C-19 BULLETIN - June 25, 2020

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Good News - Temporary Layoff Deadline Extended

After several weeks of dialogue with employers and business associations, including TIABC, the Province has extended the temporary layoff provision to a maximum of 24 weeks expiring on August 30th, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The extension will give employers and workers additional flexibility to support economic recovery with the expectation that businesses honour their obligations to workers and reach agreement with their employees in the event a further extension is required. 

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Walt Judas on Global TV re: Phase 3

With the opening of Phase 3, tourism continues to garner extensive media coverage around the province. Here are but a few examples:

Phase 3 means British Columbians can now make plans to travel within province:

Indigenous-owned businesses to check out and support around Vancouver:

Indigenous tourism industry sets sights on local travellers for summer season
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Hotel Association of Canada
Liquidity Survey

BC Hotel Association Update:

As the end of the temporary layoff period approaches, we along with our industry partners, continue to aggressively pressure our government to extend the temporary layoff provision until at least August 31st, requesting the provision to run for the full duration of the Province's emergency order, plus an additional six weeks beyond expiry.

We are also facing an unprecedented impact of the pandemic on the insurance industry.
As such, we are doing our best, working with our provincial counterparts to navigate this difficult landscape to ensure you, as our industry have access to insurance and that we mitigate the impact of yet another potential premium increase.

The Hotel Association of Canada and the BC Hotel Association are actively working alongside the government to identify and make improvements, but they need the participation of the hotel sector. It is critical that they have at least 500 hotels complete the survey linked below.

Take the survey here:   www.surveymonkey.com/r/FSCF6B8
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COVID-19 Tourism Workforce Impact Survey
Closes June 26th

Tourism HR Canada appreciates that tourism businesses have been asked to fill out many survey forms and provide various types of information. However, this research will assist in making policy and program recommendations specific to workforce needs during and post COVID-19.

Your feedback will help to:
  • Determine how deeply the workforce has been affected by COVID-19
  • Assess the effect of government programs like the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RFFF) in mitigating the effects of COVID-19
  • Identify the capacity of tourism businesses to reopen, rehire, and recover as restrictions are lifted
  • Identify the extent to which tourism businesses understand the protocols and policies they are being asked to implement in order to reopen
  • Augment other research and data collected through various means including new data from Statistics Canada.

Take the survey here:   www.research.net/r/Covidworkforceimpact
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Tourism Kamloops Launches BOLD Street Team

The Tourism Kamloops BOLD Street Team is hitting the streets of Kamloops starting today. A result of a pivotal visitor servicing transition, moving beyond the traditional bricks and mortar Visitor Centre, the BOLD Street Team is a focused engagement strategy to connect with visitors and residents throughout the city.

Reimagining the traditional Visitor Centre has allowed Tourism Kamloops to dedicate funds and resources into new visitor engagement initiatives placing the visitor servicing team directly in destination alongside visitors. A new partnership with Rivershore Ram has helped Tourism Kamloops to bring mobile services to life. A Tourism Kamloops branded Jeep and trailer will accompany the BOLD Street Team. The vehicle will be stationed in popular locations through the city providing even more support to visitors looking to make the most of their time in Kamloops.

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BC Tourism Resiliency Network Webinar

Presenters Quinton Pullen and Dustin Joslin from BDO Canada LLP will help guide BC tourism businesses through these uncertain times.

Topics will include:
  • Government relief packages for tourism
  • Short and long-term funding opportunities
  • How to mitigate disruption 
  • What short, medium and long-term actions are required to overcome challenges
  • Framework for business continuity

Friday, June 26 at 10:00 a.m. PST
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Destination BC Webinars

Destination BC is hosting a series of webinars to support BC’s tourism industry in areas of response, recovery, and resilience from COVID-19. The Road to Recovery webinar series has reached over 1,700 participants since launching on May 12th.

  • July 7: Revisiting your COVID-19 Safety Plan | Register here

Watch recordings of previous webinars:
  • 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
  • June 4: ExploreBC… Virtually | View recording here
  • June 9: Restart Safely: Health & Safety Essentials to Support Re-opening | View recording here
  • June 11: Work Refusal & Other HR Challenges Amid the Restart | View recording here
  • June 16: SEO in Uncertain Times: How it can Help Recovery Efforts | View recording here
  • June 18: Adapting Customer Service & Guest Communication in a Pandemic Impacted Business Environment | View recording here

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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.