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Destination BC Directions: October 6, 2022
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Outdoor seating along the Cowichan River (Cowichan River Lodge).
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Please join us in congratulating Alison on her new permanent role!
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Destination BC Appoints Alison McKay As Vice President, Destination Management
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Destination BC is thrilled to announce that Alison McKay has been appointed to the permanent role of Vice President, Destination Management at Destination BC. Since January 2022, Alison has served as Acting Vice President, Destination Management and consistently demonstrated her strengths and capabilities while leading a comprehensive range of portfolio areas for the Destination Management division.
During her tenure, Alison has developed strong relationships with our colleagues in core government, communities, destination management organizations, sectors, and tourism businesses to enhance the global competitiveness of BC’s travel experiences. Alison has been an integral part of our Executive Leadership team and brings unwavering focus when it comes to supporting the revitalization of a strong and sustainable tourism sector for British Columbia.
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Destination BC & BC Ale Trail Partner to Launch Limited-Edition EXPLORE BC Peach Farmhouse Ale
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Launched in tandem with BC Craft Beer Month, the EXPLORE BC Peach Farmhouse Ale is a collaboration by six breweries representing all of the province’s tourism regions. Produced by Ravens Brewing Company, the beer will be available at select liquor stores, restaurants and craft breweries across the province starting this week. Looking for further incentive to travel for beer? The BC Ale Trail introduced Sip & Stay vacations – a collection of bookable holiday experiences targeted to craft beer lovers. Packages pair discounted hotel accommodations throughout BC with craft beer experiences, ranging from brewery vouchers to beer-themed welcome gifts – in some cases, the EXPLORE BC Beer! – when you book a stay between now and November 30.
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During a collaborative recipe planning process, the six breweries chose a style to truly showcase BC’s craft beer scene and its connection to the agricultural communities of BC.
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Immerse yourself in BC and learn more about the campaign.
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Destination BC Encourages UK and Australia Travelers to 'Find Themselves' in British Columbia
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Between September and November 2022, target audiences in key overseas markets will be invited to experience the raw power of BC’s nature, and to explore not just new sights, but new sides of themselves, in Super, Natural British Columbia®. The Find Yourself campaign is geared toward UK and Australia visitors whose known trip motivators connect directly with travel experiences in abundance in BC. By showcasing mountain and wildlife experiences through towering mountains, lush rainforests, and rugged coastlines, audiences are urged to tap into something bigger – to awaken a deeper connection and regain perspective; to find themselves, in every sense of the word, in BC.
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Co-op Marketing Program Highlight - Adams River Sockeye Salmon Run
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The days of early autumn bring the annual Sockeye Salmon run. The Sockeye will soon journey back to their place of birth at Adams River in the Secwepemc. The four year-long journey to and from the Pacific Ocean is an inspiring story about nature, formidable odds and determination like no other. The ‘2022 Salute the Sockeye’ event hosted by the Adams River Salmon Society, is happening Sept. 30-Oct. 23 daily from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm at Tsutswecw Provincial Park in the North Shuswap. While salmon have returned since time immemorial, every four years is a dominant run. Skwlax Little Shuswap Lake Band, community members, non-profit agencies, and others have, like the sockeye themselves, been swimming together towards the goal of welcoming guests to witness and celebrate the marvel at Adams River, one of the most important salmon habitats in North America.
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Attend the '2022 Salute to the Sockeye' event and witness a dominant salmon run!
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The “Spark” Program supports businesses and entrepreneurs in bringing new tourism experiences to life, benefitting visitors, local communities, and residents.
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New Program Aims to 'Spark' Innovative Tourism Ideas in Surrey, White Rock, and Thompson Nicola
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Destination BC has partnered with the Tourism Innovation Lab and tourism partners to launch the “Spark” Mentorships & Grants Program in Surrey/White Rock and the Thompson Nicola. The program will match selected applicants with a tourism mentor, provide a $3,000 grant and additional partner support to help take their new tourism ideas to the next level of development.
The goal is to find, foster and support new tourism ideas, experiences and partnerships that will enhance current offerings, address gaps or challenges, motivate travel and longer stays, and increase year-round visits. The “Spark” Program is currently accepting applications in the following locations:
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BC Featured in The Times (UK)
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Over the summer, UK writer Mike MacEacheran was on assignment in BC for multiple publications. Destination BC has supported Mike on trips to BC on various occasions including this summer where he visited the Vancouver, Coast and Mountains and Vancouver Island regions. Mike has published the following articles in The Times (UK) about his BC adventures:
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We look forward to seeing Mike publish more articles featuring BC over the coming months - stay tuned!
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The event received 350K+ viewers and 580K+ comments/likes across 6 livestream platforms. Watch the event on your mobile device!
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350K Viewers for Destination BC China's Slow Livestream Program Featuring Greater Victoria
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The Destination BC China team hosted a livestream program on Sept. 16 and by comparison, performance exceeded our spring livestream event! This was Destination BC China’s 2nd slow livestreaming project in 2022, following “the Grand Spring” Vancouver edition in April. Partnering with Time Islands, China’s top tourism social brand, the slow livestreaming program featured an immersive journey of fall experiences around the Greater Victoria area. From a live studio based in Beijing, the compelling content showcased a sunrise yoga and guitar performance at Cadboro Bay beach, a horse-carriage tour, Inner Harbor kayaking, the Malahat Skywalk, and more. Given China’s border has not yet reopened for outbound leisure travel, livestream events have become one of the top tactics for destinations to connect with potential future travellers. The event is best viewed on a mobile device!
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Melanie Mark was elected in 2016, becoming the first First Nations woman in BC history to serve as MLA.
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Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Minister Melanie Mark Resigns
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Last week, Minister Melanie Mark resigned her cabinet portfolio to focus on a personal matter. In the interim, Lisa Beare, Minister of Citizens’ Services, has assumed responsibility for the Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport portfolio, in addition to her current portfolio. Destination BC’s entire team extends well wishes to Ms. Mark, and welcomes Minister Beare back to the portfolio.
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BC Serving Up Permanent Delivery Fee Cap to Support Restaurants
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Restaurant and bar owners facing ongoing challenges from the pandemic and global inflation can look forward to permanent support for the cap on fees charged by food-delivery companies. Government has introduced legislation allowing a permanent fee cap, which would limit the fees that core-services delivery companies can charge restaurants to no more than 20% of the dollar value of an order.
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If passed, this legislation will be an addition to government’s ongoing supports for the industry.
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Search the database today!
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Economic Development Funding & Grants
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Wondering what funding sources are offered by the Province of BC? Find financial support for your economic development initiatives by easily searching the free online database. There are a number of funding sources that tourism industry stakeholders (businesses, regions, communities, and sectors) may consider and the database is a great tool to explore available options.
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This report is released every month to track BC residents' tourism opinions and intentions, and watch how results trend over time.
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Comfort levels for air travel for non-essential purposes continue to increase
Destination BC’s latest Resident Perception report shows that 73% of BC residents are comfortable taking an airplane for non-essential purposes, a historic high for the study.
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Same Day U.S. visitors to BC in July 2022 shows an increase of more than 10% compared to July 2019
Destination BC’s latest International Visitor Arrivals figures show that 311,163 U.S. Same Day visitors arrived to BC in July 2022, a +12.8% increase over July 2019.
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This monthly publication summarizes customs entries data to British Columbia and Canada from selected markets of origin.
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The visitor economy plays a vital role in creating jobs and opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses, fueling Canada’s economic growth.
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Government of Canada Announces Recipients of National Tourism Support
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This week, the Government of Canada announced the recipients of National Priorities Stream (NPS) funding. The $15 million NPS, administered by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, will leverage the reach and expertise of national tourism organizations to help address the challenges faced by the Canadian tourism sector on its path to recovery and growth. The NPS is part of $1 billion in tourism supports announced in Budget 2021. The following four national organizations, tourism sector leaders with a wide reach and valuable expertise, have been selected as recipients of NPS funding: the Tourism Industry Association of Canada; the Hotel Association of Canada; the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada; and Tourism HR Canada.
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Canada Digital Adoption Program
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As consumers increasingly move online to shop, it’s essential for small businesses to develop e-commerce capabilities to remain competitive. As part of the Canada Digital Adoption Program, a $4 billion investment to help small and medium-sized businesses get online with new digital tools, the Government of Canada has two streams to support small businesses across the country. They have partnered with Small Business BC and Digital Main Street to deliver the Grow Your Business Online grant. Eligible businesses will receive a micro-grant of up to $2,400 to help with costs related to adopting e-commerce, with support provided from a network of E-commerce Advisors. They also support the Boost Your Business Technology grant which offers support to eligible businesses who want to adopt new digital technologies.
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Learn more about eligibility criteria and apply online.
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Our Learning Centre provides access to resources and tools, best practices, workshops, and training programs for BC’s tourism industry.
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Sign Up for the Self-guided Tourism Digital Academy
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With Destination BC’s live Tourism Digital Academy now full for 2022 intakes, the online self-guided program is still available. This condensed version of our popular digital marketing program offers BC-based tourism businesses maximum flexibility to fit the course into their schedules with unlimited access for six months to digital marketing instruction videos, templates and resources.
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YVR welcomed 1,838,322 passengers in September, which was nearly 85% of the 2,168,162 travellers who travelled through the airport in September 2019.
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YVR Airport Traffic this Week is Expected to Reach Pre-Pandemic Levels!
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The Vancouver Airport Authority (VAA) expects an average of 66,114 passengers per day in the week ending October 10. In the same week in 2019, the airport welcomed an average of 66,256 passengers per day. By comparison, VAA expects this week's traffic level to be at nearly 99.8% of what it was in the same week pre-pandemic. Additionally, airport data from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority shows that about 85.2% of passengers travelling from YVR in September were screened within 15 minutes. This shows significant progress compared to earlier this year when there were long security screening lines due to staff shortages.
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Skip the security screening line at YVR by booking ahead through YVR EXPRESS! Passengers travelling through Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to the United States now have the option to streamline their experience through security screening with YVR EXPRESS. YVR EXPRESS allows you to schedule a specific time to enter security screening and avoid waiting in line prior to moving through the screening process. Travellers to the U.S. can schedule their time to enter security screening through YVR EXPRESS up to 72 hours ahead of their flight departure time.
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Enjoy less waiting at YVR!
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Upcoming Webinars from Small Business BC
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Small Business BC provides practical business webinars and online education to develop business skills and strategy.
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Destination BC has partnered with Small Business BC to offer free access for tourism business stakeholders across the province to online education supporting COVID-19 recovery. Upcoming webinars include 'How to Drive More Traffic to Your Website' (Oct 13). To access the webinars free of charge, register online using coupon code DBC3034.
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Registration includes a follow up consultation for processing workers to obtain work permits.
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Rare Hiring Opportunity for BC Hotels!
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Sign up for the Destination Canada Mobility Forum! The BCHA will attend on your behalf to screen and recruit international candidates to your property - without the cost and hassle of an LMIA! The cost to participate is $800 per hotel/restaurant/pub with a maximum of 3 positions per job order. Please contact Alison Langford at Alison@bcha.com to sign-up by Oct. 7, 2022!
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The Travel Foundation and 4VI Announce Global Partnership
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The Travel Foundation and 4VI (formerly Tourism Vancouver Island) have announced a global partnership over a multi-year agreement that will support efforts toward climate action and social equity in the global travel industry. The new partnership will see the Travel Foundation and 4VI working as extensions of each others’ teams, delivering on both global leadership and local impact. Through collaborative efforts they will explore the wider challenges and opportunities the global tourism industry faces as it navigates toward a future that focuses on the needs of communities and the environment. Together they will focus on solutions that enhance 4VI’s new business model, while helping to ensure tourism is a force for good on Vancouver Island — forever.
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The two organizations will continue exploring the idea of an innovation hub that will apply solutions at the destination level.
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The Critical Role of Business in our Reconciliation Journey Webinar
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Wondering what the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) means for BC businesses? Join “The Critical Role of Business in our Reconciliation Journey” webinar on October 18, 2022 at 8:00 am to learn more about the road ahead and how BC businesses can contribute in a meaningful way to reconciliation.
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