Updates, webinars, events, opportunities to get involved, resources, and research to support Thompson Okanagan tourism professionals.
Midnight Musings from the TOTA Team
Hi there,
Last week, several TOTA team members attended the annual IMPACT Sustainable Tourism Conference in Victoria. The spirit of this internationally informed, Canadian-focused event is to educate, unite, commit, and take action towards the development of tourism as a financial and social force for good. Monitoring and measuring success through the lens of environment, community, culture, and economy (also known as planet, people and prosperity by the BC Ministry of Tourism, Art, Culture, and Sport).
Over the course of 2.5 days and more than 20 sessions, the conference presented the sustainability challenges faced by the tourism industry worldwide. Inspiring examples were shared of companies working towards regenerative tourism, and they called on tourism professionals to commit to meaningful action.
Key highlights from IMPACT:
Regenerative Tourism
The COVID-19 pandemic and climate change have converged to cause great disruption, however we are now in the midst of what is being referred to as the Great Restart, an opportunity to reassess the ways in which we do business and refocus efforts to prepare for the future.
This requires significant intentional change and an urgency to incorporate sustainable and regenerative practices into the core of business planning and operations.
Tourism can strive to regenerate - meaning to protect and strengthen - land and communities, creating net positives for both. Working collectively, we can minimize the negative impacts and amplify the many benefits, to be equitably enjoyed by residents and guests.
What does regenerative tourism look like in action?
Work to attract “High Values Guests,” meaning visitors that generally stay longer, support local businesses, and strive to minimize their individual impact on the destination and community.
Incorporate sustainable technology and practices into your business that improve the guest experience and reduce costs.
Make it easy to choose and provide education for guests to reduce carbon emissions, such as lower emission transportation methods, foods, and energy sources.
Employ creative thinking around partnerships and collaboration, job sharing, and cross training to attract tourism professionals seeking full time, long-term employment.
Industry certifications and frameworks which help destinations and companies build a foundation of practices that meet (or exceed) industry sustainability standards and communicate commitments to partners and customers.
Collaborate with the scientific community to better understand tourism’s positive and negative impact. For example, researchers could study aspects of the tourism business to make improvements and help develop educational tourism experiences that share their knowledge and appreciation with guests.
Develop infrastructure and experiences that help to lengthen the tourism season and encourage dispersion.
Indigenous Reconciliation
Indigenous reconciliation was woven throughout the entire conference, and underscored the importance of DMOs and businesses developing an Indigenous strategy and creating relationships with local nations working in collaboration to share stories and promote Indigenous services and experiences.
How can tourism be a powerful cultural and economic tool to take action towards reconciliation? Some examples for non-Indigenous entities include:
Work to learn from Indigenous people and the sustainable practices at the core of their way of life
Acknowledge the local nation and their history in tourism experiences and content.
Become a Friend of Indigenous Tourism BC to begin collaboration towards mutual success and that contribute to reconciliation through the support of Indigenous tourism.
Create an Indigenous Ally Program and share a portion of profits with local Indigenous bands, which can provide reliable income to employ Indigenous forest guardians.
Thompson Okanagan Commitment to Regenerative Tourism
While sustainability has been a key aspect of TOTA’s destination management strategy since 2012, it’s inspiring to see sustainability develop as the foundation of tourism in British Columbia, Canada, and other destinations around the world.
The TOTA team is eager to further incorporate regenerative tourism best practices into the Thompson Okanagan region, in order to continue as a competitive tourism destination and inspire others to plan the future of their destination through a sustainability lens.
If you want to discuss sustainable and regenerative tourism and how your company/destination can get started or build on your foundation, contact the TOTA Destination Stewardship team at [email protected].
The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) is taking part in the upcoming virtual Green Wine Future Conference from May 23 to May 26. The North American segment is on Monday, May 23 | 2:00 - 6:30pm PT, including the premiere of the Wine for the Planet docuseries, with a short documentary about the Thompson Okanagan wine region
Registration for one day of the conference is $47 USD. Through TOTA’s partnership, Thompson Okanagan stakeholders get a 55% discount by using the code TOTA55.
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.
Tourism businesses who demonstrate sustainable practices can register to be featured on the bookeco website, which will increase bookings and revenue by attracting sustainability focused customers to their business.
TOTA encourages all businesses taking sustainable actions to create a profile on bookeco to help customers easily find sustainable tourism providers in the Thompson Okanagan region.
Tasting the Okanagan Through the Ages is an event created through the South Okanagan Food & Drink Experience Development Program which occurred between September 2021 - January 2022 in partnership with TOTA, Destination BC, and the Culinary Tourism Alliance.
Join Chef Aman Dosanj of the Paisley Notebook pop-up series for an immersive dining experience on Covert Farm's 650-acre, fourth-generation farm. The event will guide guests through a multi-course food and wine paired sensory journey of our bountiful region.
Discover Naramata launched a new brand that captures the magic of the winding road, rolling vineyards, and unique personality of Naramata. This fresh look launched on May 11 introduced the new logo and brand colours and will be rolled out in stages over the next year.
The South Shuswap Chamber of Commerce launched a new website on May 6 at its annual Tourism Kickoff Breakfast. The website was developed in collaboration with the Chase Chamber of Commerce and the North Shuswap Chamber of Commerce.
The website is an economic development initiative for the western gateway to the Shuswap, developed through grants received from the Government of Canada, the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, and the Economic Trust of the Southern Interior.
The website has been introduced to inform residents or visitors of the area and to ensure their time spent in the region will meet or exceed their expectations.
Tourism Week in Canada is back again from May 29-June 4, 2022, and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) is recognizing the importance of the industry and the resilience of its workers by calling on all Canadians to TRAVEL NOW - for work, life, and play!
TIAC is asking for your support to champion local tourism destinations, businesses, and employees by lighting up your business in Tourism Week’s “Glowing Green” (colour hex code: #8BC53F) and sharing graphics from the toolkit all week long. Be sure to use the official Tourism Week hashtag of #TourismWeekCanada2022.
Destination Canada is a sponsor of the Year of the Garden 2022, which encourages the public to get out, explore, and enjoy Canada’s beautiful gardens and garden experiences again.
Tourism and hospitality businesses that embrace gardens as part of their venue or thematically in service offerings, can register their business for free on the Live the Garden Life Directory.
Last year, Destination Canada launched a travel packages portal, where tour operators can upload travel packages to the Destination Canada consumer website.
The portal provides tour operators access to an engaged audience, which has resulted in conversions and bookings to destinations across the country. Since its launch in June 2021, the website has received more than 2.6M page views and generated over 230k leads to tour operators. Today, there is now a portal available for the US market.
If you have a travel package that you would like to share with domestic and US travellers, contact [email protected].
Fort Berens Estate Winery is holding a fundraising campaign from June 3 to 12, 2022, with a goal to raise $125,000 for a dedicated legacy building project for the community of Lytton after a wildfire swept through the town on June 30, 2021.
To raise funds, Fort Berens is selling 120 cases of Special Edition "Lytton Strong” Pinot Gris. In addition, there will be a silent auction with unique and experiential items, a 50/50 raffle, and the opportunity to donate directly to the campaign.
Fort Berens is currently seeking corporate sponsorships, donations for the silent auction, and volunteers to help with the fundraising campaign.
Nominate a deserving business, organization, or individual for the Canadian Tourism Awards, presented by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.
The Canadian Tourism Awards are presented annually by TIAC to recognize success, leadership, and innovation in Canada's tourism industry and to reward those people, places, organizations, and events that have gone above and beyond to offer travellers superior tourism experiences in Canada.
With nine award categories, this year’s nomination portal is officially open and the awards will be presented on November 23 at the Westin Ottawa.
Wines of British Columbia has released its Q4 report, which is also a summary of the fiscal year for the organization. The 21 page report outlines the strategic goals, objectives, and results of three key areas of concentration from April 2021 through to March 2022.
Skilled immigrants can help businesses access new customers and international markets, enrich organizational culture, and spark innovation.
South Okanagan Immigrant & Community Services (SOICS) created an Employer Toolkit to help employers Attract and Integrate Internationally Trained Employees in South Okanagan-Similkameen. The toolkit contains resources to help with navigating the complex system of accessing various streams of immigrants, attracting immigrants to your workplace, and helping them and your business succeed together by creating welcoming environments.
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