The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are well underway and the TOTA team is cheering on the athletes, especially those who are from or who have trained in the Thompson Okanagan and in British Columbia. We admire Team Canada’s hard work and dedication to their sport, especially with the added challenges of the pandemic.
There are several athletes from the Thompson Okanagan region, including:
Freestyle Skiing, Slopestyle/Big Air - Elena Gaskell (Vernon, B.C.)
And we'd like to give a big shoutout to Team Canada’s Women Hockey Team on their win over Team USA last night!
The Winter Olympics can remind us of our appreciation for winter and our love for winter sports. Even when it’s cold, Canadians take to the outdoors to enjoy nature and recreation.
This celebration of winter sport is a reminder of how fortunate we are in the Thompson Okanagan to have so many wonderful ski resorts, heli- and backcountry ski providers, cross-country ski tracks, snowshoe trails, ice rinks, and curling rinks available to enjoy.
We hope the Winter Olympics inspire you to get active and get outdoors this winter.
On January 27, the Provincial Health Officer, published revisions to the Public Health Order on gatherings and events.
Revisions include:
Youth sports tournaments may resume as of February 1
Further clarity was included around which events need to be seated. (Please note, wedding
receptions, funerals, social parties are still not allowed.). Details are include on page 14, #6.
As it relates performances, lectures, and presentations must be seated. Therefore, for all other business events, people may stand including receptions related to business events.
Gyms and fitness centres have their own section and are able to operate once again with additional measures.
Please note, there are no changes as it relates to hotels so please continue to operate as you have been.
The Value of Tourism video series captures the essence of the tourism industry’s contribution to British Columbia from the lens of the people who work in the various sectors and regions that make up our province’s visitor economy.
The Value of Tourism video series was created by Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC), in partnership with the BC Regional Tourism Secretariat (BCRTS), Destination British Columbia, and PacifiCan.
The videos are available for use by industry to use in communicating the Value of Tourism.
The Travel Weekly Magellan Awards announced a GOLD medal for the Wines of BC Explorer App in the Online Travel Services category. The Magellan Awards is the premier award for the global travel industry, honouring outstanding levels of design, marketing, and services.
From plan-your-trip assistance to wine-education content and a personal taste test, the App is the best way to discover BC wine country, and in turn acts as a perfect conduit for BC wineries to connect with potential guests. All 300+ BC wineries listed on the App regularly update new wine releases and tasting experiences.
Features include:
Curated lists of wines and wineries.
An interactive taste test with resulting wine suggestions.
Shopping for wine and wine experiences.
Helpful filters to enable discovery, search by ‘organic wines’ or ‘dog friendly wineries’ and more!
Black History Month is a time to honour, celebrate and reflect on the stories, experiences and accomplishments of Black Canadians here in British Columbia and across the country.
The 2022 theme for Black History Month is: “February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day.”
Read the joint statement in recognition of Black History Month by BC Premier John Horgan and Rachna Singh, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives.
Are you a Black-owned or operated tourism business in the Thompson Okanagan region? Email us at [email protected] to share your story and let us know how we can help amplify your business.
If you are planning to install a patio this summer, you need to take urgent action now. Temporary Expanded Service Area (TESA) applications from last year will expire on June 1, 2022. and do not provide approval for patios this coming summer.
This means that if you have not made the service area under your TESA permanent by applying for a permanent structural change (e.g., applying for a patio), your TESA will expire on June 1, 2022 and you will not be able to sell or serve liquor in the expanded space.
It can take up to 10 months to get your application approved. Licensees who have not yet applied are now at risk of their TESA expiring before they can get approval for a new outdoor patio or structural change.
More than 50 new tourism projects throughout B.C. are receiving a total of $21.3 million for shovel-ready infrastructure projects, including $4,814,989 for projects in the Thompson Okanagan region. These projects are part of the second round of the 2021 Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program’s (CERIP) Destination Development stream.
Feb 10, 2022 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Host: eLearningU
For free access to this webinar, register for the BCRTS subscription plan. You’ll also gain access to past webinar recordings and the Tourism Digital Marketing Certificate.
As of January 1, 2022, the provincial government mandated five days of paid sick leave for employees. ABLE BC is seeking your voice to better understand how this new policy has impacted your business since its implementation. The information you provide will support our collective industry's ongoing engagement with all levels of government.
ABLE BC is continuing to work with our industry partners to request logical and necessary amendments to the paid sick leave policy, including pressuring government to redefine “employment year” as a calendar year and to re-introduce the now-expired Employer Reimbursement Program for COVID-19 related sick leave wages.
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada has been advocating for the faster roll out of Tourism Relief Fund (TRF) support to the industry and asked the government to consider supporting projects under this Fund that help tourism operators recover and relaunch their businesses from the pandemic in addition to projects which:
Create new or enhance existing tourism experiences and products to attract more local and domestic visitors; and
Help the sector reposition itself to welcome international visitors.
To properly advocate and make changes, TIAC needs up-to-date information from operators on whether the Fund is responding to your current needs, where you are experiencing challenges in accessing the program and the nature of those challenges, as well as how you believe improvements to the Fund could be made.
Tourism HR Canada's new Workforce Recovery Project aims to restart tourism by securing a skilled, diverse, and resilient workforce.
As a part of this project, Tourism HR Canada is calling on tourism industry leaders, business owners, workers, educators, and students to join working groups.
The goal of the working groups is to gather recommendations to align the project with the realities experienced by the sector and by sharing a wide range of ideas to ensure the representation of diverse tourism stakeholders from across Canada.
The Government of Canada has launched pre-budget consultations. This is an opportunity for Canadians and businesses across the country to share ideas and input about how Budget 2022 can support a strong economic recovery for everyone.
The 2022 Kalamalka Secondary School and Glohaven Community Hub online raffle ticket campaign has launched with nearly $12,000 worth of amazing prizes from an incredible 45 local Okanagan businesses, including Indigenous businesses and Biosphere Committed Companies.
Prizes include:
2 Indigenous Globoxes™ (featured experiences: a getaway to Spirit Ridge Resort and a Moccasin Trails excursion)
1 Remarkably Loved Globox™ (featured experience: a getaway to Sparkling Hill Resort).
1 Family Fun Globox™ (featured experience: Sicamous Houseboats Vacation package)
1 Eldorado Resort VIP Globox™ (featuring a getaway to the Eldorado Resort in Kelowna)
Tickets: 1 for $20, 3 for $50, OR 7 for $100
Early Bird Prize Deadline: February 22 | Raffle Ends: March 15
The Shuswap Trail Alliance (STA) is hosting its much-anticipated annual fundraiser February 4-20, 2022.
The fundraiser includes:
Online silent auction featuring local businesses
50/50 raffle – last year’s winner took home over $3,500!!
Limited-edition STA toques, while supplies last
Funds raised will allow the Shuswap Trail Alliance to work with regional partners throughout the year. The funds are leveraged with matching grants, donations, in-kind contributions, dedicated community project budgets, and an extraordinary contribution of volunteer time to grow local greenway trails throughout the region.
BC Parks is inviting British Columbians to participate in the redesign of its digital services since the journey for many people seeking outdoor experiences begins online. Feedback can be shared through the new test site at Beta.BCParks.ca.
People can participate in the redesign to create a more user-friendly and inclusive online experience through BCParks.ca.
The new BC Parks test site is live and provides a glimpse into the design work and improvements being made. New content and features will be added to the site during the coming months. People can also sign up to join future focus groups to help inform the future of all BC Parks digital products and services.
A key feature of the redesign is to improve the online reservation system with expanded features. Opening March 21, 2022, the new reservation service will be available through the BC Parks website.
The BC Parks Licence Plate Program is a partnership between the Province and ICBC whereby motorists in British Columbia can choose one of three specialty plate designs depicting scenes from B.C.’s parks and protected areas.
Available at Autoplan broker offices throughout B.C., a BC Parks plate costs $50 for the initial purchase, and $40 to renew each year.
All net proceeds from the sale and ongoing renewals of the licence plates are re-invested back into provincial parks through the Park Enhancement Fund (PEF), a special account separate from the B.C. government's annual budget to BC Parks.
CGLCC, in partnership with the Diversity Institute at Ryerson University, is conducting a research study to explore LGBTQ2S+ business ownership in Canada, including trends and support needs of these organizations, as well as both economic and social challenges faced by LGBTQ2S+ entrepreneurs.
Participant Eligibility Criteria:
Participants must self-identify as LGBTQ2S+ and must be a founder or owner of a business that operates in Canada. Participants must be 18 years of age or older. 30 participants will be asked to participate.
“Charging Ahead”, the Peaks to Prairies Electric Vehicle Charging Station Network is eligible for the Green Destinations Peoples’ Choice Award. Please take a moment to VOTE and highlight awareness of Canada as a destination!
Deadline: before midnight (MST) February 8, 2022
The Peaks To Prairies EV Charging Network facilitates travel to and within the beautiful region of Southern Alberta with fast charging and Level 2 stations from Canmore to Medicine Hat, south to Waterton and to the Crowsnest Pass... with many stops along the way!
This project builds upon the success of Accelerate Kootenays in southeast British Columbia and in future will connect with an EV initiative in Montana and is the only nominee from Canada, and the only one from North America in this category.
Awards will be presented at the ITB Berlin International Tourism Conference on March 8-10, 2022.
Okanagan College instructors are available to deliver virtual, one-hour individually tailored business counselling sessions on a variety of leadership soft skills, business administration, and hospitality topics.
This is a reminder of the extended submission window for employers seeking reimbursement for employee claims for COVID-19 related sick leave taken between May 20th and December 31st, 2021.
The reimbursement program intake is open and will close on February 11th at 4:00 pm PST.
Please submit all eligible claims for reimbursement for employee COVID-19 related sick leave taken up to and including December 31st in order to access the reimbursement program.
Employers that already have a sick pay benefit program for their employees are not eligible to receive reimbursement.
The online self-guided Tourism Digital Academy program is available until the end of March. This condensed version of Destination BC’s digital marketing program offers B.C.-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. Designed for business owners or their marketing team members, this comprehensive program is focused on providing practical, actionable guidance to complete your digital marketing plan.
The Sexual Harassment Advice, Response, and Prevention for Workplaces (SHARP Workplaces) project aims to increase public knowledge, skills, confidence, and competence in managing complex issues related to workplace sexual harassment, and to improve access to legal supports and resources for people who experience workplace sexual harassment.
SHARP is offering FREE online SHARP Workplaces’ training sessions designed for small businesses and non-profits across B.C.
Foundational Course (for employers and workers)
Rights and Responsibilities (for employers and workers)
Workplace Investigations (employers only)
Best Practices for Developing a Workplace Sexual Harassment Policy (employers only)
Legal Options and Remedies (for employers and workers)
If you are in the foodservice industry and looking to foster a healthy workplace environment for your employees, download this in-depth guide from Restaurants Canada.
Mountain Escapes is a podcast that aims to connect backcountry enthusiasts with the owners and operators of the Backcountry Lodges of BC Association (BLBCA) member lodges throughout B.C. In each episode they highlight a unique lodge through conversation with an owner. They also feature guest appearances by other influential backcountry enthusiasts and industry experts.
Host Brad Harrison has worked and adventured in remote settings most of his life. He’s owned and operated lodges, operated mountaineering camps and provided avalanche courses. He is the Executive Director of the Backcountry Lodges of BC Association.
In the latest episode, Brad talks to the owners/operators/guides of Mt. Assiniboine Lodge, Andre Renner and Claude Duchesne.
The TOTA team is here to help with the challenges your business is facing. As part of TOTA's Tourism Resiliency Program tourism companies can access the following free supports:
Destination BC now summarizes weekly travel indicators in B.C. in a new interactive dashboard, revamping the “Snapshot of BC Travel” one page report. Key insights are available on a weekly basis and performance is captured in the following areas:
Domestic overnight visitation to BC and the six tourism regions using mobility data;
Hotel occupancy, ADR, and RevPar for BC and select BC communities from STR;
Air capacity and air bookings to BC using ForwardKeys data;
The dashboard enables the user to access detailed views of each data source by clicking on the report headers from the summary view. The dashboard is updated every Monday.
Tourism HR Canada released a report that provides insight to the current perspectives of the service delivery in Canada and how the travel and tourism industry should prepare itself for the future. The report concluded that, as the visitor economy gradually recovers from the COVID crisis, addressing service disruptions will need to be balanced against safety and price sensitivity.
Skift has published a forecast of the top trends that will define the travel industry in 2022. It provides an optimistic outlook for recovery of international travel by 2024. Other key trends revolve around community, ruralization, mobility and climate.
