C-19 BULLETIN - May 17, 2021

Don't Miss out!
TIABC is hosting a free webinar this Wednesday morning (9am PDT)

TIABC is pleased to welcome Milena S. Nikolova, an expert in behaviour-smart thinking for the travel industry. Her passion is in using the latest knowledge about human psychology to find answers to questions such as “What comes next?” and “How can we prepare for it?”.

Register today at:
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TIABC and Industry Partners Keeping Tourism In the News

Canadian government in preliminary talks about reopening U.S. border
TIABC CEO Walt Judas quoted in article about the importance of clear signals for the tourism industry as to when the industry can re-open.
Read the full article here

Opinion: BC’s tourism and hospitality sector desperately needs a restart plan
Opinion: Vaccination rates are rising, and our sector believes now is the appropriate time for the province to urgently act to help save B.C.’s pre-eminent position as a world class destination
Submitted by Chief Clarence Louie - Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation; Nancy Stibbard - owner and CEO, The Capilano Group; John Wilson - President and CEO, The Wilson’s Group of Companies; Mandy Farmer - President and CEO, Accent Inns; Brian McCutcheon - founder/owner, ROAM Adventures; Victoria Olmstead - founder, Elisi Spa & Wilderness Resort.
Read full article here

Compliance with travel restrictions essential to the survival of B.C.'s hotel sector
Opinion-Editorial by BCHA CEO Ingrid Jarrett: Hotel and tourism operators need the public to closely follow travel restrictions to protect residents and see some travel return for summer — a critical factor in the survival of businesses across BC.
Read full article here

Mandy Farmer, President and CEO, Accent Inns and Nancy Small, CEO, Tourism Richmond joined CBC's BC Today show to discuss the difficulties of not having a plan for re-opening.

Listen here


Mandy Farmer, President and CEO, Accent Inns joined Jill Bennett of 980 CKNW to discuss the difficulties of not having a plan for re-opening.

Listen here


Sue Kafka, VP of Sales & Marketing at The Capilano Group joined the Mike Smyth show on 980 CKNW to discuss what needs to be done to reopen the tourism industry.

Listen here
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British Columbia’s Restaurants Need a
Sector-Specific Survival Package

Restaurants Canada is calling for a sector-specific support package to recover more than 400,000 foodservice jobs — including 45,300 jobs still missing from British Columbia’s restaurant sector.

According to the April Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada, more than two thirds (70.9%) of the 503,000 jobs still missing from the Canadian economy in the wake of COVID-19 are from the foodservice sector.

Factoring in the 80,700 employees who didn’t work any hours last month, there are still 437,500 fewer people working in Canada’s foodservice sector than there were in February 2020. This includes 45,300 restaurant jobs still not recovered in British Columbia — nearly a quarter of the province’s foodservice workforce.

With a number of provinces prolonging or increasing dining restrictions as they continue to contend with the third wave of the pandemic, further foodservice job losses will likely be reported in May.

According to the latest survey data from Restaurants Canada:
  • 8 out of 10 foodservice businesses have been operating at a loss or barely scraping by throughout the entire pandemic, with 45% consistently losing money for more than a year
  • 7 out of 10 restaurant operators continuing to lose money expect they’ll need at least a year to return to profitability

Restaurants Canada is calling on the federal government to immediately introduce a sector-specific Restaurant Survival Support Package.

Read the full media release here
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WorkSafeBC Visiting BC Wineries to Help Employers Prepare for Seasonal Re-Opening 

WorkSafeBC has announced that it has launched an inspectional and consultative initiative at wineries, cideries and craft breweries in BC’s interior, in advance of the upcoming tourist season.

The initiative will focus on establishments with tasting rooms that may see an increase in customers in the workplaces. 
 
A reminder to visit WineBC.com for WGBC COVID-19 UPDATE resources. 
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Changes Coming to Ticket Sales Act to Protect Consumers

The Ticket Sales Act was passed in May 2019 and establishes new protections for consumers purchasing tickets to recreational, sporting and cultural events in British Columbia. Highlights of the Act include:
 
  • A prohibition on bots/mass ticket-buying software
  • Transparency and disclosure requirements for ticket sellers
  • Refund guarantees for tickets purchased in the resale market
 
The Ticket Sales Act will come into effect on July 1, 2021. At the same time, a new Ticket Sales Regulation will be made (click here for more information). The Regulation exempts low-risk events from the rules in the Act and establishes an additional disclosure requirement regarding transferability for ticket sellers.
 
Implementing the Ticket Sales Act and Regulation on July 1, 2021 ensures that British Columbians can feel confident when advance ticket sales start up for events that may occur later this year and into 2022. It also provides ticket sale businesses and organizations in the live event sector with additional time to make any necessary adjustments to their operations to comply with the new rules.
 
Consumer Protection BC will be responsible for administering and enforcing the Ticket Sales Act and Regulation once they are in effect.
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New B SAFE training for BC's Tourism
& Hospitality Industry

BSAFE stands for BC Safety Assured For Everyone. The tagline Your Trust, Our Priority is more than a slogan. It speaks to the level of commitment that our industry has to create safe experiences for all.

BSAFE is a new online training course, created in partnership with tourism and hospitality stakeholders and go2HR, the tourism and hospitality industry health and safety authority.

The course grew out of a Tourism Task Force recommendation.

The training aims to provide staff with a strong foundation in COVID-19 health and safety protocols, and to assist them in understanding ever-evolving best practices. Upon successful completion of the course, participants are awarded a certificate that demonstrates their knowledge of and commitment to COVID-19 health and safety.

Program goal:
  • Ensure foundational health and safety knowledge across BC tourism and hospitality industry to increased worker, guest and community confidence during recovery.
  • Provide external visibility to BC tourism and hospitality employers participating in the program

Delivery:

  • Asynchronous, online course
  • Interactive learning environment that is relevant for tourism and hospitality businesses across the province
  • 60-90 minutes in duration
  • Multiple-choice test will verify learner’s knowledge and a personalize, downloadable certificate will be available if standard is achieved.

The training aims to provide staff with a strong foundation in COVID-19 health and safety protocols, and to assist them in understanding ever-evolving best practices. Upon successful completion of the course, participants are awarded a certificate that demonstrates their knowledge of and commitment to COVID-19 health and safety.

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Province Provides $10 Million to Support Avalanche Canada

Avalanche Canada is receiving a $10-million contribution from the Province to support its vital work in developing and delivering avalanche safety and awareness for the province’s mountainous regions.

About 75% of all Canadian avalanche fatalities occur in BC, and about 90% of Avalanche Canada’s services are delivered in this province. This grant will allow Avalanche Canada to expand its regional forecasts to underserved regions in BC, increase its delivery of avalanche safety training for youth and provide more programs for winter recreation.

This investment will also allow Avalanche Canada to leverage the federal funding provided in 2019 to implement the National Avalanche Strategy.

Learn more here
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Thank You Long-standing TIABC Members!
TIABC recognizes that many of our members have been supporting our organization's advocacy efforts for a very long time. In this new feature, we will be showcasing those businesses, associations, and DMOs that been TIABC members for more than 10 years.

Ziptrek Ecotours truly delivers it all as a global leader in zipline based, adventure ecotourism. The company offers guided zipline tours in Whistler and Mont Tremblant, Canada, as well as Queenstown, New Zealand. Combined with high profile Signature Events, Ziptrek has established itself as a preeminent name in the adventure tourism industry.

We wish to thank the entire team at Ziptrek Ecotours for offering guests an amazing experience, and for their long-standing support of TIABC.

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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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Thursday, May 27th 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm (PDT)

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s (TIAC) 2021 Tourism Town Hall will be in British Columbia on May 27th, in collaboration with TIABC.

Local small and medium businesses owners will have the opportunity to meet with TIAC, Destination Canada and tourism partners to better understand efforts being made on national tourism issues.  

The Town Hall will allow tourism operators to provide first-hand input on issues affecting their business and the tourism industry in this time of COVID and provide feedback on government policy for the recovery and the rebuilding of our sector.

The Town Halls also provide a front-line forum exposure for governments, TIAC, Destination Canada and event sponsors to collaborate with small and medium-sized tourism business operators.

For more information, and to register (free), please visit the event page.
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Business Building In The Face Of COVID
10 Steps To Take Now For Short And Long-Term Success

In a time of great uncertainty, how can tourism & hospitality business operators plan ahead, prepare for the summer season, and take advantage of the available resources? During this free webinar including time for Q&A with Professor Mark Ziebarth of Okanagan College, you will learn 10 steps to take now to plan ahead for short and long-term business success.
 
Wednesday, May 26th from 1:00pm to 2:00pm PM (PDT)
 
Mark will share a 10-point plan to help business operators plan for success in a seasonal industry with increased uncertainty due to the pandemic. A worksheet will be provided to apply a strategic approach to your business, specifically towards developing:
  • Diversification
  • Digital enablement
  • Nimble cost structures to meet market demands
  • Ability to break inertia

As well, Mark will share ideas on how to take advantage of grants, loans, and other financial resources, with both short term and long term benefits.

Register here
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CITAP 2021 AGM

The 2021 CITAP AGM will be held electronically via Zoom Cloud on Wednesday, June 23rd. Online registration through Zoom will open in early June and there will be no cost to attend the meeting.

Learn more here
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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.