More than 80 anchor attractions and tour bus operators in BC will receive direct support for their recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BC's anchor attractions play an important role in BC's economy by drawing visitors to communities and supporting local small businesses throughout the province. Tour bus companies are a key link to bring travellers to many of the regional destinations, attractions and experiences.

The Major Anchor Attractions Program, first announced in May 2021, was one of the seven calls to action from the Tourism Task Force. Grants of up to $1 million will be provided to both businesses and not-for-profits, including:

Recipients include Butchart Gardens, International Dragon Boat Festival, the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), Sea to Sky Gondola, Science World, Richmond Night Market, HR MacMillan Space Centre, Big White Ski Resort, Britannia Mine Museum, Hells Gate Airtram and Wilson’s Transportation.

Organizations can use the grants to pay for rent and utilities, payroll and costs related to restarting or ramping up operations and other business expenses that will help them recover from the impacts of the pandemic. For example, Richmond Night Market will use its $1-million grant to help it maintain its role as a significant attraction in the City of Richmond.

Since the start of the pandemic, the BC government has worked with industry to provide relief and support. As a reminder, in addition to the Major Anchors Attraction Program, the Province has provided the following:

For a complete list of recipients by region visit here.

Click here to read the full news release.

The U.S. land border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least Aug. 21, according to a renewal order issued by the American government on July 21st.

In a notice pre-published in the U.S. Federal Register, the U.S. government says that while vaccination rates have improved, opening the land border to non-essential travel still poses too great a risk.

"Given the outbreak and continued transmission and spread of COVID-19 within the United States and globally, the Secretary has determined that the risk of continued transmission and spread of the virus associated with COVID-19 between the United States and Canada poses an ongoing specific threat to human life or national interests," says the U.S. government notice.

The new order expires one minute before midnight on Aug. 21.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement that offered little additional explanation

Click here to read the full story.

Vice-Chair of the TIABC Board, JJ Belanger spoke to Richard Zussman of Global News on July 21st about the impact the wildfires are having on the BC's fragile tourism industry and the sense of despair being felt province-wide despite moving to Step 3 of the BC Re-start Plan and announcement of the re-opening of the Canada-U.S. borders on August 9th.

Click here to view the full interview and move to the 45:20 mark.

TIABC Board Chair Vivek Sharma was interviewed by Global News on July 22nd regarding the current wildfire situation and how this latest challenge to the tourism industry is forcing many British Columbians to rethink their summer travel plans.

While the tourism sector was cautiously optimistic with the move to BC's Stage 3 of the Re-Start Plan, the industry continues to face obstacles. It remains important to TIABC to work with government on relief and recovery, ensure safe communities and encourage travel to other parts of the province that are safe and ready to welcome visitors.

Click here to view the full interview.

In view of the wildfire situation in parts of British Columbia, here are important resources for communities, destination marketing 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 20, 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.

As part of this, DBC is encouraging industry partners to use the hashtag #RealTime________ (name of city/community) on social media to ensure current and future visitors have an accurate ‘real time’ visual on current conditions (blue skies, business as usual etc.). Add the date and time the photo was taken, and tag key tourism partners in your post (@DestinationBC on Twitter, @HelloBC on Instagram) and your Regional/Community DMO partners so it can be amplified.

Emergencies can impact travel, visitors, and businesses at any time, and potentially influence those who may be planning a trip to our province. DBC's priority is ensuring that travellers have all the official resources they need to make informed decisions based on the latest, on-the-ground information, and to encourage them to keep consulting these resources for any updates before and during their trips.

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.

The Province of B.C. works closely with First Nations, local authorities, and businesses to ensure programs are in place to help those impacted by emergencies and to discuss local solutions for community recovery.

First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) Environmental Public Health Services provides public health inspection, assessment and advisory services for in-community facilities.

The Local Authorities and First Nations Recovery Toolkit (PDF, 500KB) is intended to guide Local Authorities and First Nations as they plan for disaster recovery, including planning for community recovery, infrastructure recovery, demobilization and debris management.

The Financial Assistance for Emergency Response and Recovery Costs: A Guide for Local Authorities and First Nations (PDF, 971KB) provides local authorities and First Nations in British Columbia with information on the procedures required to maximize claims for financial assistance with the costs of both response and recovery.

On July 22nd, the BC Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the provincial government’s Sector Labour Market Partnership Program (SLMP) and with funding provided by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training, launched seven regional Resource Guides for Small Business Resiliency.

The Resource Guides are tailor-made to support businesses in each of the seven economic regions of BC as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic on their road to recovery as set out in BC’s Restart Plan.

Designed to house a broad mix of region-specific resources in one spot for easy reference, the Guides have been developed using data from the BC Chamber of Commerce Pulse Check Surveys and with information collected in focus groups and from consultations with different sectors and industries from all economic regions of British Columbia.

The resources outlined in the Guides address core aspects of pandemic recovery including:

The Guides are a live resource that will be updated throughout BC’s Restart Plan and will not only support businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic but will also be a useful resource during any future crises that require businesses to build and maintain resiliency through challenging times.

Michael J Ballingall, Director for TIABC and Board Chair of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, formally announced the appointment of Ellen Walker-Matthews as the CEO of the destination management organization. Walker-Matthews succeeds Glenn Mandziuk, who officially resigned from the position June 25, 2021 after heading the organization for the past 13 years.

Walker-Matthews has more than 40 years of experience in the hospitality, travel, and tourism industry, including the last 11 with TOTA in various capacities, including Vice President of Stewardship, Senior Vice President and, for the past six months, Acting President and CEO. She has spearheaded and played a significant role in key initiatives including Biosphere Certification, GreenStep Certification, and Green Destination Top 100; overseeing the Tourism Resiliency Program; development and implementation of regional tourism strategies; and sales, marketing, and business plans.

TIABC congratulates Ellen Walker-Matthews on her appointment and looks forward to continued engagement and collaboration with Ellen and the TOTA region stakeholders.

go2HR is the human resource and health & safety association for BC’s tourism and hospitality industry. Even before COVID-19, the industry faced some significant human resource challenges.

They know those challenges will only increase as we emerge from the pandemic and have developed or updated several projects and programs for the tourism and hospitality industry.

The course content has been refreshed to reflect Step 3 of BC’s Restart Plan and go2HR is excited to continue to deliver current and valuable health & safety content to businesses all over the province in an accessible way.

BSAFE™ is a new and FREE online health and safety training program for individuals and businesses in BC’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Keep yourself and others safe.

Register for Employers here.

Register for Workers here.

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.

Officials with the Vancouver Aquarium stated this week they are preparing for a reopening of the attraction in Stanley Park over the coming weeks, and are now ready to ramp up the size of their customer-facing workforce.

The aquarium has been temporarily closed to the public for nearly a year, after it briefly reopened with a limited capacity for about nine weeks in Summer 2020.

A two-day outdoor job fair will be held on-site this weekend — Friday, July 23 and Saturday, July 24, 2021, each day from 9 am to 4 pm — to fill 100 positions. Applicants are invited to meet hiring representatives in the plaza next to the entrance of the aquarium.

The positions in need of filling include:

Anyone interested in working at the attraction should bring their resume. Selected applicants may be eligible for offer letters the same day.

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 September 25, 2021. 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 September 25, 2021. 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 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 2021.

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, 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.

Tourism Vancouver Island, in partnership with Destination Greater Victoria, has purchased a campaign with CHEK Television.

Aimed at educating residents about tourism as an essential part of communities, TVI has three commercials, and each feature Vancouver Island business leaders.

For your viewing pleasure:

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.

The hot springs were first visited by the Ktunaxa First Nations peoples who experienced the waters as a welcome respite after a long day of hunting, fishing, and gathering roots and berries in what is now known as the Kootenay region. The Ktunaxa First Nations peoples embraced the nupika wu’u, or hot mineral waters, for their healing and rejuvenating powers and Ainsworth Hot Springs has been welcoming guests since the 1930s.

Today, the property is owned by Yaqan Nukiy, the Lower Kootenay Band of Creston, BC, returning the Ktunaxa peoples to this significant land so that they may share their appreciation with others.

Whether you experience Ainsworth Hot Springs in the pool or cave, you are sure to enjoy an experience like no other. The hot springs are nestled in the Kootenay region of British Columbia, overlooking the majestic Kootenay Lake

Click here to learn more about Ainsworth Hot Springs.

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.

Join Community Futures on July 26 to learn the seven things your business can do immediately to avoid being caught off-guard when an unexpected event interrupts your business' operations. This workshop will give you ideas and strategies to start implementing today to increase business resilience and post-disaster recovery.

Date: July 26, 2021

Time: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm, online workshop

Click here to learn more about the workshop and to register.

On Wednesday, July 28th we will welcome attendees from across the province as we hear from Chris Back, director of OHS Consultation & Education Services at WorkSafeBC on Transitioning from COVID-19 to communicable disease prevention in the workplace.

Beginning with Step 3 of the provincial government’s BC Restart plan, employers will no longer be required to maintain a COVID-19 Safety Plan, and will instead transition to communicable disease prevention. Chris Back, director of OHS Consultation and Education Services, discusses the fundamental components of communicable disease prevention (CDP) and shares information and resources to support employers in developing their CDP plans.

When: Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 1:00PM PDT

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing the zoom information to join the meeting.

An event invite to members will follow. Please feel free to share this event with your members and community as the webinar is open to any business that would like to attend.

Click here for more information and to register.

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.

With the move to Step 3 of BC's Restart Plan and the prospect of moving to Step 4 by no earlier than September 7, 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.

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.

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

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

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.

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/