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While nearly everyone who is a part of BC’s visitor economy had hoped to be fully open by now and welcoming people from all over BC, Canada and the rest of the world, today’s announcement by Premier Horgan, Dr. Henry and Minister Kahlon was the information and direction that TIABC and our sector partners had been advocating for, for many months.

The Province unveiled its restart plan that outlines four specific steps, somewhat akin to the phases of last year’s re-opening strategy. While you can read complete details below, the plan provides a broad roadmap for our industry, although tourism and hospitality sectors still have much work to do on specific details that help member businesses prepare for re-opening in the days and weeks ahead.

From TIABC’s perspective, the restart plan announced today meets a number of objectives, including but not limited to:

A)  Provides some certainty and predictability to allow businesses to plan for the summer and the rest of the year in terms of staffing, supplies, sales, marketing, bookings, revenues, maintenance, health and safety protocols, and any other elements related to operations;

B)  Outlines details on what can take place, when and how so businesses can prepare for guests and project what their short, medium, and long-term revenue prospects are;

C)  Articulates targets for advancing through various stages to make it that much easier for industry to understand why or when the Province changes course;

D)  Restores confidence and provides a level of comfort that travelling and activities can resume in earnest while at the same time protecting residents, communities, workers and guests; and

E)  Provides further direction on revised health and safety guidelines that all tourism and hospitality workplaces will need to put in place to ensure compliance with provincial orders

While the plan is welcome and appreciated, the biggest concern for our industry going forward is the risk that the Province may need to slow down the various phases if hospitalizations, ICU admissions and transmission rates all rise in the weeks and months ahead in spite of increasing vaccination rates. Regardless, TIABC and our sector partners will continue to advocate for further support to help businesses re-open, as well as measures needed for operators that are still experiencing significant challenges until travel fully opens up.

As well, TIABC and our sector partners will continue to call for an official timeline or target for re-opening international borders, which as you know is largely dependent on the Province’s appeal (along with sector associations) to the federal government, especially on the need for travel health cards for international visitors (i.e. proof of vaccination) and an accelerated vaccination rollout toward herd immunity.

Even though cross-boundary restrictions won’t be lifted for another three weeks, today’s announcement is positive and provides more hope than BC’s visitor economy has seen in many, many months. As Dr. Henry noted, “The light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer, stronger and brighter.”

As you know, it is Tourism Week, a time that we normally celebrate all the wonderful things our industry stands for. In that spirit, at my local watering hole tonight, I will lift a glass to my professional colleagues throughout British Columbia who have been extremely patient, resolute, focussed, innovative, and supportive throughout the last 15 months of this nasty pandemic. While there is much more to do and we’re far from out-of-the-woods, I salute our industry for being so incredibly strong and resilient…key attributes that will prepare us for the long road back to recovery.

Walt Judas

CEO, TIABC

Earlier today, TIABC and many of our sector partners were briefed by Premier Horgan, Dr. Henry, Minister Mark, and Minister Kahlon regarding details of the reopening plan.

Premier John Horgan was joined today by Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation; Adrian Dix, Minister of Health; and Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC's provincial health officer to announce BC’s plan to safely restart the province. Effective today, government has eased some restrictions.

The road-map for the re-start plan is based on criteria that monitors case counts, hospitalization and minimum percentage of people 18+ who have received their first dose. Important, earliest start dates and highlights to getting safely back will be as follows:

With more than 60% of adults vaccinated with their first dose and COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations steadily declining, British Columbia is moving forward with the first step of a four-step plan for a careful and safe restart.

The four-step restart plan was designed based on data and guidance from the BC Centre for Disease Control and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. Progressing through the steps will be measured by the number of adults vaccinated, COVID-19 case counts, hospitalizations, and deaths. While there are approximate dates, government notes the plan will be guided by data, not dates.

For more information on BC's Restart Plan, please click here.

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To download the 2021 Tourism Pledge and read how Tourism Counts across Canada, visit tourismcounts.ca or #TourismCounts social media gateway for Tourism Week.

Through Tourism Week, industry stakeholders are encouraged to share the message, embrace the campaign, and use resources available at TourismCounts.ca, as well as host media events and distribute press releases highlighting their region, destination and their industry members’ contribution to Canada’s Tourism ecosystem.

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To better support workers and employers during the pandemic, and to support safe and healthy workplaces, amendments to the Employment Standards Act providing workers with up to three days of paid sick leave for circumstances related to COVID-19 are now in effect, until December 31, 2021.  Both full-time and part-time employees can take this leave. We know that to move past this pandemic we need to reduce transmission in the workplace and encourage people to stay home when they are sick. This leave helps do that.

The Minister’s Statement on the bill is available here.

A copy of Bill 13 is available here.

Additional information is available on Employment Standards Branch’s website here.

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TIABC recognizes that many of our members have been supporting our organization's advocacy efforts for a very long time. In this new feature, we will be showcasing those businesses, associations, and DMOs that been TIABC members for more than 10 years.

Thank you to entire Destination Osoyoos team for your support of TIABC!

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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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For more information, and to register (free), please visit the event page.

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In a time of great uncertainty, how can tourism & hospitality business operators plan ahead, prepare for the summer season, and take advantage of the available resources? During this free webinar including time for Q&A with Professor Mark Ziebarth of Okanagan College, you will learn 10 steps to take now to plan ahead for short and long-term business success.

As well, Mark will share ideas on how to take advantage of grants, loans, and other financial resources, with both short term and long term benefits.

Register here

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This webinar presented by TIABC with the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation will be an information session for the Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery and Circuit Breaker Business Relief grants.

Learn more about these fully funded grant programs available to eligible businesses in BC, to ensure they have the support they need during and beyond COVID-19.

Hosted by Liz Vickery, Executive Director, Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation. Liz is leading the implementation of the Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery and Circuit Breaker Business Relief grants. Previously Liz was Executive Director with BC Stats – the first female to lead the organization in 125 years.

The webinar will be 45 minutes in length with a 15-minute open forum for any questions.

Please submit any questions you have with your registration.

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Join us Thursday June 3rd as TIABC welcomes our guests from Rogers Sports & Media. This webinar will take you through a Canadian broadcast overview – the facts and myths on media consumption - and show you where to find Canadian travellers.

15 minutes of Q&A at end of session

Webinar Outline:

Presenters:

Brad Kubota - VP Local and Regional Sales Canada – Rogers Sports and Media. Based in Vancouver, Brad has over 30 years of national, regional and local sales experience. He represents a wide range of sports and media assets and tools including TV, radio, digital, out of home and research.

Peter Kambo – Senior Manager Media Insights. Peter’s extensive Vancouver agency experience provides clients with best in class media strategy, planning and buying expertise. While agency side his long list of clients included GM, Bell, BCLC, BC Honda and Destination BC.

Dan Lessons – Western Canada Digital and Out of Home Sales Manager. Dan began his advertising career in publishing in London.  Now based in Vancouver and with Rogers for 10 years, he designs and oversees national, regional and local digital strategies for all levels of marketing nee

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Learn more at:

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