surpassed the national unemployment rate, according to a recent report by Destination Canada.

“We have seen the commitment from the government in the Speech from the Throne and the Fall Economic Statement. But we need to see action and investment in measures to support the rebuilding of our sector. The health and safety of Canadians are paramount to our sector – what we are asking for is the ability to plan for our future. We need the federal government to commit to criteria and set some specific goalposts on international and inter-provincial border re-openings,” continued Potter. “it is unsustainable for our businesses to operate on a month-to-month basis with no ability to forecast.”

Tourism businesses are different than most, unable to pivot to online services, and with different methods of revenue generation including seasonal businesses, which are outliers in many of the application requirements for current support programs. A large portion of the 2021 Tourism Recovery Plan is based on supporting business solvency and focuses on immediate responses needed in current government support programs like adjusting CEWS and CERS until beyond the summer months and providing immediate liquidity for the aviation sector by supporting carriers, airports, and by providing sufficient funding to government service providers, establishing incentives for airlines to maintain service to remote communities and eliminating airport ground lease rent. Without support for the air sector and access to liquidity to stay on top of fixed costs, the sector’s recovery will be prolonged and Canada will lose its global competitiveness

“TIAC has been advocating for the sector since the onset of the pandemic. We applaud the government on its swift actions and support programs like CEWS that have helped many Canadians, including many of our businesses. But the reality is that the recovery of our sector will depend on lifting travel restrictions. We need to use current science-based data and effective testing and contact tracing to commit to criteria on border opening. We need federal guidance on a policy roadmap,” continued Potter.

TIAC is calling on the government for immediate action in this budget. In addition to the recommendations on liquidity and improving current support programs to include the hardest hit in the sector, TIAC is asking for:

  • A tax incentive to Canadians for the 2021/2022 tax years to travel locally or within Canada;
  • The development of a Business Events and Recovery funding program;
  • Top up funding for Destination Canada to keep Canadian destinations top of mind, to support Destination Marketing Organizations and to entice the return of high-value travellers;
  • The reinstatement of the visitor GST rebate program for international visitors;
  • The re-introduction of the federally funded Marquee Tourism Events Program; and
  • Support for the tourism labour market and capacity building projects
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Industry Performance
2020

Destination BC has released year-end 2020 figures for international arrivals in 2020, showing a decrease of 86.7%.

For full details, visit:
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BC Regional Tourism Secretariat
COVID-19 Tourism Impact Report
January 12 to February 28

Key issues for consideration:
• The negative impact of COVID-19 on firms in the VCM region appears to be higher than on firms in the rest of the province, but this may be due to
different sampling strategies
• Firms are worried about going into another summer season with travel restrictions still in place, and face uncertainty about how to deal with out-of-jurisdiction bookings
• The number of firms reporting business as usual is 15% (8% for VCM region), while 22% of firms surveyed are closed for the season
• About 32% of firms reported losing more than half of full-time, year-round staff positions
• The average loss of revenue compared to this time last year is 36%, representing an increase of
11% since the last report
• Between 18% and 33% of firms reported being ineligible for major provincial and federal programs targeted for businesses

Download the full report here
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COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Report
Business Events Summary 2020

Throughout the course of 2020, the Destination Canada research team reported on the impact of COVID-19 to Canada's business events community. Understanding this impact was, and still is, critical to formulating a plan for recovery. The recently released COVID-19 Impact and Recovery 2020 Summary report provides an estimate of the impact of COVID-19 on business events in Canada in 2020, with data available as of January 31st, 2021.

It includes the following sections:
  1. Impacts on Business Events from COVID-19
  2. Business Events Recovery Assessment Overview

Key findings from the report include:
  • COVID-19 has had a severe impact to business events, with the loss of 3,495 planned events and, in turn, 1.39 million delegates that would have visited Canada. This has led to $1.18 billion in lost revenue for 2020 business events.

  • This level of loss and uncertainty in the sector will have a lasting impact on the business events industry and the industries it supports for many years to come. Looking at business events spanning from 2020-2026 including both definite and tentative events, this increases the total impact to a loss of more than 4,000 business events, 1.9 million delegates and $1.6 billion in direct spending. 

  • While the majority of planners’ primary focus is rescheduling and rebooking of business events, there has been movement towards researching of events. Destination Canada’s assessment is that business events are in an overall researching phase, including all segments.

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Thompson-Okanagan, Cariboo Chilcotin Airports
to Receive Essential Upgrades

The Province is helping communities bring crucial improvements to regional airports with a boost in funding as part of B.C.’s COVID-19 economic recovery plan and BC Air Access Program grants.
The $9.28 million will enhance local airport infrastructure with initiatives like upgraded taxi lanes, new airside paving and green building projects.

With severe impacts on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Province partnered with 27 regional airports and the federal government to develop a co-ordinated approach to support the sector.

Seven airports in the Thompson-Okanagan and Cariboo Chilcotin Coast regions will share $1.2 million in funding for upgrades:
  • Anahim Lake Airport – $22,500
  • Lillooet Airport – $132,750
  • Oliver Airport – $56,100
  • Princeton Regional Airport – $181,658
  • Quesnel Regional Airport – $336,487
  • Valemount Airport – $26,719
  • Williams Lake Regional Airport – $393,000

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Work from Home Tax Information

Home Office Expense Deduction: With so many people working from home during the pandemic, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has implemented additional measures to simplify the process for claiming home office expenses.

Two options are now available to employees claiming a deduction for expenses they incur in respect of a home office:
  • A simplified format where employees who worked from home for 50% of the time over a period of 4 consecutive weeks can deduct $2 per day for each day worked at home, to a maximum $400 deduction. There is no requirement to track expenses or obtain a T2200 form from their employer
  • A detailed format where employees calculate the amount they are entitled to deduct, and for which employers must complete a new short form T2200S.

Determine which option is most appropriate, the eligibility criteria, and confirm what expenses are allowed by visiting this helpful page.

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Moments of Levity

As an industry that continues to face enormous challenges during COVID-19, every once in a while it's important to share a laugh, a good story, a beautiful image, or an interesting anecdote to provide moments of levity during this most difficult time. Feel free to share your photos, etc. with TIABC to be published in our C-19 Bulletin each week.
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FREE Culinary Tourism Webinars!

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada in partnership with TIABC is happy to offer free online Culinary Tourism webinars to tourism operators and organizations

Themed webinars will assist small and medium tourism operators and partners develop culinary tourism strategies to maintain their businesses and attract both domestic international visitors once Canada is ready to welcome them again. 
Growing Agritourism Webinar
Thursday, March 25th at 8:00am PT (9:00am MT)

Exceeding Expectations Webinar 
Wednesday, March 31st at 8:00am PT (9:00am MT)

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COVID-19 Crisis Communications
for BC's Hospitality Industry

COVID-19 outbreaks are a fact of life for the hospitality industry. What you do and how you communicate with the public and staff in the immediate aftermath has a significant impact on your business. There is a right way and a wrong way to communicate.

Join ABLE BC for a webinar on Wednesday, March 24 at 10:00 am: COVID-19 Crisis Communications for BC's Hospitality Industry. Leave with a checklist of the 7 steps to crisis communications and communications templates to support you in case of an outbreak. The Webinar will also offer tips on how to speak with the media during a crisis and how ABLE BC can help you.

Register hereThe webinar is free for ABLE BC members and $25 for non-members.
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Boating BC AGM

March 24th at 11:30am
 
The meeting will be held on the Zoom Conference platform. Please register to attend in advance by clicking here. All registered Members will receive the Zoom link, agenda, financial statements from 2020, and other required documents in advance of the meeting.
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Impact Conference 2021

Please join us for an incredibly impactful 1.5 hours as we take a deeper look at the tourism recovery opportunities ahead:

  • Marsha Walden, President and CEO, Destination Canada
  • Keith Henry, President and CEO, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada and IMPACT Co-Chair
  • Katie Briscoe, President, MMGY Global

Moderated by Paul Nursey, President and CEO, Destination Greater Victoria and IMPACT co-founder.

Wednesday March 31st
8:30am - 10:00am PT

Registration is free but all participants must register.
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Conflict De-Escalation for Frontline Staff
and Customer Service Professionals

Retail workers, receptionists, hospital unit clerks, customer service professionals, and others that interact with the public on a frequent basis often experience conflict in various forms from verbal attacks to violent, physical altercations. Their safety and security are a top priority, yet few are equipped with the proper tools and techniques to safely de-fuse these incidents. Mandatory mask requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic have heightened the importance of this topic, unfortunately, as some customers refuse to comply with these policies. 

Course ID: MSCD 002
April 8th 10:30am to noon (online via Zoom)
$150 plus GST

To learn more and to register:
 
Companies may also qualify for a provincial workforce training grant which would cover a portion of the tuition for any staff that they send: www.workbc.ca/employer-resources/bc-employer-training-grant/what-is-the-b-c-employer-training-grant
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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 info@tiabc.ca.