C-19 BULLETIN - June 8, 2020
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Changes to Travel Restrictions for Immediate Family Members of Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents

Today, we saw the first moves towards further re-opening international borders, with the federal government announcing a limited exemption that will allow immediate family members of citizens or permanent residents of Canada - mainly spouses and parents of minor children - to cross the border. 

Every person entering Canada will have to self-isolate for 14 days, and the Minister of Immigration emphasized that travel is still not permitted for simply leisure purposes. 

Read the full news story at:
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TIABC and Major Industry Partners Ask for Provincial and Federal Cooperation to Restart Tourism & Travel Sector

In a letter to Premier Horgan, TIABC and several local and national partners stressed the importance of a cooperative approach between the federal and provincial governments to take immediate steps to coordinate and facilitate the restart of Canada's tourism and travel sector.

The letter was signed by TIABC, Canadian Gaming Association, BC Chamber of Commerce, Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, International Air Transport Association, InnVest Hotels, Marriott Hotels of Canada/Marriott International, Tourism Toronto, Toronto Board of Trade, Tourism Industry Association of Canada, Fogo Island Inn, Hotel Association of Canada, Porter Airlines, Business Council of Canada, Transat A.T Inc., Tourisme Montréal, Greater Montreal Chamber of Commerce, Germain Hotels, Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums, Canadian Airports Council, Accor, National Airlines Council of Canada, Meetings Mean Business Canada, Association of Canadian Travel Agencies, Chorus Aviation Inc., Rocky Mountaineer, Air Canada and WestJet.

View the letter here
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TIABC, ABLE BC, BCHA & Restaurants Canada Provide Joint Submission on the Canada Emergency Wage
Subsidy Program

As part of the federal government's recent consultation process, four of the major BC tourism and hospitality associations provided a number of recommendations for government to consider to enable more individuals and businesses to qualify.

View the letter here
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TIABC & Industry Partners Request Extension of Temporary Lay-off Provisions

TIABC and 12 other partners representing multiple business sectors submitted a letter to Premier Horgan to request a further extension to temporary lay-off provisions.

The letter was signed by the BC Business Council, the BC Chamber of Commerce, Independent Contractors and Businesses Association, CBA, Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Retail Council of Canada, Restaurants Canada, BC Hotel Association, BC Trucking Association, Surrey Board of Trade, Association of BC Marine Industries, the Metro Vancouver Tourism & Hospitality Response & Recovery Task Force, and TIABC.

View the letter here
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Minister Responds to Events Sector Proposal

TIABC and the Metro Vancouver Tourism and Hospitality Industry Response and Recovery Task Force received a recent response from Minister Beare regarding a proposal submitted on behalf of the meetings, conferences and events sector. View the May letter from industry here and the Minister's response letter here .

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All of TIABC's correspondence and subsequent responses can be found at:
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TIAC Urging Industry to Write Local Members of Parliament

On Friday, TIABC's national counterparts, TIAC launched their industry recovery and government advocacy campaign –  send a letter to your MP today  to tell them #TourismMatters to you!

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BC Wineries Prepared to Reopen
Across the Province

Following the direction of  BC’s Restart Plan , and the order of the  Provincial Health Officer , the BC wine industry came together to prepare for the careful reopening of wineries across the province with new health and safety protocols in place to welcome local wine enthusiasts back safely and thoughtfully. 

On May 14th, the BC Wine Institute engaged industry stakeholders in a constructive dialogue around reopening guidelines, and ultimately best practices, specific to the BC wine industry. Together, this input resulted in the development of a BC wine industry  Ready to Reopen Toolkit  which includes recommended best practices and key messages for wineries to safely reopen hospitality, tasting room and winery guest experiences while complying with government recommendations and ensuring the safety of employees and customers.

Some of the Ready to Reopen recommended health and safety guidelines include: 
  • reduced winery capacity
  • employee training
  • tasting room reservations
  • physical distancing guide markers
  • increased sanitization of customer-contact surfaces and objects
  • contactless payment options
  • limiting group booking size

The BC Wine Institute supports the government’s continued efforts to minimize the risk and spread of COVID-19 and will continue to work with industry to ensure a smooth and safe reopening.In compliance with the BC government’s instruction to avoid non-essential and inter-community travel, this summer the focus for wineries will be on strengthening the connections within their local communities. While online service will continue to serve wine lovers across the country to ensure a safe recovery and a bright, resilient future.
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Tourism Kamloops Resident Survey


Tourism Kamloops issued a resident sentiment survey last week seeking insights pertaining to visiting local businesses and welcoming visitors back to Kamloops. 

The survey garnered overwhelming response. 948 responses were received from May 26th to 28th.  Respondents answered 16 questions asking resident comfort levels of visiting Kamloops businesses, expectations of Kamloops businesses to limit the spread of COVID-19, importance of supporting local businesses and sentiment towards welcoming visitors back from nearby communities, from across British Columbia, from other provinces, from the United States and from other international countries. 

Survey Results at a Glance:   
  • As restrictions relax, 96% of Kamloops residents feel it is important to support local businesses. 
  • 74% of Kamloops residents would welcome visitors from nearby communities while only 8% would welcome visitors from the US or other countries. 
  • 64% of Kamloops residents are planning to travel within BC this summer. 
Full survey results are available at 

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S.O.S. - Save Our Seals!

With seal pupping season just around the corner, $125,000 must be raised to reopen and operate Ocean Wise’s animal rescue, rehabilitation and release center for 2020. Donate, ‘Adopt a Seal’ or ‘Name a Seal Pup’ today.
Learn more at: rescue.ocean.org
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Partners of  ConnectSeven Group  and  Arkitek Creative  invite BC’s tourism industry to share ideas and resources to enhance the future of tourism post-COVID-19. Industry icons and experts have participated in the social community and we invite you to join. Tune into recovery content, contribute solutions, and connect with your community. Together, we can come out of this stronger. 

ConnectSeven is an award-winning project management firm focused on sustainable events and tourism promotion, and Arkitek Creative is an independent Vancouver-based digital media agency pushing storytelling to the limit.
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COVID-19 stopped air carriers and airports in their tracks, with aviation business down over 93% in the Province. Travel and tourism are two of the most impacted economic sectors. In response, air carriers and airports are developing and implementing responses in real time. This one-hour webinar, co-hosted by the BC Aviation Council, BC Economic Development Association and TIABC, allows industry professionals responding to the crisis to discuss their responses and views looking forward.

Speakers are:
  • Quentin Smith, President, Pacific Coastal, Airlines
  • Parm Sidhu, Airport General Manager, Abbotsford International Airport
  • Brant Arnold-Smith, Director, Security and Terminal Operations, Victoria International Airport

Moderator, Rob Beynon, Founder, Operations Economics Inc.

Tuesday June 9, 2020 @ 2:00 pm PT
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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 9: Restart Safely: Health & Safety Essentials to Support Re-opening | Register here
  • June 11: Work Refusal & Other HR Challenges Amid the Restart | Register here
  • June 16: SEO in Uncertain Times: How it can Help Recovery Efforts | Register here
  • 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

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Destination Canada Webinar

Destination Canada is hosting regular webinars, sharing our approach amid the COVID-19 situation and providing information on available federal support initiatives. We will have industry partners, representatives from government as well as applicable businesses join to provide the most up-to-date information and resources.

Join them on June 11, 2020, for a one-hour moderated panel discussion with key US and international corporate meeting, association conferences and incentive trip buyers.

Thursday June 11 @ 9:00 am PT
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Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Webinar

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade is hosting a virtual event about the Province’s restart plan with Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Carole James. Hear from the Finance Minister about the phased approach to restart and recovery in our province and participate in a Q&A.

Friday June 12 @ 12:00 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.