C-19 BULLETIN - June 17, 2020

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Province Seeks Public Input on Economic Recovery

Premier Horgan and Minister James announced a new consultation process for BC residents to voice their ideas on how the Province should allocate monies set aside from recovery.

There are three main ways for people to share their ideas, experiences and priorities:

A) An online survey is the fastest and easiest way to provide answers to some important questions and give advice. feedback.engage.gov.bc.ca/317781?lang=en

B) Respond to the paper, Building B.C.’s Recovery, Together: Have Your Say (download here). Ideas and responses can be submitted to: 

C) Participate in virtual town halls. British Columbians can learn more about the virtual town halls here:  gov.bc.ca/recoveryideas

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COVID-19 Tourism Workforce Impact Survey

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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Long Road to Recovery
for BC Goods and Passenger Transporters

Statistics the BC Trucking Association (BCTA) has gathered for May 2020 indicate that all members surveyed – trucking and motor coach companies and the suppliers and service providers supporting them – don’t expect to return to pre-COVID-19 business levels for another 10 to 11 months and longer for motor coach companies, who expect to face up to another 20 months of recovery from the harsh changes imposed by the pandemic. Some may not make it that far.

BCTA conducted a third COVID-19 Impact Survey of its members between May 27 and June 9, focusing on data for May 2020.

Results of the third COVID-19 Impact Survey indicate that
  • Motor coach companies saw an average 97% in revenue, a slight increase over April (about 1%); and
  • Suppliers and service providers realized a 39% drop in revenue, a further 3% drop compared to April.

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ITAC to Launch Destination Indigenous
June 21st

The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) is announcing the launch of Destination Indigenous, a new marketing campaign to encourage, highlight and educate travellers about the many Indigenous experiences that will welcome Canadians this summer.

Rolling out on Sunday, June 21st, in line with National Indigenous People’s Day , the marketing campaign includes the launch of a new website promoting export-ready Indigenous tourism experiences to the world as well as a number of microsites targeted towards niche audiences interested in Indigenous cuisine, art, crafts and gifts, winter experiences, pow wows, and outfitting.

The campaign also includes a series of Zoom backgrounds showcasing Indigenous experiences from across Canada and a video campaign called Virtually Yours to invite visitors, when the time is right. Watch for more information on June 21. indigenoustourism.ca
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Tourism Businesses Generating Headlines

There is no shortage of tourism businesses struggling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are just a couple of recent examples:


June 11
South Cariboo tourism operators see mixed COVID-19 impact
“We were talking about maybe 10-20 per cent from what we would usually have,” he says. “We were hoping to get that but it will be actually quite a bit less than I’m expecting. It will be at least 80 per cent less for us than a regular season.”

June 16
"Vancouver hotels are bracing for what could be a long road back to normal operations, when businesses in the sector can again muster sufficient occupancy to at least break even." 

June 17
A summer with no foreign travellers concerns Squamish businesses, but fall uncertainty is downright scary
"The (Sea to Sky) gondola reopened May 22, albeit at limited capacity due to physical distancing rules. Brown says he's grateful to be open, but visitors are way down compared to last year.
The pandemic has also been rough on Squamish's restaurants, gift shops and other businesses that depend on summer tourism to keep them afloat through the rest of the year."
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Tourism Kelowna Sentiment Survey

Tourism Kelowna conducted a Resident Sentiment Survey in the first week of June and garnered significant response, with almost 620 surveys completed within three days

  • Close to 80% of residents were happy to see regional visitors.
  • 69% were comfortable with visitors from within BC.
  • 53% were comfortable with welcoming visitors from Western Canada but only 35% would welcome visitors from the rest of Canada.
  • Only about 15% of residents would be ready to welcome back travellers from the USA or further abroad.

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TIABC's national counterparts, TIAC have launched a Tourism Recovery campaign seeking government support so Canada has a tourism industry post-pandemic. The work doesn’t stop there. We all need to step-up and convince the government to act, send your MP a letter today : www.tourismcounts.ca

#TourismCounts

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Montis Distilling , located in Whistler’s  Function Junction  neighbourhood, has raised $1,000 so far for the Whistler Food Bank by giving away hand sanitizer by donation.




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Mariner Brewing in Coquitlam Raising Funds for Search and Rescue

Sales of a Czech pilsner by Mariner Brewing will help Coquitlam Search and Rescue raise funds to buy a custom 22-foot jet boat for water rescues.

Mariner Brewing wants to support SAR because of all the work it does in the community plucking lost and injured hikers from mountains and rescuing people who find themselves on the water in dangerous situations.

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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.

  • 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

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

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Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Webinar

The events of the past weeks have shone a light on racial injustices, structural and systemic racism that are unacceptable and, sadly, still exist. It is also a moment in time where we all need to come together to stand up against all forms of racism and take action to be part of the solution.

As a voice of the business community, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade is listening, to better understand the experiences of communities targeted by hate and racism. They are committed to concrete actions to help drive change.

In May, they announced the launch of the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council. The DLC will focus on addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion to encourage allyship and enhance business innovation.

On June 18 they will host a free virtual event that will focus on what business leaders need to know about addressing racism in the workplace, and how to build a diverse and inclusive organization.

Thursday June 18, 2020 at 12:30pm to - 1:45pm (PT)
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Small Business BC Webinar

British Columbia has begun the careful and thoughtful process of reopening under our Provincial Restart Plan. As businesses consider their plan for safe operation, a key question must be answered: How can you demonstrate to customers it is now safe for them to come back and do business with you?

Friday June 1, 92020 at 11:00am (PT)
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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.