Each year, on March 8, people around the world celebrate International Women's Day and the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity, recognizing that we can all strive for women's equality and continue to make positive gains.
The day will be celebrated with events around the world, including virtual events you can join from anywhere. Small Business BC is hosting a panel today from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM. For free access, register with coupon code DBC3034.
The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2022 is #BreakTheBias. Women around the world often face bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. The theme is hope for a world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive, where differences are valued and celebrated. By working collectively we can all #BreakTheBias and move towards women's equality.
To raise awareness of biases, International Women's Day has called for people to strike the IWD #BreakTheBias pose and share it on social media with the tag #IWD2022 #BreakTheBias to further encourage people to commit to help forge an inclusive world.
To strike the pose, cross your arms in the shape of an X like the TOTA team pictured here:
Women in B.C.'s Tourism Industry
To truly be a sustainable destination, diversity, equity, and inclusion must be cultivated and celebrated at all levels of the tourism industry. Creating diverse and inclusive workplaces are integral to the industry’s ability to remain competitive, drive innovation, and maintain relevance.
In January 2022, 49% of employees in the B.C. tourism labour force identified as women, according to the Tourism HR Canada Tourism Employment Tracker. We are very fortunate to have so many inspiring women working in the Thompson Okanagan tourism industry. Thank you for all that you do and thank you to employers that hire and support women in their roles and careers.
Women work in all tourism sectors and in various roles. Here are some recent roundups:
Stories of Women Working in B.C. Wine by Wine Growers BC, including Karen GIllis, Gillian Stohler, Donita Dyer, and Eliana Bray in the Thompson Okanagan region.
The Women of Recreation, Tourism & Hospitality (WORTH) Association is the first society in B.C. dedicated to advancing women in the recreation, tourism, and hospitality industries. WORTH provides complimentary (or minimally priced) networking and educational events, skills training, mentorship programs, and leadership resources to keep women focused on their career ambitions.
WORTH Founder and President, Joanna Jagger, took part in a panel on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Tourism at the 2021 BCRTS Tourism Summit last November.
This year, it's free to become a member and stay connected and supported with the newsletter, events, and resources.
The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) and bookeco have formed a strategic alliance and partnership to promote sustainable tourism products and services in the Thompson Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada.
As part of the partnership, bookeco will feature the Thompson Okanagan as a sustainable destination.
Thompson Okanagan tourism businesses who demonstrate sustainable practices will have the opportunity to be featured on the bookeco website. TOTA Biosphere Committed Companies will receive up to 4 months free when they sign up for the bookeco Advantage Plan.
The partnership agreement will also include a series of projects to promote sustainable tourism and responsible tourism providers through email and social media initiatives.
Thirty-one exceptional people were invested into the Order of British Columbia, the Province's highest honour, during a ceremony at Government House on March 3, 2022. There were two Order of B.C. recipients from the Thompson Okanagan region: Brenda Baptiste of Osoyoos and Ruth Williams from Kamloops.
Congratulations to Brenda Baptiste! Thank you for your work supporting Indigenous people and developing Indigenous business opportunities through the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre and Indigenous Tourism BC.
Congratulations to Ruth Williams! We thank you for your work towards improving the health and well-being of Indigenous children and families.
Monica Dickinson has been named as the new CEO of Tourism Kamloops and will officially take on the leadership role March 15, 2022. Monica’s tourism experience runs deep within Kamloops and the Thompson Okanagan, beginning with the Bachelor of Tourism Management from Thompson Rivers University. She officially joined the Tourism Kamloops team in 2007 and has played a foundational role for the last 15 years. For the past six years, she has worked as Tourism Kamloops Director, Industry Relations and Communications.
The Stories of Canada British Columbia is an eight-night itinerary with 3 nights in Kelowna, featuring the Eldorado Resort, lunch at two wineries, an orchard tour, a day trip to Penticton, paddling on Okanagan Lake, and biking on the Kettle Valley Railway.
As travel measures ease and more people consider their next trip from YVR, Air Canada announced an impressive roster of new flights and the return of familiar favourites across North America and Europe.
Flights include new nonstop service to Austin and Halifax. Air Canada is also restoring service to Anchorage, Boston, Quebec City, Sacramento and Yellowknife, as well as Dublin, Frankfurt and Zurich.
This is great new for international visitors planning a trip to the Thompson Okanagan through YVR Airport.
Premier John Horgan appointed Josie Osborne as Minister of Land, Water, and Resource Stewardship and Minister Responsible for Fisheries, and Nathan Cullen as Minister of Municipal Affairs. Premier Horgan has also named MLA Doug Routley as Parliamentary Secretary for Forests to support the work of Minister Katrine Conroy to modernize forestry in British Columbia.
The establishment of the Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship follows government’s commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, protecting BC's environment and building a strong economic recovery. Minister Osborne will work with First Nations, local communities and industry to build a vision for land and resource management that will embrace shared decision making on the land base and to build certainty and create further opportunity.
As Minister of Municipal Affairs, Cullen will work with local governments to support their communities as they recover and rebuild after COVID-19 and extreme weather. Cullen will support municipalities to address their priorities, from building infrastructure to responding to challenges posed to businesses and neighbourhoods by homelessness.
Biosphere Committed Company, Myra Canyon Bicycle Rentals and Tours has their focus on SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production - with the introduction of bamboo bicycles. By introducing bamboo bicycles produced and sold in a small village in Ghana, it provides a more sustainable option and education tool for their business.
Wine Growers BC has been working with the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) to mitigate challenges wineries are experiencing making Temporary Expanded Service Areas (TESA) associated with their sampling areas permanent.
Accordingly, Policy Directive 22-01 was announced on Feb. 25 to clarify the options available and advise of recent policy changes which will provide greater flexibility within those options.
Policies that apply to picnic area endorsements have changed to provide additional flexibility in application requirements and their use, while also maintaining the public interest.
Manufacturers seeking to make TESAs associated with outdoor sampling areas permanent may choose one of the following options:
Apply for a lounge endorsement with a patio
Apply for a picnic area endorsement
The LCRB strongly recommends that manufacturers consider their needs and carefully review the policies below relating to lounge patios and picnic areas before deciding which application to submit.
Questions about the application process for a lounge or picnic area endorsement should be directed via email to LCRB.SLA@gov.bc.ca.
TOTA is seeking wineries to represent the Thompson Okanagan wine regions by hosting a Green Wine Future virtual booth.
Hosts of the Green Wine Future Virtual Expo will have the opportunity to showcase their wines, products, and services. Delegates, speakers, and exhibitors can network virtually with companies through the booths on the days of the event, May 23 to 26, 2022, starting two weeks prior to the event.
Many highway signs throughout the province are either old, worn, dirty, out-of-date, or heavily damaged by weather and other factors. Poorly maintained signs don't serve us well as a visitor destination.
TIABC and BC Lodging & Campgrounds Association (BCLCA) are looking to provide the Province with recommendations on how to improve the province-wide service and attraction highway signage program.
During your travels throughout various regions, please take photos of any recent blue and white signs that are in disrepair and send them to info@TIABC.ca at your earliest convenience.
TOTA offers complimentary virtual Energy Assessments to tourism businesses in the Thompson Okanagan region. Since beginning the program in July 2020 with FortisBC, TOTA has helped businesses identify annual cost saving opportunities ranging from $100 to $2,500, with additional cost savings available through rebates.
Whether you are a business owner or are a long-term leaseholder of a commercial building or industrial facility, the Energy Analyst can help you save on operating costs by improving the efficiency of your energy usage, furthermore reducing your environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions.
TOTA's Energy Analyst, Harshit Srivastava, has a Masters in Clean Energy Engineering from the University of British Columbia and relevant industry experience. Harshit is eager to work with regional tourism stakeholders to help reduce energy costs through energy efficiency and conservation initiatives.
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.
Okanagan College is currently offering low-cost programming to support the Tourism and Hospitality sector throughout the summer months. They are pleased to offer short courses delivered online that will fit both your schedule and provide additional support.
Employers may be reimbursed for 60% of training costs through the BC Employer Training Grant (ETG), a reimbursement program from WorkBC for employers to support workforce training. The Okanagan College training programs falls into the Workforce Training Stream.
GreenStep shared a report on how the Canadian tourism industry is performing in regards to sustainability based on data from hundreds of tourism businesses across Canada who completed the Sustainability Score assessment.
In 2021, GreenStep launched the Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge in partnership with the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, encouraging tourism businesses and destinations across the country to measure their sustainability performance using the free online Sustainability Score assessment based upon the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria, and to make a commitment to improving this performance each year until 2030.
The Sustainable Tourism Dashboard enables anonymous aggregation of the results to help tourism destinations, policy makers, and other industry stakeholders understand how the tourism industry is performing at a local, provincial, national, and eventually international level.
Organizations measure what they want to improve, so if hiring people with disabilities is a priority for you as an employer, measuring disability is a key place to start.
The Make it Count: Measuring for Disability Inclusion in Your Workplace is a practical guide for employers looking to measure the rate of disability in their workplaces.
Download a free copy of the Make it Count Guide to create a disability measurement initiative that fits the unique context of your organization.
The BC Hotel Association released the first issue of Innfocus Magazine of 2022. Among the wealth of information and content featured in the Spring issue, are articles that include:
Attracting US Visitors
The Pandemic's Legacy
New Practices in Food & Beverage
Recruiting Programs
Region Feature: Kootenay Cool
Leader of the Future: Cat Mackintosh
Hotelier Feature: Debie Hemich
GoGreen: GreenStep EcoFund
Wellbeing and Travel
Grappling with Ghost Hotels
How do we Get BC on Bucket Lists of World Travellers?
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:
