The latest Thompson Okanagan tourism industry news from TOTA, tourism businesses, and communities.
Residents of British Columbia are invited to comment on how the government can best address barriers that restrict people with disabilities from participating in the workforce and accessing community services. The public engagement on the draft accessibility standards is open from May 31 to July 31.
Read MoreThe B.C. Employer Training Grant is a cost-sharing grant program that provides employers throughout B.C. with skills training funding for their workforces, including prospective new hires. Employers can receive 80% of the cost of training up to $10,000 per employee, with a maximum annual amount per employer of $300,000.
Read MoreThe BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops has recently made significant upgrades to its facilities to increase accessibility and inclusivity. The park’s next focus for upgrades is the children’s playground, with plans to add inclusive equipment and sensory stations to allow children to play together.
Read MoreTOTA and Spinal Cord Injury BC have partnered to share 22 Virtual Venue Tours of Thompson Okanagan accommodation and attractions. The virtual tours showcase priority accessible features to help people easily plan a visit based on their specific requirements.
View tours: https://ThompsonOkanagan.com/virtual-tours
Read MoreIn the summer of 2020, TOTA partnered with the Christina Lake Welcome Centre to visit Boundary Country on an Accessible FAM tour, and experienced many accessible and inclusive activities and attractions that this beautiful region has to offer.
Read MoreTOTA is excited to announce the Accessible and Universal Design Washroom Renovation for the Tourism Inspiration Centre above Peachland on the Highway 97C Connector.
The renovation project was made possible through funding from the Enabling Accessibility Fund Youth Stream, as well as funding from the BC Rehab Foundation. TOTA will be putting forward the remainder of the renovation costs to complete the project.
Read MoreThe Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) has prepared a toolkit to address the increasing demand for guidance on how employers can support Black employees by sustaining the ideals behind the Black Lives Matter movement.
Employers can benefit from creating an inclusive workplace by:
Becoming a workplace of choice that attracts and retains talent.
Increasing productivity and create a greater impact (e.g. produce more revenue and/or social outcomes aligned with the organization’s vision).
Attracting business and markets from previously unexplored segments of the population.
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!
Read MoreThere are several B.C. employment agencies that help to successfully match tourism employers with non-traditional labour pools, including people with disabilities.
Once the recruitment process is done, how can employers look beyond obligatory compliance to accommodate people with disabilities so they can do their jobs as effectively as possible?
Learn more in go2HR’s guide to Integrating People with Disabilities into the Workplace →
Read MoreDestination BC has published an article to help provide information on Accessible Graphic Designing.
While it’s easy to get hung up on the visual details, graphic design is first and foremost a visual communication method used to convey information with a specific objective. Ease of understanding is the main goal. Everything else – colour, layout, and typography, etc. – is the means designers use to communicate messages more effectively.
Read MoreWith parks seeing increasingly busy seasons, BC Parks plans to invest $21.5 million over the next three years to expand and enhance opportunities for outdoor recreation, including new campsites, trails and upgrades to facilities. In the Thompson Okanagan, Sun-Oka Provincial Park in Summerland is proposed to have trails reconstructed and paved to improve accessibility.
Read MoreTourism businesses can download the President Group’s "Make it Count: Measuring for Disability Inclusion in Your Workplace", a practical guide for employers seeking to measure the rate of disability in their businesses.
The guide draws on real-world experiences of BC employers to explore common barriers, lessons learned, and innovative solutions.
Read MoreThe TOTA and BC Tourism Resiliency Network teams have prepared several new business support programs to assist tourism businesses. The programs are available free of charge for Thompson Okanagan tourism companies.
We encourage you and your team members to register as soon as possible, to take advantage of these programs while they are available.
Supports include:
Thompson Okanagan Wildfire Resilience Roundtable this Tuesday, October 5
Decade of Action Program: Building a Sustainable Future for BC Tourism - Apply by Friday, October 8
Business Mentorship Sessions with Okanagan College Instructors
BCRTS Tourism Summit 2021 - November 3 & 4
Hospitality Professional Program - Apply by November 28
TOTA Complimentary Energy Assessments & FortisBC Equipment Rebate Support
Change Management Webinar Recording & Skill Building Exercises
Accommodators (resorts, hotels, motels, B&B) in the Thompson Okanagan region are invited to share information about the accessibility features of their venue.
Please take a few moments to fill out this survey to better help us identify the accessible accommodations available in the Thompson Okanagan region.
Read MoreTourism businesses can add accessible attributes to your HelloBC.com listing at any time with a few simple steps. These accessibility attribute listings will help to build consumer confidence when visitors plan their trip to BC. Accessibility is organized into five categories: Mobility, Vision, Hearing, Cognitive & Sensory, and General.
Read MoreCRIS Adaptive is celebrating their 20th anniversary with a series of Adaptive Amazing Race fundraising events inspired by the Amazing Race TV show, with teams racing through designated courses, completing challenges at various stations.
Several TOTA team members will participate in the Adaptive Amazing Race in Vernon on August 25.
Want to support CRIS Adaptive towards their goal of enabling outdoor recreation for all?
Read MoreCRIS Adaptive debuted the newest addition to the fleet of rental equipment, the Hase Bike, a modular adaptive bike that gives clients significant options for supported and independent riding. CRIS is the first adaptive service provider in the Interior of BC to put a Hase system into service. As well, CRIS is offering a mobile rental program for accessible recreation equipment in various BC Parks. The schedule for rental "pop ups" is available on AdaptiveRentals.ca.
Read MoreThe International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published the world’s first standard on accessible tourism, ISO 21902 Tourism and related services – Accessible tourism for all – Requirements and recommendations. This is an international standard offering guidelines to ensure access and enjoyment of tourism for all on an equal basis.
Read MoreThe Workplace Accessibility Grant program provides up to $1,000 in support to small business employers in British Columbia by providing direct financial assistance towards creating an inclusive work environment for persons requiring universal design elements.
Read MoreTo ensure everyone can get out and enjoy nature, BC Parks continues to make accessibility upgrades in parks throughout the province and incorporates universal design standards in new campgrounds and recreation sites.
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