C-19 BULLETIN - May 27, 2020
Tourism Week Key Message to Locals
The tourism industry's many individual sector associations have been leading the way in developing comprehensive health and safety guidelines that will allow for the re-opening of businesses across the province so that guests can be assured of a safe and exceptional experience once travel resumes.
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Provincial State of Emergency Extended
in COVID-19 Response
The provincial S tate of Emergency is being extended an additional two weeks, until end of day June 9th, to support continued coordination of BC’s COVID-19 response.  

Read the full provincial statement:
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Introducing the British Columbia
Regional Tourism Secretariat

The British Columbia Regional Tourism Secretariat (BCRTS) is a collaboration between BC's five Regional Destination Management Organizations (RDMO). Their goal is ensuring local knowledge and expertise helps grow tourism in British Columbia in a way that is sustainable, drives job creation, and makes life better for people in every part of the province.

BCRTS and the member regions represent the wide variety of British Columbians who are part of the visitor economy: artists and artisans, farmers and ranchers, Indigenous organizations, entrepreneurs, adventure tourism operators, students, outdoor educators, restaurants, accommodators and campground operators, are just some examples. These are the members of the five RDMOs and they make the BCRTS a leading source of on-the-ground information and solutions for the tourism sector.

BCRTS is working together to strengthen the visitor economy in a variety of ways, including:
  • taking a ground-up approach to planning so local voices and knowledge shape programs and compliment local and regional tourism strategies,
  • collaborating with Community Destination Marketing Organizations and local tourism operators to help local tourism operators enhance their visitor offerings,
  • creating cross-regional projects that enhance and promote unique experiences for visitors,
  • working with the provincial government, local governments, and other tourism organizations to link visitors to authentic experiences in the arts, sports, heritage, parks, outdoor adventures and culture, and;
  • focussing on helping British Columbia’s local tourism operators regain ground in the wake of COVID-19.

BCRTS and the RDMOs lead destination development across the province to ensure British Columbia’s tourist destinations are desirable, sustainable, and benefit communities. They work closely with the Destination BC, the Crown corporation in charge of marketing, selling Super, Natural British Columbia to the world.

The five not-for-profit regional tourism management organizations making up the BCRTS are: Northern BC Tourism Association; Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association, Kootenay Rockies Tourism Association; Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association; and, the Tourism Association of Vancouver Island.
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Free Tourism Job Board Open to Other Industries
with Urgent Needs

With many tourism and hospitality employees facing work shortages, go2HR has partnered with the healthcare, retail, and agriculture sectors to post urgent job openings on their free job board.
Learn more at: www.go2hr.ca/jobs
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Visitor Centres Across the Province to Benefit from $130,000 in Funding From Destination BC

As tourism businesses re-open their doors and encourage BC residents to travel again, the health and safety of all British Columbians remains paramount. To support this, visitor centres throughout the province will benefit from $130,000 (up to $1,000 per visitor centre), provided through Destination BC, to ensure physical distancing and heightened sanitation measures within their facilities, as they help British Columbians to #ExploreBCLocal now, and explore their own province, when it is safe to do so.

Learn more at:
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Ogden Point Breakwater Re-opens in Victoria

Following the announcement of BC’s Restart Plan  and through determination by the operations team, the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority reopened the Ogden Point Breakwater to users on May 20th.
 
Users are asked to adhere to COVID-19 measures outlined on signage at the entrance.

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Tourism Kelowna Plans for Visitor Centre Re-opening

Phase One began on May 12th with the Visitor Experience team offering contactless pickup for brochures, maps, online orders, and other available resources. Until May, 31st, this will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Phase Two is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 1st, when the team will begin offering walk up visitor servicing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days per week. During this phase, the public will not be allowed within the building to ensure the safety of staff and guests through physical distancing and other safety measures.

Phase Three does not yet have an assigned start date but will happen no earlier than July 1st. During this phase, the public will once again be permitted entry into the Visitor Centre building with limited occupancy levels and touch points. Hours of operation will then be expanded to approximately nine hours per day.

Phase Four will be resuming close-to-normal operations, reverting back to regular capacity and touch points. However, this will not occur until the Province announces that it will be entering Phase 4 of BC's Restart Plan meaning that one of the following has occurred: a vaccination, community immunity, or widespread treatment.

Throughout all phases of this plan our servicing methods of online chat, telephone, and email will remain available seven days per week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or longer to match the hours of operation for the Visitor Centre.
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Prince George Pub
Brings Back the Carhop

Many restaurants during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic were asked to close their public dining areas. While many restaurants closed, others offered take-out or delivery service. A restaurant owner in Prince George decided to bring back a combination of old ideas and make them new again...by bringing back the carhop.

The Westwood Pub’s public dining area has been closed since the start of the pandemic. A few days ago the kitchen was back in operation. Wednesday evening the parking lot was full again..thanks to a childhood memory Nathan Coole had when the food was brought to the family’s vehicle.

The carhop method was popular back in 1950. Coole realized this style of service fits perfectly in practicing social distancing while serving food. Along with carhop service, he's offering a drive-in trivia game.

Coole is not at full staff as of yet but he expects business to pick up as the word spreads.
According to Coole, if the carhop method continues to be popular he may offer the service after the pandemic crisis is lifted.
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Destination BC Webinars

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

Speaker: Conner Galway, Junction Consulting
Thursday, May 28 @ 2:00 pm PT (60 minutes)

Virtual experiences bring the sights and sounds of your experience, attraction, or destination to your visitors so that they can enjoy what you have to offer from the comforts of their home.
Thursday June 4 @ 2:00 pm PT (90 minutes)

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

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Small Business BC Webinars

Small Business BC are hosting a series of specialized free webinars to tackle the challenges faced by COVID-19. The webinars are geared at equipping businesses in our province with the skills and knowledge they need to survive the new realities of our COVID economy.

June 1 @ 1:00pm PT

Friday June 5 @ 10:30 am PT

To view previous webinars, visit:
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The BC Hotel Association has worked hard behind the scenes with key stakeholders to develop and communicate essential guidelines to assist stakeholders in developing their own plan to restart or ramp up operations for Phase 3 of the Restart Plan.

This comprehensive document has been submitted to government and industry to support employee, guest, and business health and safety.

Thank you to our partner, go2HR, for their support in developing this document, using guidelines from BC CDC, HAC, WorkSafeBC, BCHA, BCLCA, BLBCA, lodges, condo hotels, hostels, motels, and bed & breakfasts.

To help set you up for success, BCHA is hosting a webinar  next Thursday, May 28 th  at 1pm PT (registration details below) to walk through the guidelines in detail and to answer questions.

To register:
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Capliano University Webinar

As one of the most affected sectors, the current COVID-19 pandemic presents the tourism industry with a major and evolving challenge. Join a conversation with industry experts to discuss how best to navigate the challenge, draw from lessons learned to reshape the tourism industry, and prepare for a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future.

Moderato r:
-Paul Dangerfield, President of Capilano University
Panelists :
-Bruce Poon Tip, Founder of G Adventures
-Daniel Dubois, Co-founder, Key Living
-Paula Amos, Chief Marketing and Development Officer, Indigenous Tourism BC
-Paolo Fresnoza, Instructor, Faculty of Global & Community Studies

Thursday, May 28 @ 5:00 pm 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.