C-19 BULLETIN - March 3, 2021

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Government Announces Wage and Rent Subsidy Amounts to Remain Unchanged Through to June

Today, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, announced that the government intends to extend the current rate structures for these subsidies from March 14th to June 5th.

Specifically:
  • the maximum wage subsidy rate for active employees would remain at 75%
  • the maximum rent subsidy rate would remain at 65%
  • Lockdown Support would remain at 25% and continue to be provided in addition to the rent subsidy, providing eligible hard hit businesses with rent support of up to 90%

These extensions would provide certainty and continued support for workers, businesses and other affected organizations in the face of ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic. With regard to furloughed employees, the government intends to continue to align the wage subsidy rate structure with the benefits provided through the Employment Insurance program from March 14th to June 5th. This means employers who qualify for the wage subsidy would be able to continue to claim up to a maximum benefit of $595 per week per employee to support remuneration of their furloughed workers.

Through the pandemic, applicants have demonstrated revenue declines by comparing revenue to the previous year. Given that we are approaching a full year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government is today announcing that applicants would be able to continue to use a pre-pandemic 2019 reference month, effective for the upcoming periods from March 14th to June 5th.

TIABC and our sector partners have long advocated for changes to these programs to allow more tourism and hospitality businesses to qualify. At the same time, we will continue to call for additional improvements to ensure that program nuances are rectified to ensure no business is left out of these critical support measures.
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BC Extends State of Emergency

The Province of British Columbia has formally extended the provincial state of emergency, allowing health and emergency management officials to continue to use extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act (EPA) to support the Province's COVID-19 pandemic response.

The state of emergency is extended through the end of the day on March 16th to allow staff to take the necessary actions to keep British Columbians safe and manage immediate concerns and COVID-19 outbreaks.
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Bending COVID-19 Rules Around Spring Break

With Spring Break only a couple of weeks away, a significant number of Canadians are planning at least some activities that run counter to the COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines set by their province. When looking at underlying motivators for rule-breaking, pandemic fatigue and other justifications of behaviour are common. BC residents appear to be the worst in the country when it comes to the proportion of residents who are not following all of the rules all of the time.

When it comes to following provincial restrictions and guidelines, only about one-half (48%) of Canadians claim to be following all of them all of the time, and the remainder are breaking the rules to some degree or another. A further 36% claim that they follow nearly all of the restrictions and rules nearly all of the time, while only a small proportion are following them most of the time (8%), and few claim to be breaking rules more blatantly that that (7% following the rules some of the time, rarely or never).

A surprising finding is that BC residents are least likely to feel that they are following all of the rules and regulations all of the time relative to residents of other provinces in the country. Only 34% of BC residents claim they are following all of the rules all of the time, which is 14 points to 22 points lower than in other regions.

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The Future of Air Transportation

As one of the first industries to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the air transportation sector will be one of the last to fully recover. Before the pandemic, the sector employed about 141,000 Canadians while today that number has plummeted virtually overnight as airlines and airports grapple with new economic realities and further restrictions.

Earlier this week, the Surrey Board of Trade hosted a session with representatives from Air Canada, WestJet, Vancouver International Airport, the BC Aviation Council as well as TIABC's Walt Judas. The panel discussion addressed the impact of COVID-19 on the aviaation industry, the support needed by government, and the path forward to instil consumer confidence and mitigate the impact to commercial cargo operations.

Watch the session at:
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Pubs & Bars Among the Leaders in Health & Safety Protocols

We are pleased to release the second in a series of sector specific videos on the extensive protocols businesses have implemented to ensure the health and safety of guests, employees, government and other stakeholders. The first video focused on the hotel sector while this new PSA provides insight into the Public Health Officer’s orders and direction to the bars and pubs sector. Please share the link provided with all your members and stakeholders through various communication channels that include website, social media, e-newsletters, youtube channels and word-of-mouth.

Additional videos focusing on the Attractions and Restaurant/food services sector will be released within the next week. Stay tuned. Your support with this vitally important and informative project is most appreciated.  
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Canadians Respond to the Vaccination Roll-Out

In Leger's most recent public survey they dig deeper into impressions and expectations related to the vaccination roll-out. Also, this week marks the start of tracking the opinions of those Canadians who have already received at least one COV1D-19 vaccination dose to understand the experience, as well as how this may or may not change their outlook regarding the pandemic. This is in addition to their regular COV1D tracking questions, as well as some data on US and Canadian politics. The full report is linked below.

  • Confidence in the Federal or Provincial governments having the vaccine supply/processes in place to have all Canadians who want to be vaccinated by September this year is somewhat tepid. Just over half of Canadians polled are confident the Federal Gov’t will have the supply (56%) or the Provinces will provide the process (54%) to get everyone vaccinated by September.
  • 43% of Canadians don’t expect to get their COVID vaccination until August of this year or later.
  • 73% of Canadians say they will get vaccinated when one is made available to them compared to 59% of Americans who say this.
  • 3% of Canadians contacted said they personally had received at least one of their COVID vaccinations, with another 12% indicating one of their immediate family member have been vaccinated.
  • In comparison, 20% of Americans polled said they personally had been vaccinated with another 20% indicating one of their immediate family had been vaccinated.
  • Those vaccinated were more likely to agree with the statements: I want everyone else to be vaccinated and I feel a great weight has been lifted.

Read the full report here
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BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference Starts Monday!
Register today for the 2021 BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference, taking place March 8-11 with complimentary workshops March 12th. The conference theme is Mission Possible, a reference to the resilience and overall tenacity of the industry as we look to the future of tourism and hospitality.
 
WHEN: The conference will take place Monday, March 8- Thursday, March 11. Friday, March 12 is a free day of learning workshops for anyone in the tourism industry.
 
WHERE: The conference will take place virtually over Zoom.
 
WHAT: Two 60-minute presentations each morning and afternoon (total of 4 per day), with the addition of keynote presentations on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Friday will offer a selection of FREE concurrent workshops for you to choose from.
  
Great value at only $99.00 per person (or $250.00 per company for up to four (4) people) for the week and $20.00 per person to join our Tuesday Craft Beer Tasting. (all prices exclusive of GST and applicable taxes) Over 24 hours of content and complimentary workshops on Friday!
 
Register at:
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Wine Industry Insight Conference

Mark your calendars - March 18th is the annual BC Wine Industry Insight Conference co-presented by Wine Growers British Columbia (formerly the BC Wine Institute), BC Wine Grape Council, BC Grapegrowers’ Association and the BC Wine Authority.

The conference provides an engaging forum for industry to learn about industry-related topics, issues, policies and opportunities that affect business operations. This year's theme, Navigating the Future – Together, encompasses an exciting line-up of topics focused on best practices for operating in our new reality.

Conference organizers are extremely excited to welcome keynote speaker Lane Merrifield, “Dragon” on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and Tech Entrepreneur, along with featured speaker Lulie Halstead, CEO, Wine Intelligence.

Check out WineBC.com for the full agenda along with a list of featured speakers and break-out sessions.
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PATA Capilano University Student Chapter Release New Podcast Episode About Women in Tourism


“The Gender Pay Gap. Discrimination. Work/Life Balance Challenges. Lack of advancement opportunities. Retention challenges. Sexual Harassment. Occupational Gender Segregation. Bias. These topics only scratch the surface in examining the complex landscape for women in hospitality and tourism leadership” (WORTH Association, 2020).

Despite Capilano University’s current asynchronous learning setting due to COVID-19, The What in the World in Travel podcast continues to release monthly episodes. The PATA Canada Vancouver Student Chapter’s dedicated executive members are still working diligently to produce the podcasts. This podcast is the second episode to be released during the 2021 series. More podcast episodes are scheduled to release monthly this year.

Learn moare at: patacapilanou
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Moments of Levity

As an industry that continues to face enormous challenges during COVID-19, every once in a while 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 be published in our C-19 Bulletin each week.
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FREE Culinary Tourism Webinars!

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada in partnership with TIABC is happy to offer free online Culinary Tourism webinars to tourism operators and organizations

Five themed webinars will assist small and medium tourism operators and partners develop culinary tourism strategies to maintain their businesses and attract both domestic international visitors once Canada is ready to welcome them again. 
Attracting Culinary Tourists Webinar 
Friday, March 12th at 9:00am PT (10am MT)
This webinar will be delivered Friday March 12th as part of the upcoming BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference – registration opening soon!

Multisensory Experience Development Webinar 
Tuesday, March 16th at 10:00am PT (11:00am MT)

Partnering For Success Webinar 
Thursday, March 18th at 9:00am PT (10:00am MT)

Growing Agritourism Webinar
Thursday, March 25th at 8:00am PT (9:00am MT)

Exceeding Expectations Webinar 
Wednesday, March 31st at 8:00am PT (9:00am MT)

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YVR’s New 2021 Strategic Plan: Gateway to the New Economy

Join Tamara Vrooman, Vancouver Airport Authority’s President and CEO, for an address to learn more about her vision and YVR’s new 2021 Strategic Plan that will guide the airport in becoming a gateway to the new economy, in service of our community.

Wednesday March 10th 12:00pm - 1:00pm PT
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Impact Conference 2021

Please join us for an incredibly impactful 1.5 hours as we take a deeper look at the tourism recovery opportunities ahead:

  • Marsha Walden, President and CEO, Destination Canada
  • Keith Henry, President and CEO, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada and IMPACT Co-Chair
  • Katie Briscoe, President, MMGY Global

Moderated by Paul Nursey, President and CEO, Destination Greater Victoria and IMPACT co-founder.

Wednesday March 31st
8:30am - 10:00am PT

Registration is free but all participants must register.
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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.