Held on February 22nd at the Victoria Conference Centre, the BC Tourism Awards recognized innovation and excellence in the province’s tourism industry. Presentedby Tourism British Columbia and the Council of Tourism Associations of British Columbia, a total of ten awards were handed out during the evening event to individuals and organizations representing a cross-section of the tourism industry. Read more.
On February 23, the Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSDC), and the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) announced changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program. These changes allow workers to stay for up to twenty-four months without having to request an extension as opposed to the previous twelve month limit. Read more.
"The Foreign Worker Program requires that we demonstrate efforts to recruit in Canada, but sometimes Canadians are not available," said Wendy Swedlove, President of the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC). "In these situations, the improvements would help us to hire workers for these vacant jobs. The changes will make it easier for us to bring in temporary foreign workers so that we can continue to contribute to Canada's economy."
On February 1st, the BC Lodging and Campgrounds Association, with support from the BC Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, launched a subsidiary brand called BC Select Lodging. The program will provide independent propertiesranging from 4 to 75 rooms with informationoon training, marketing and financing their product. For more information, visit www.bclca.com.
COTA continues to be encouraged with the direction taken by the provincial government as exemplified in its “Balanced Budget 2007.” Several aspects of the 2007 Budget correspond with priorities identified by COTA over the past year, including an invigorated focus on measures to alleviate homelessness and poverty in urban regions, environmental protection, more disposable income for British Columbians, and other measures. Read more.
Limiting liability is a key concern for any business owner or operator; but for those operating adventure tourism activities – be it land or sea – the issue becomes even more significant.
One key tool for tourism operators to limit their liability is through the use of waivers. Considered the first line of defence against operator liability, waivers ensure consumers have taken the time to review, acknowledge and accept the responsibility for participating in activities that assume a certain amount of “inherent” risk. Waivers can also act as a key deterrent to “frivolous” claims.
But, as well all know, waivers are useless without best practices, appropriate coverage and affordable insurance.
Indeed, the issue of industry insurance has been so prevalent that the Council of Tourism Associations (COTA™) commissioned a report three years ago on this topic. What did we learn? Mainly, we realized the insurance industry had limited knowledge about the adventure tourism activities offered by operators – as well as the best practices that operators had in place to limit their exposure to liability.
Read more.
February 21-23, 2007Victoria, BCThe 2007 Tourism Industry Conference program provides you with the opportunity to learn, strategize, plan and network towards building on our existing tourism product, developing new opportunities and creating an environment of growth and success as we move towards 2010. Sessions & Speakers you don't want to miss include:
Read more at www.bctourismindustryconference.ca.
Don't miss the Early Bird Dealine, click here for more information!
Plan to attend THE tourism event of the year! At the 2007 BC Tourism industry conference, members of the tourism community will be provided with the tools they need to prepare for the future including how to overcome adversities along the way.
Learn about the latest trends in the tourism industry, the economy and the government. Mingle with operators and professionals from all sectors of tourism from all over the province. Read more.
Opportunities are now open for sponsors. Read more.
The Union of BC Municipalities has recently released its annual report for Phase I of its Community Tourism Program. The Program is funded through a one-time grant of $25 million from the provincial government to promote tourism in communities throughout British Columbia, and is being developed in two separate phases that distribute $12.5 million in each phase.
The program provides local governments with significant latitude in determining their priorities for projects, and this flexibility has resulted in several innovative partnerships and fund-leveraging.
Nearly $7 million worth of tourism projects were funded in 2006. Projects covered nearly every aspect of tourism development and promotion, as well as most industry sectors, with the following being the most common expenditures:
Fund-leveraging partnerships were also established in a number of areas, including marketing, circle tour development, agricultural tourism promotion, VIC upgrades and planning.
COTA is encouraged to see the enthusiasm and creativity of community-based tourism projects, and looks forward to working with UBCM and local government partners in helping grow this exciting and increasingly vital economic sector.
To view the 2006 Progress Report for UBCM’s Community Tourism Program, click here.
A South Korean tourism market report was recently published by Insignia Marketing Research, commissioned by the Canadian Tourism Commission and a partnership group of British Columbia and Ontario. The report looks at the South Korea travel market and potential opportunities for Canadian tourism. Between 2000 and 2005, South Korean outbound travel grew by an average 12.7% per year, and its growth is expected to continue. Read more.
It was a busy year for the BC tourism industry and COTA, with the industry shifting gears in order to confront a number of challenges, including the lead-up to the implementation of the new border documentation requirements, a continuing strong Canadian dollar, the sinking of the Queen of the North and the devastation caused by the mountain pine beetle – among others.
However, the resilience and spirit of the tourism industry shone through, with yet another year of growth in overall tourism revenues across the province.
To read the report, visit, http://www.cotabc.com/misc/COTA2006AnnualReportFinal.pdf
Rather than saving taxpayers’ money, cancelling the GST/HST Visitor Rebate Program (VRP) will end up costing the government millions more in tax revenues and thousands of lost tourism jobs, according to a new economic impact report. The Federal Government estimates it will save $86 million in program and administrative costs; however, the GST Visitor Rebate Program for Individual Travellers, an Economic Impact Analysis, commissioned by Global Refund Canada and endorsed by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada and the Frontier Duty Free Association, demonstrates that the savings will be overshadowed by the loss in GDP of $238 million. This short-sighted fiscal policy will result in a net loss of $46 million in Government tax revenue and the loss of over 5,700 jobs in the tourism sector. Read more.
[To read the full release, visit http://www.tiac-aitc.ca/english/press.asp]
To read the Economic Impact Analysis report, visit www.tiac.travel/images/2007/VRP_EconomicReport_web.pdf
COTA has released a new edition of its BC Tourism Series Review entitled “All Aboard: Passenger Rail in British Columbia.” Rail tourism has been a growing sector of the B.C. tourism industry for more than a decade, and the province can now boast the finest tourism rail network in North America. COTA’s twenty page report reviews existing rail infrastructure in BC, its relationship to the tourism industry and key considerations affecting the viability and competitiveness of this sector. For information on other BC Tourism Review Series reports, click here.
To download a free copy of the report, visit http://www.cotabc.com/misc/railreport.pdf
Vancouver International Airport Authority is reducing landing fees charged to airlines operating international passenger and cargo flights into Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The new rates, effective January 1, 2007, bring international fees in line with domestic fees, which will remain the same, making YVR's international landing fees the lowest of all major Canadian airports. For example, airlines operating passenger flights from the U.S. using Boeing 747, Boeing 777 and Airbus 320 aircraft will see year-over-year cost savings of 10%, 9% and 6%, respectively.
The rate reduction announcement comes on the heels of a recent report identifying Pearson International Airport as having the most expensive landing fees of any major airport in the world.
YVR aims to grow its international traffic as part of its strategic goal to become the premier passenger and trade gateway to the Asia-Pacific. The Airport Authority's announcement coincides with a commitment by the Canadian government to further liberalize air policy with its recently announced Blue Sky initiative.
Read more at http://www.yvr.com/authority/newsreleases/news_details.asp?id=513
