The BC government has extended the provincial State of Emergency through the end of the day on August 18th to support the ongoing co-ordinated response to the wildfire situation and ensure public safety.

As of this morning, 254 wildfires are burning in BC, with 64 evacuation orders affecting approximately 4,305 properties. There are 99 evacuation alerts affecting approximately 21,049 properties.

The Province’s decision to extend the provincial State of Emergency will support the significant number of people who remain under evacuation orders and alerts, and continues to support the potential of a mass evacuation.

Current weather forecasts may lead to more severe fire behaviour and the potential for more evacuations. While extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act are not needed at this time, the declaration gives the Province the ability to move quickly, if the need arises.

Quick Facts:

Please click here for the full announcement.

TIABC will be submitting its 2022 pre-budget consultation brief to the federal government this week. The submission calls for an extension to CEWS and CERS until mid-2022 given that international travel has been delayed until August (US visitors) and September (other countries), and that tourism's recovery will take significantly longer than other sectors of the economy.

The Government of Canada announced on July 30th, the extension of COVID-19 support measures for Canadians and Canadian businesses in recognition that uneven economic reopening across regions and sectors means workers and businesses continue to need support. These extensions will now go until October 23rd.

TIABC and its national, provincial and territorial counterparts believe this is a very positive step and the government deserves credit for listening to our sector. However, do know that this will not be enough to keep thousands of businesses from closing their doors permanently and losing important tourism infrastructure.

The government is also proposing to offer businesses greater flexibility when calculating the revenue decline used to determine eligibility for the wage and rent subsidy programs and the new Canada Recovery Hiring Program. The government will be releasing draft legislation that provides further clarity on previously announced changes to the wage subsidy for furloughed employees.

More details on the extension and these proposed changes to COVID business supports are available in the backgrounder associated with the announcement.

Please click here for the complete announcement.

On behalf of the TIABC's Board of Directors, we are proud to announce that fellow director Brenda Baptiste is among the 16 exceptional people who will be appointed to the Order of British Columbia, the Province's highest form of recognition.

Among her many achievements to date, Brenda was hired to coordinate the planning and operations for the $10-million first phase of the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre (NDCC) that celebrates Syilx culture and life in the desert context.

With limited financial resources to subsidize the cultural centre, the Osoyoos Indian Band decided to open the Cultural Centre to the public to assist with financial operations and to celebrate Indigenous Sylix culture, truly a precursor for reconciliation. The centre went on to win numerous awards and is now in a Phase 2 expansion, for which Baptiste is guiding the Indigenous story.

Following the inspirational success with the NDCC, Brenda was elected to the board of Aboriginal Tourism BC (now ITBC), which was a young, financially strapped organization of 12 members and one employee. It now has 500 members and 12 employees.

This year, 257 British Columbians were nominated. Since its inception, 475 British Columbians have been appointed to the Order of B.C.

Brenda is a long-time and valued member of TIABC's Board. We congratulate her and all the recipients of the 2021 Order of BC.

TIABC extends congratulations to Liz Vickery on her recent appointment as Executive Director for the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture & Sport. Liz was the former E.D., Business Grants Programs for the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery & Innovation, and prior to that the E.D. for BC Stats where she was the first woman to lead the organization.

Liz has a wealth of experience to bring to the Ministry that includes both government and the private sector, and has a background in statistics, Olympics, human resources, change leadership and health care advocacy.

TIABC is looking forward to working with Liz in her new role.

Congratulations to Glenn Fawcett on being recognized for his considerable contributions to the wine industry by Wine Growers British Columbia (WGBC) who awarded Glenn the WGBC Award of Distinction...its highest honour. The award recognizes a winery representative for their outstanding leadership, commitment and passion for the advancement of the British Columbia wine industry.

Previous winners of this prestigious award include wine industry luminaries such as Howard Soon, Sandhill (Andrew Peller); Harry McWatters, Time Winery; and Tony Stewart, Quails’ Gate Winery.

During his 35-year career as an entrepreneur and innovator, Fawcett has founded and/or consulted to numerous successful companies including Therapy Vineyards and Guesthouse, and Black Hills Estate Winery.

Statistics Canada has released the monthly report on international visitor arrivals (Customs Entries) for May 2021. The data referenced in this release includes international overnight visitor arrivals (overseas countries and US) and includes same-day visits from overseas countries.

It's important to note that Canada closed its borders to foreign nationals on March 18th, 2020 and travel from the US was limited to essential travel only. According to Canadian Border Services Agency, the few arrivals recorded during May 2021 were travelling for valid reasons as determined by the Canadian Border Services Agency.

Click here to read the full report.

The Measuring Canadian Travel Patterns dashboard created by Environics Analytics is prepared to help the Canadian travel and tourism industry understand the impact of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to domestic overnight visitors within Canada, its provinces, territories and tourism regions.

With this dashboard, one can easily compare visitor travel patterns (to prior weeks in 2021 and year over year 2019 and 2020). You can also compare different regions to assess the impact of the pandemic on Canadian travel patterns and identify when visitors start to return to BC's respective tourism regions.

The following are highlights for domestic overnight visitation to BC for the weeks of July 1 - 24, 2021.

The baseline of comparison is now 2019, with percentages above 0% indicating higher rates of visitation in 2021 than 2019, and percentages below 0% indicating lower rates of visitation in 2021 than 2019.

Click here to review the complete report.

In view of the wildfire situation in parts of British Columbia, here are important resources for communities, destination marketing/management organizations (DMO's) and tourism operators to use to communicate with guests and prospective visitors.

Given the evolving emergency situation, the messaging guide, as well as respective websites will be updated regularly.

Check DriveBC's info about road closures, major events and transportation delays here

Click here for Destination BC's "Know Before You Go".

We encourage visitors and travellers to check in with the Visitor Centre in the communities they will be visiting for real-time, on-the-ground updates.

To report a wildfire (dial *5555 on a cell phone or call toll free 1.800.663.5555)

TIABC continues to regularly engage with our industry and cross-government partners via the Tourism Emergency Management Committee (including the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport, DBC, ITBC, the BCDMOA and the BC Regional Secretariat), the Joint Information Centre (with representation from each Government of BC agency), and others as needed, to ensure that we – and BC’s tourism industry – have the latest information and can respond in a timely manner.

In response to BC’s provincial State of Emergency regarding wildfires, which was declared on July 20th, Destination BC has prepared Emergency Messaging Guidance to help the tourism industry navigate questions, mitigate visitor concerns, and proactively manage perceptions.

During emergencies, BC's tourism industry is an important conduit to official information sources for visitors.

The messaging guidance can be found here on the Emergency Preparedness page of the Destination BC corporate website, along with safe and responsible travel graphics for you to use on your channels, a visitor-facing safe travel brochure (web and print version), and the links to the Know Before You Go information.

TIABC's national partners, The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) was heartened to see dates announced for relaxed border measures and the extension of the CEWS & CERS to October. However, TIAC and its provincial/territorial counterparts know that our work is far from over.

To that end, TIAC is reaching out for your help to build the tourism case for continued and ongoing support and relief. They have created a survey that will take about 5-minutes to complete.

Your input is extremely important to their advocacy work, and to the messaging that is relayed to government officials. As we move into a potential fall election, we want to hear from you, now more than ever, on the state of the industry, what you need to move forward, and what you believe should be TIAC’s priorities.

Please support TIAC's efforts by clicking the button below and completing the survey.

In recognition for your time and effort, your name will be entered into a chance to win one FREE in-person registration to the 2021 Tourism Congress on November 30 and December 1 including FREE return airfare to Ottawa and 2-nights accommodation at The Westin Ottawa.

Thank you so much for your time and input.

One of the key factors for the recovery of our tourism sector is high vaccine uptake in Canada and abroad. The #fastertogether campaign encourages Canadians to get vaccinated so that we can go places again. Faster.

TIABC is pleased to be part of this voluntary effort that includes a nation-wide variety of industry organizations, associations, businesses and people working together to promote COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and help speed a recovery from this pandemic.

Each province in Canada has a responsibility for administering vaccines. To find out when and where you can get your shot in BC, please click here.

Click here to learn more about the Faster Together campaign and view the list of participants.

WestJet is further restoring British Columbia's domestic and interprovincial connectivity with the restart of eight routes. WestJet's investments are critical to ensuring British Columbia's recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and the airline recently introduced new flights between Abbotsford and Prince George and restored WestJet Link service between Vancouver and Cranbrook.

In addition, WestJet now offers service from Vancouver to 18 cities, from Victoria to eight cities, from Kelowna to seven cities, from Comox to four cities and from Nanaimo to three cities. From the communities of Kamloops, Penticton and Prince George, the airline will connect to two communities non-stop.

For more than 17 months, Canadians from coast-to-coast have been separated from the people and places they love. WestJet's latest brand moment Ready. Set. Canada. is a reminder to Canadians that it's time to love where they're going, again.

Click here to learn of the new and expanded routes.

go2HR has been hard at work undertaking a Labour Market Information research project to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on our workforce. Even before COVID-19, the industry faced some significant human resource challenges. We know those challenges will only increase as we emerge from the pandemic.

go2HR is responding to these challenges by undertaking an ambitious labour market research project.

go2hr needs to hear from a representative sample of employers across all sectors and regions of the province. They ask for 25 minutes to complete this survey. They want to hear about the impact of COVID-19 on your operations, the human resource issues you face, and what can be done to help industry in dealing with these issues going forward.

TIABC endeavours to keep our industry and members up to date with the various relief and recovery programs. In addition to the recently announced Tourism Relief Fund program, here is a list of federal funding programs currently available.

Tourism Relief Fund (TRF): to help tourism businesses and organizations adapt their operations to meet public health requirements while investing in products and services to facilitate their future growth. The $500 million national initiative across Canada will be administered by Western Economic Diversification in Western Canada.

Canadian Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS): Subsidy to cover a portion of eligible expenses until October 23rd. Also includes an additional Lockdown Support of 25% if your business was significantly affected by a public health order. Hotline: 1-800-959-5525

Highly Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program (HASCAP): Aimed at sectors like tourism and hospitality, hotels, arts and entertainment, and will offer 100% government-guaranteed financing and provide low-interest loans up to $1 million for up to ten years.

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS): Covers part of your employee wages retroactively back to December 20, 2020 until October 23rd. The maximum subsidy is 75%. Hotline: 1-800-959-5525

Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP): The new Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) is designed to encourage businesses to grow as the economy recovers, whether it’s due to hiring and re-hiring staff, increasing shifts, or increasing overall pay.

Note: Your business can only claim the CEWS OR CRHP - here is a comparison between the two programs

Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB): $400 per week for 13 two-week periods between September 27, 2020, and September 25, 2021 for self-employed workers and those in the gig economy. Applications are handled through the Canada Revenue Agency. Hotline: 1-833-966-2099

First Peoples' Cultural Council Arts Program. Grants ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 for Indigenous B.C. residents open for the Spring 2021 intake.

The SFI represents the angling community particularly in coastal BC, constantly reminding DFO that sustainable and predictable angling opportunity is important to individuals, businesses, families and communities across the province. Your support through the 2021 lottery will help secure a better future for our fishery and the resources it depends upon.

Supporting the activities of the SFI will assist British Columbians to reliable and predictable access to fisheries. BC's public fishery is enjoyed by over 400,000 anglers every year. This healthy, family oriented outdoor activity develops awareness and environmental stewardship of our marine and freshwater resources and ecosystems. By supporting the SFI, you are also supporting the protection and promotion of the traditions, lifestyle, and employment of many British Columbians.

Grand Prize and Final Prizes drawn on

December 2nd at 6:00 pm

Draw on October 8th

Click here to purchase tickets online, and view updated jackpot as tickets are purchased.

The BC Hospitality Foundation (BCHF) is pleased to announce that tickets for its first-ever online 50/50 raffle are now on sale. The raffle starts with a $1000 jackpot and will increase with every ticket purchased above and beyond until sales close on August 16th.

The initiative is a fundraiser for the BCHF, with a mission of supporting hospitality and tourism workers in need.

The winning name will be drawn at noon on August 17th and will be posted on the BCHF website and social media shortly thereafter, pending notification to the winner. Funds raised by the event will be used by the BCHF to support hospitality industry workers facing financial crisis due to a serious health condition experienced by themselves or a family member.

Click here to purchase tickets online, and view updated jackpot as tickets are purchased.

Despite the ongoing challenges our industry continues to face as a result of the impacts of COVID-19, TIABC is heartened to observe the strength, resiliency and innovative means taking place today. This new Bulletin feature will share stories of how businesses and organizations, large and small are doing things in a new way as they guide their enterprises through the pandemic crisis.

The Schildknecht family have been long-standing and proud owners of the family-run, Northern Rockies Lodge, purchasing the lodge in 1988, four years before the paving of the Alaska Highway. They have evolved with the region, growing from a fly-in-fly-out operation, to becoming one of the largest year round hotel and RV operation outside of any town on the Alaska Highway.

The Northern Rockies Lodge sits at the northern tip of the Rocky Mountains and is entirely self-sustaining, generating their own electricity and is conveniently located between the Liard Hot Springs and Toad River.

A strong partnership between the lodge and the Northern Rockies Adventures provides visitors the opportunity to discover an uncrowded, authentic, British Columbia adventure.

2020 was expected to be another busy year at the lodge, the Schildknechts two sons Michael and Daniel were slated to take on the leadership of the family business. In early March with a successfully newly launched Northern Lights tour, news of the pandemic hit hard. Like so many other tourism operators, they experienced a dramatic crash in sales, initially dropping by 70% across both companies.

Through the support of the Tourism Resiliency Program, Northern Rockies Lodge and Northern Rockies Adventures began to coordinate with other tourism providers in the region, shifting their approach to attracting local and regional visitors.

Today, both the lodge and the adventure company are now in a better position then expected, adding “we are looking beyond 2021. With the recent purchase of a new Executive charter aircraft, up to 9 guests can now fly-up in the comfort and safety of the company’s private charter, skipping airport lineups entirely. With this investment amongst others the Schildknechts are clearly confident in the future of tourism in the region and are ready for challenges to come.

Click on the business names for more information about the Northern Rockies Lodge and Northern Rockies Adventures.

TIABC recognizes that many of our members have been supporting our organization's advocacy efforts for a very long time. In this feature, we are showcasing those businesses and organizations that have been active members for 10 years or more.

Royal Roads University is an accredited, publicly funded, applied research university that has been focused on education since 1995 and is the only university in Canada located within a national historic site.

RRU celebrates the rich history and traditions of the land on which the campus sits from the Royal Roads Military College days, and in our more recent history as a public university.

Here are the four different chapters in the history of these unique lands.

1). Traditional Lands of Xwsepsum and Lekwungen people (8,000 BCE – present)

The property known today as Hatley Park was originally part of the ancestral homelands of the Coast Salish people. You can still find evidence of traditional uses by Indigenous people.

2). Dunsmuir estate (1907–1937). BC's Lieutenant-Governor James Dunsmuir purchased the oceanfront property, which he envisioned as a country estate for his family.

3).Military and naval training (1940–1995). In 1940 the property became a training place for naval sub-lieutenants. It evolved to eventually become the Royal Roads Military College.

4). Royal Roads University (1995–present). Royal Roads University was established as a public, applied research university in 1995.

Click here to learn more about Royal Roads University.

The month of July marks membership renewal dates for the majority of TIABC's members. Due to the difficulties our industry has faced since early 2020, we have extended various payment options to members if required. Please contact Deborah to learn more about how we can assist you with your membership renewal, or if you are interested in becoming a member

We strongly encourage you to consider membership with TIABC to support our important advocacy efforts on behalf of the entire visitor economy.

During July and August, TIABC's C-19 Bulletin will be published twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays). We will continue to keep you informed of our advocacy efforts, government announcements, industry updates and any other relevant information to help you in your recovery efforts.

We continue to gather national, provincial, regional and community industry news, activities and events, and will be sure to provide additional updates should there be extraordinary news to share with our members.

As an industry that continues to face enormous challenges during COVID-19, every once in awhile 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 share in our C-19 Bulletin.

Wage Subsidy Program

Now is the perfect time for organizations to start thinking about hiring for the fall semester (Sept.-Dec.). For hospitality and tourism organizations, it would be helpful to have students on board to support what is bound to be a busy shoulder season

Talent MATCH will be hosting an information session on applying for the Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) student wage subsidy.

The Talent MATCH Program is a collaboration between go2HR, the BC Alliance for Arts + Culture, the BC Museums Association, and ACE-WIL, the Association for Co-operative Education & Work-Integrated Learning. It aims to build awareness among employers from museums, arts, tourism, culture, and hospitality organizations about hiring student talent while providing resources, connections to post-secondary institutions, and one-on-one support.

Click here to join Talent Match on Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at 1:00 pm PT for an information session on how the program works, eligible positions, and how to apply.

Mark your calendar for the Tourism Industry Association of Canada's (TIAC) next Member TALK.

Date: Tuesday, August 10th from noon - 1:00pm (PST); an open discussion and informal gathering with TIAC president and CEO, Beth Potter. As a TIAC member, this is your opportunity to have your questions answered by TIAC's CEO and hear first hand what the organization is doing for you.

Member TALKs will take place on the second Tuesday of every month.

TIAC members click here to register and to submit your questions.

Join the BCHA and Western Financial Group for a webinar on how to implement and manage risk management strategies.

With a "hard" market and a reduced appetite for risk from insurers, adopting risk management strategies is more important than ever. Implementing a comprehensive risk management program at your hotel, motel, or pub can help protect what matters most: your people, your property, and your livelihood.

Date: Wednesday, August 11 from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm PT.

Rudy Penner, Director of Risk Management at Western Financial Group will cover safety tips for your commercial kitchen and advice for implementing a maintenance program for your building's fire extinguishers. Rudy will also outline best practices to ensure your facility's kitchen is well-maintained and equipped to prevent a fire loss.

Click here to register and to submit your questions.

FireSmart BC is hosting a free informative and interactive 45-minute webinar that will provide local governments, First Nations, neighbourhood champions, fire departments, Community FireSmart and Resiliency Committee members, and Local FireSmart Representatives (LFRs) with the tools and know-how to work with a wide variety of FireSmart BC tools and resources.

The webinar will include how to: access the FireSmart Toolkit; utilize FireSmart BC’s social media accounts; work with FireSmart branding guidelines; and access FireSmart BC resources. It will also provide a brief overview of the 2022 Community Resiliency Investment Program (FireSmart Community Funding and Supports) funding program. FireSmart BC is currently updating its website, and the new and improved site will be showcased during the webinar.

Date: August 26th, 2021 from 11:00 – 11:45 am

Click here to register online for the Zoom webinar.

By popular demand, CITAP is bringing back a Fall edition of the Spring Thaw virtual function: CITAP Fall Colours Educational Event.

As with the successful Spring event, the Fall Colours Event will invite RTO Members to attend complimentary* organized Zoom presentations provided by “Pods” of Seller Members in the form of regional educational sessions. Q&A networking opportunity will be at the end of each of the 30-minute sessions.

This is a complimentary* members-only event, so please ensure your membership is in good standing if you have not already done so.

BC and Alberta: September 14, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm PST

Deadline for sponsorship registration is August 06, 2021

Deadline for submitting presentations is September 03, 2021

Click here to register or contact info@citap.ca for more information.

In this free two-part webinar series, learn how to sell online successfully through Amazon. Topics covered include a step-by-step overview on getting started, how you can grow and scale your business, and top tips and considerations for launching your presence on Amazon.

Date: Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1:00 – 2:00 pm PST How to Grow Your Business on Amazon

Click here for more information and to register.

With the move to Step 3 of BC's Restart Plan and the prospect of moving to Step 4 by no earlier than September 7th, our industry is expanding virtual meetings and once again opening their meeting room and conference room doors. We are pleased to provide you with updated information on the following industry meetings, conferences and events.

Mark the weekend of September 10-12, 2021 on your calendar, as Canadian campgrounds coast-to-coast participate in the 2021 Canadian Camping Appreciation Weekend.

The Camping Appreciation weekend is a national initiative coordinated by the Canadian Camping and RV Council to say thank you for your patronage over the camping season and we encourage you to come out and help celebrate the camping and RV Lifestyle!

Read more click here and book your campsite.

With this year's theme "Rural, Resilient & Looking Forward", the provincial conference will be held in Revelstoke, BC.

This is an in-person event.

Click here for more information and to register.

Boating BC is pleased to announce they will be hosting their annual Boating BC Conference. This year’s theme will be “New Horizons – Building Momentum/Building Our Industry”. Watch for more details to come.

Under the theme, “Forging Canada’s Tourism Future”, this year's Congress will have an amazing line-up of valued experts, innovative panels, enriching content and robust networking opportunities you can only get in person.

Thinking of registering in person? You’ll enjoy additional sessions that are only available live.

TIAC Members who register by September 7 SAVE $100 on in-person registration.

Click here to register and to view the programming being offered at this year’s Congress.

Thursday, November 18th

Details to the AGM including official Notice of AGM and registration will soon follow.

March 8 - 11, 2022

Prince George

TIABC and the BC Hotel Association are excited to announced the 2nd annual Tourism & Hospitality Conference will be taking place in Prince George next spring.

Details to the conference including registration, accommodation and speaker highlights will be updated in Fall, 2021 on the conference website here.

From April 2020 to March 2021, TIAC and their partners, which included TIABC, delivered virtual workshops/webinars to over 4,000 participants, reaching over 30,000 businesses from coast to coast to coast. 

Self-Guided Webinars 

Developing Winter / Shoulder Season Tourism Toolkit

Made up of six learning modules, this webinar will give you actionable advice on how to define your strategy, develop products and experiences, build collaborative partnerships and more to boost seasonal tourism in your business or region.

Winter / Shoulder Season Consumer Demand Research Report

Get access to free tools and strategies to grow your business and tourism in your region at the ECE content hub: https://ecehub.tiac-aitc.ca/en/