Last week, on Friday, April 22, the world celebrated Earth Day once again. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day has grown over the years into a major day of environmental action, celebrated in many countries around the world. It also inspired organizations such as Earth Day Canada, a charitable organization that inspires and supports citizens and organizations across the country to reduce their impact on the environment.
The SDGs are an urgent call for action by all countries to recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are again divided into 169 targets to make progress towards the main goals, which are interconnected and overlapping.
TOTA, as well as companies in the Biosphere Commitment Program, are collecting evidence of initiatives related to the SDGs through the Biosphere Sustainable Lifestyle digital platform, a revolutionary system that indicates the real level of sustainability of any company. The website enables companies to create a custom Sustainability Plans through the selection of a set of more than 400 sustainable activities and actions, linked to the 169 targets.
Climate Action, Responsible Consumption & Production, and Partnerships for the Goals:
Last week, at the Green Wine Future Press Conference, Green Wine Future founder, Pancho Campo, shared how wineries around the world are being impacted by climate change, and also how they are taking measures to both adapt the impacts and mitigate the progression of climate change. More details will be shared at the Green Wine Future - Virtual Wine Conference, a global virtual event happening May 23 - 26, featuring the Thompson Okanagan wine region.
TOTA has partnered with FortisBC and GreenStep Solutions to help businesses improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs for tourism stakeholders in the Thompson Okanagan region through a free Energy Assessment, which includes an analysis of all lighting, equipment, and utility bill data to understand your energy usage; a report summarizing energy and cost-saving opportunities; and implementation support.
Do you know current hospitality professionals looking to build on their hospitality management career by further developing their skills, knowledge and connections? Someone eager to develop the tools and resources necessary to thrive in the evolving world of hospitality?
TOTA, in partnership with Okanagan College, is offering the fully funded Hospitality Professional Program to unemployed, seasonal, part-time, and casual workers. This 28-weekLIVEonline learning program pairs practical, unique, and intensive hospitality skills training with key industry certifications so participants can jump into a hospitality position for the 2022/23 winter season.
Thompson Okanagan tourism companies are invited to share adventures and experiences at the Tourism Inspiration Centre on Highway 97C above Peachland, which receives 45,000+ visitors per season.
Promotion Opportunities for the 2022 season (May-October)
Outdoor Billboard Space: $500+GST / year
Brochure Racking Space & QR Code Link to Website: $125+GST / year
On-Site Exhibit Space: $150+GST / weekend
Availability is limited and offered first come, first serve. To secure your promotion space, contact [email protected].
Symphony Tourism Services (STS), a subsidiary of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA), and Boundary Country Tourism are seeking to hire a Boundary Country Local Project and Stakeholder Engagement Specialist. This is part-time, casual contract position has flexible schedule with 5 to 28 hours a week.
Do you live in Boundary Country? Do you know it and love it and want to see it succeed as a tourism destination? Do you have experience in tourism or a network in the region? We want to hear from you!
Energy is used every day to modulate temperature, light indoor and outdoor environments, heat water, and run appliances.
According to Natural Resource Canada more than 60% of the total energy consumption in a building is utilized for space heating.
The following energy efficiency tips can help in reducing your business’ energy consumption and will bring added benefits of cost saving and reducing your carbon footprint:
Regularly maintain and replace worn caulking and weatherstripping around windows and doors to seal gaps and cracks.
Install programmable thermostat to turn down the heat to about 17 degree Celsius after business hours and in unoccupied or less frequently used areas.
Upgrade to LED lighting to enhance your indoor atmosphere and save energy costs.
Replace standard incandescent bulbs with Energy Star rated LED bulbs and T12 fluorescent lamps and high performance T8 or LED lighting.
Have appliances serviced regularly to keep them operating safely and efficiently.
We are pleased to welcome Codfather’s Seafood Market as the newest Biosphere Committed Company. Located in Kelowna, Codfather's is a family run business that prides themselves on marking a big impact out of a small space. Sustainability for Codfather's as a seafood business has always been tied closely to the ethics of seafood harvesting and growing, and the way that fisheries are organized and monitored. Codfather’s owners Jon and Anne-Marie Crofts have been involved in other sustainable movements such as Slow Fish and the Fisheries for Communities campaign.
The Government of Canada announced further changes to Canada's border measures for certain eligible travellers. Effective April 25, 2022, the following easing of border measures are in effect:
Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children aged 5-11 who are accompanied by a fully vaccinated parent, step-parent, guardian or tutor will no longer be required to complete a pre-entry COVID-19 test for entry to Canada.
Pre-entry tests will still be required for partially vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers 12 and older who are currently eligible to travel to Canada. Children under 5 years of age are not required to provide a COVID-19 test result.
All fully vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to provide a quarantine plan upon entry. This requirement will also be removed for children aged 5-11 who are accompanied by a fully vaccinated parent, step-parent, guardian, or tutor and travellers with a medical contraindication to a COVID-19 vaccine.
Furthermore, fully vaccinated travellers arriving to Canada after April 25, 2022, will no longer be federally required to do the following for 14 days after arriving:
mask while in public spaces;
monitor and report if they develop signs or symptoms;
quarantine if another traveller in the same travel group exhibits signs or symptoms or tests positive; and
maintain a list of close contacts and locations visited.
All travellers are still required to use ArriveCAN (free mobile app or website) to provide mandatory travel information within 72 hours of their arrival to Canada and/or before boarding a plane or cruise ship destined for Canada.
Canada’s Transport Minister said masking guidelines while travelling still apply, as the US moves to drop its national mandate. Currently in Canada, travellers must wear a mask or face covering while travelling through Canadian airports and for the duration of flights. Air operators are required to notify passengers of the rule and receive confirmation that everyone has a face covering.
Transport Canada says travellers should also wear a mask or face covering while travelling in groups by rail, road, and water.
To support the new border measures in place as of April 1, the Canada Border Services Agency has produced videos to ensure travellers are aware of the current requirements in place and arrive prepared at the border or airport.
The tourism industry is encouraged to share these videos with your network to help facilitate a smooth travel experience for visitors.
In April, Destination BC with ITBC launched Illahee: a video series featuring Indigenous story tellers, to help audiences deepen their connection with BC’s nature by listening to three Indigenous leaders describe their unique relationships to the land and sea.
One of the videos features Chief Frank Antoine of the Bonaparte First Nation, sharing what he’s learned by listening to the wind in the mountains of the Thompson Okanagan.
The videos will be shared with consumers through paid and owned channels as part of the extensive global BC Effect marketing campaign.
Illahee means “our lands and our place within them.” Choosing this name honours the intent of the Chinook Jargon Language to serve as a means of connecting people from diverse backgrounds to each other and to these lands.
Glohaven Community Hub, a Thompson Okanagan software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform empowering tourism communities with innovative and sustainable destination management solutions, has announced a partnership with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) to amplify the voices of Indigenous-owned tourism businesses and to provide consumers with the opportunity to demonstrate economic reconciliation by consciously shopping for and supporting the unique products and experiences of Indigenous creators.
The Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail celebrated Earth Day with an announcement of a $50,000 donation from Salmon Arm Savings and Credit Union (SASCU) Financial Group toward the construction of the rail trail.
The announcement was made at Splatsin Community Centre where the first pilot section will be constructed between Splatsin and Enderby. The second section approved for construction will begin in Sicamous (km 0) to Mara (km 19.8) to address rock scaling, road crossings, bridge decking, safety signage, preliminary grading, and erosion.
The Capital Fundraising Campaign encourages corporate and community donors to support the rail trail project by making donations, as many grant applications require a matching financial commitment to qualify. All contributions are tax-deductible. Every dollar donated is leveraged for grants to construct additional kilometres on the rail trail.
The Government of Canada made several announcements to streamline the process and improve access to international workers for businesses, to assist in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ten BC communities severely affected by the November 2021 floods are receiving $53.6 million in provincial funding to support recovery work and get people back into their communities. Due to the extreme effects of the flooding on their communities, several local governments are receiving direct grants to assist them in meeting the additional costs pressures of ongoing recovery and infrastructure planning.
A Canadian-made documentary, the Last Tourist, premiered in Vancouver last week with the aim to shine a light on the negative effects travel can have on world cultures and landscapes. The documentary explains that if done right, travelling can help with wealth distribution, while giving travellers enriching experiences. It also recommends researching tour companies before booking and keeping money in the local economy, whether that means staying in locally-owned hotels, eating at locally-owned restaurants or shopping locally. The Last Tourist is available on Apple TV and Amazon.
Wine Growers British Columbia (WGBC) released the annual BC Wine Grape 2021 Vintage Report, which reveals another harvest of impressive quality achieved through expert vineyard management during a record-shattering year for wine regions across the province.
Overall, winegrowers throughout British Columbia agree that the 2021 vintage will be remembered for low yields but intensely flavoured fruit resulting in wines of remarkable character, concentrated flavours, and balanced acidity.
The intricacies of such a one-of-a-kind growing season are best reviewed in detail in the full report, with data sourced from industry participants at WGBC’s annual Winemakers and Viticulturists Forum and Vintage Survey.
The BC Wine Grape Vintage Report is available to BC wine lovers and industry professionals alike and an essential tool to understand and promote the exceptional wines that came from the eventful 2021 growing season.
Tourism Kelowna connected with several West Kelowna businesses to find out more about what tourism means to them and how it positively impacts their business and community.
The Government of Canada unveiled its 2022 federal budget on April 7. Spending was largely focused on housing and defense and notably excluded targeted support for the tourism industry by means of wage and fixed-cost support, and an extension of the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program. It also did not include amendments to the Tourism Relief Fund, nor extensions and amendments to debt relief such as the RRRF and CEBA programs.
The Office of the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development spoke to Budget 2022 and noted that it is an innovation-forward budget that is focused on fiscal responsibility as Canada recovers.
Many initiatives in the budget are designed to support Canadian businesses as they scale up, including investments in the Canada Growth Fund, the Canada Innovation and Investment Agency, and the Coordinated Accessible National (CAN) Health Network.
Other commitments include investments to build a world-class IP regime, grow global innovation clusters, and ensure the resilience and stability of supply chains.
go2HR is currently seeking nominations for three director positions (2 year term). They are committed to renewing their board with diversified representation and keen to receive nominations from women, indigenous operators, northern BC employers, and educators. Are you interested in running for a position on go2HR’s Board of Directors? The organization needs your expertise and leadership to help them continue the strategic journey to realize strong workforces and safe workplaces that deliver world-class tourism and hospitality experiences in BC. Now more than ever, go2HR's work is needed to support BC’s tourism and hospitality recovery.
All completed nominations forms must be submitted to go2HR no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, April 29, 2022.
The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC (ORCBC) has announced that the BC Trails Day Community Small Grants are back. With support from RC Strategies, ORCBC offers a limited number of small grants of up to $500 each to help outdoor organizations organize community-based BC Trails Day events. The funds can help pay for various expenses, including tools and gear library products, stewardship supplies, event promotion, equipment rental, and other materials needed to create a fantastic BC Trails Day event experience. The application deadline is Monday, May 9, 2022.
Recently approved WorkSafeBC legislation requires employers to implement communicable disease prevention measures in the workplace. go2HR’s health and safety professionals are available to support tourism and hospitality businesses do just that.
To make the transition to Communicable Disease Prevention Plans as easy as possible, go2HR has developed detailed resources (including a downloadable checklist) for businesses to use to help ensure you have factored in all of the key prevention measures.
Use the checklist to assess the risks in your workplace and record the steps that you are taking to protect workers.
Request a free consultation with a member of go2HR's health and safety team to discuss appropriate measures for your business and answer your questions.
Upload your completed checklist or prevention plan and go2HR will review it for you and provide tailored feedback.
go2HR offers several online and free/affordable training opportunities to support training and development of the BC tourism industry and to create safe and successful workplaces.
The following courses may be helpful for you and your team members:
Foundations of Workplace Safety Course (includes WHMIS): Free workplace safety training for young or new workers in tourism, including rights and responsibilities, and common hazards.
Workplace Wellness CARE Certificate: Free online training to learn to maintain mental health and care for another person experiencing a mental or emotional crisis.
The go2HR job board is free for tourism and hospitality employers operating in British Columbia. Post jobs and hiring events to find quality employees in Accommodation, Food and Beverage Services, Recreation and Entertainment, Transportation, and Travel Services. The go2HR Job Board receives 20,000 monthly visits from qualified candidates looking for front-line, supervisory, management or executive positions.
Research data created by Environics Analytics to help the travel and tourism industry understand the impact of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to Domestic Overnight Visitors within Canada.
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