Alberta & Saskatchewan End Proof of Vaccination Requirement

Alberta

On February 8, Alberta removed the Restrictions Exemption Program (proof of vaccination) and capacity limits on venues under 500 capacity, and will allow for food and beverage consumption in seated audience settings for large events and entertainment venues.

View Press Release →

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is ending the Proof of Vaccination Requirement on Monday, February 14. The public health orders requiring masking in indoor public spaces will remain in effect until the end of February.

View Press Release →

B.C. Government Lays Out Vision for Post-pandemic Recovery in Throne Speech

On February 8, 2022, Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin read the Speech from the Throne, outlining the province's vision for the next year.

The B.C. government is focusing on getting through the rest of the COVID-19 pandemic while committing to invest in safe workplaces, new schools, and lobbying Ottawa for more money for health-care.

Government has stated that in the year ahead, they will also fight climate change, help communities adapt to extreme weather, make everyday life more affordable, and ensure sustainable, economic growth.

Specific actions the government will take in the coming months include:

1. Tying minimum wage increases to the rate of inflation;

2. Protecting people buying homes in a volatile market by introducing a cooling-off period on home purchases;

3. Helping prepare people for the jobs of the future with a generational commitment to develop the talent B.C. needs over the next 10 years to close the skills gap;

4. Moving forward on Reconciliation by working to implement the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act through an action plan drafted in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples;

5. Recognizing British Columbians’ shared history by taking a major step towards establishing the first Chinese Canadian Museum in Canada and modernizing the Royal BC Museum; and

6. Improving management of B.C.'s land and resources by creating a new ministry to better support goals of reconciliation, economic development, and environmental protection.

The speech also sets up three significant announcements expected over the next two weeks.

Next week the province will be unveiling an economic recovery plan and provincial officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is likely going to announce an easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

In two weeks’ time, the province will present a budget charting the financial road map to fulfill the commitments made by the government. TIABC will be at budget lock-up in Victoria and will provide a synopsis on the implications of Budget 2022 on the tourism sector.

Learn More & Watch Recording →

Indigenous Tourism BC Launches Corporate Retreats, Experiences Campaign

Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC) is launching a campaign to encourage corporations, organizations, and special interest groups to book retreats, meetings, workshops, and educational experiences with Indigenous tourism businesses in British Columbia.

B.C.'s Indigenous tourism operators provide both space and leadership for learning, reflection, and dialogue. This is a valuable means for organizations that are looking to implement Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action or for educators that are seeking to apply First Nations learning principles.

ITBC encourages everyone to participate and support Indigenous tourism businesses in B.C., representing the diverse and living Indigenous peoples and cultures in present-day B.C..

When finding new ways to conduct business and improve relationships with Indigenous Peoples and partners, organizations and their teams can both experience and learn from Indigenous-owned businesses that include accommodations, outdoor experiences, event facilities, food & beverage establishment, cultural centres, gift shops, and galleries.

Thompson Okanagan Indigenous services providers listed include:

1. Quaaout Lodge and Spa at Talking Rock Golf Resort - Chase

2. Jack Sam's Restaurant at Quaaout Lodge - Chase

3. Moccasin Trails - Kamloops and Kelowna

4. Nk'Mip Cultural Centre - Osoyoos

5. Kekuli Cafe - West Kelowna, Merritt

Learn More & View Indigenous Service Providers→

BC Hotel Association Encourages Accommodation Sector to Source Locally

The British Columbia Hotel Association (BCHA) has launched a new video encouraging the province's accommodation sector to invest in local businesses and help build back B.C.'s economy stronger than ever.

Funded by the Government of Canada and delivered through provincial and territorial chambers of commerce, the BCHA was among 88 applicants to receive a grant from the Shop Local initiative that encourages Canadians to spend their dollars locally to help businesses navigate through the pandemic beyond.

Learn More & Explore Local Businesses →

While the campaign is directed to accommodators, it's beneficial for all sectors to support local when possible. When sourcing new products or services, be sure to seek and consider B.C. and Canadian businesses.

Reasons for Companies to Shop Local

1. Contribute to Community Growth and Cohesiveness

2. You Can Buy It Where You Try It

3. Give Back to Your Community

4. Independent Businesses Help Give a Destination Its Distinct Personality

Largest Solar Power Wall in North America

Toronto is getting the largest solar power generating wall in North America!

A relatively recent innovation is changing these preconceived notions of power generation being ugly, the advent of photovoltaic walls integrated into building cladding opening up the doors for green energy production in the most unexpected places.

Known as building-integrated photovoltaics, or BIPV, these panels replicate the exterior finishes of typical buildings you see walking down any city street, all while harnessing the green energy of the sun. In most cases, passersby would have few clues alerting them to the eco-friendly power plants hidden in these panels.

Though it's still in its infancy, the technology is taking a big leap right here in Toronto, where an enormous 7,000-square-foot wall — the largest BIPV wall in North America to date — is being installed. The record breaking wall is expected to generate 90,000 kWh of energy for the building annually, slashing it carbon footprint in the process.

And while you'd think these systems would add astronomical construction costs to a new building, they're actually relatively cheap, and can pay for themselves through off-grid power generation in just a few years.

Green energy incentives like federal funding of $10 billion through the Canada Infrastructure Bank towards green power projects are among the policy moves from above that might be able to sway more movers and shakers to implement this tech in the future.

Free Business Mentorship Sessions with Okanagan College Instructors

Okanagan College instructors are available to deliver virtual, one-hour individually tailored business counselling sessions based on expressed areas of need.

This service is offered free of charge through the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Resiliency Program, for a limited time. Mentors can provide support on a variety of leadership soft skills, business administration, and hospitality topics.

Register for an Okanagan College Mentorship Meeting →

Annual Shuswap Trail Alliance Virtual Fundraiser Now Open | Buy Tickets & Place Bids by Feb 20, 2022

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.

Buy Tickets & Place Bids →

Through the generous support of businesses and individuals alike, last year’s Silent Auction raised over $57,000 in support of STA trail projects throughout the region.

The Shuswap Trail Alliance auction committee thanks and invites everyone throughout the region to participate in the Online Auction. They look forward to seeing you online for the fundraiser and in-person out on the trails.

More Investments Made in B.C.’s Tourism Infrastructure through CERIP Grants

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.

These funds will strengthen tourism growth and develop emerging tourism opportunities, stimulating the recovery of B.C.’s post-pandemic visitor economy. Continued investments in destination development will increase employment and job creation, and establish more livable communities while enhancing residents’ quality of life and visitors’ experiences.

These investments in implementation-ready tourism infrastructure projects support the recovery and resilience of tourism by creating jobs and developing infrastructure that will attract visitors to B.C. communities in the near and long term.

Projects were chosen for their demonstrated tourism benefits to communities and British Columbians, along with new jobs, many of which will provide employment for apprentices, youth, new Canadians, women and Indigenous Peoples. Eligible applicants included local governments, First Nations and non-profit organizations.

Thompson Okanagan Projects funded by CERIP:

• O'Keefe Ranch & Interior Heritage Society - Glamping Park Establishment: Installation of glamping (glamourous camping) infrastructure, including visitor amenities, landscaping, building cabins.

• Summerland - Peach Orchard and Rotary Beach Washroom Upgrades: Peach Orchard and Rotary Beach Washroom Upgrades including winterizing and improving electrical service.

• Vernon - Vernon Visitor Kiosks: Construction of three timber frame visitor kiosks in Vernon to supply information on attractions, activities, arts, culture, and events.

• Greater Vernon Museum and Archives - North Okanagan Culture and Heritage Enhancement: Upgrades to the Museum facility, including Roofing, HVAC, and electrical and lighting issues, to protect collection items and enhance the operations of the GVMA, and create new COVID safe cultural event spaces.

• Kelowna - The Pandosy Public Pier - Entering New Waters: Pandosy Public Pier project to develop of an inclusive, universally accessible, and non-motorized public pier in Kelowna.

• Sun Peaks - Sun Peaks Centre Plaza Development: Upgrades to Sun Peaks Village Plaza, including picnic tables, firepits, game areas, Secwepmec Medicine Trail signage, pedestrian walkway improvements to allow safe, socially distant movement of people, and small stage area that will be based on a First Nations pit house theme.

• Coldstream - Coldstream Station: Construction of Coldstream Station, a central gathering place for the community of Coldstream and entry area to the Okanagan Rail Trail, including event plaza, parking, washrooms, visitor information, landscaping to support a world class destination rail trail adventure.

• Merritt & Nicola Valley Destination Marketing Society - Nicola Valley Mountain Biking Trails Project: Develop, design & build trail signs and information kiosks, in addition to Trail Technical Features such as ramps, berms and drops, at iconic mountain biking trail system.

• Kamloops - Performance Cycling Centre: Peripheral Tourism Infrastructure and Destination Trail Development for Kamloops. Creation of 3 new parking lots, garbage and washroom facilities, wayfinding signage, and information kiosks at key mountain biking trail systems.

• Salmon Arm Economic Development Society - Salmon Arm Destination Development: Recovery, Resiliency, Rejuvenation: This project includes 3 tactics: Community Signage; Interactive Visitor Kiosk; Mobile Visitor Outreach

• Tourism Kamloops - Bold Visitor Services & Engagement Strategy: Install 10 interactive, digital kiosks at high-traffic, visitor touch points;

Learn More →

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Background

In February 2021, the Province provided $20 million for 54 projects specifically for tourism through the first round of CERIP. The second investment of $21.3 million in 2022 doubles this, providing a total of $41.3 million for the tourism ecosystem for more than 100 projects.

The Province is investing an additional $30 million over the next two years to continue investing in tourism infrastructure throughout the province. By helping communities enhance tourism experiences, B.C. will increase its ability to compete as a premium destination.

DBC Launches "Snapshot of BC Travel" Dashboard

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.

View Dashboard →

The Backcountry Lodges of BC Association "Mountain Escapes" Podcast

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.

Listen to Podcast →

TikTok Vs Reels: Everything Hotel Marketers Need to Know

Social media app TikTok recently topped Google as the world’s most visited website. That impressive feat also cements TikTok as a top channel for hotel marketers. It’s simply no longer possible to ignore the reach and impact of this platform.

The growing popularity of TikTok’s short format videos has also led to copycats from competitors. The biggest is Reels, Instagram’s answer to TikTok. Both platforms feature short videos that offer a light-hearted way to inject fun into a hotels’ social strategy.

With both TikTok and Reels capturing outsized attention among social media users, check out this comparison article to learn to fully leverage both of these popular platforms in your hotel marketing strategy.

Learn More →

Hotel Footprinting a Free Online Resource for Hotels

About Hotel Footprinting

Hotel Footprinting is designed to help hotels to benchmark their footprint with other sample hotels in their region and market using real data supplied by the industry.

The tool offers two functions:

• Benchmarking: shows the carbon and energy footprint data for an example hotel across different market segments in different geographies. Includes comparison data per occupied room and per square metre of meeting room space.

• Footprinting: allows hotels to generate carbon footprint reports for hotel stays and meetings based on hotel capacity and location. These can be completed for single or multiple properties and support with corporate reporting.

The tool is available at hotelfootprints.org.

Who is it for?

Hotel Footprinting is designed to be used for free by any hotel anywhere in the world (where data is available). It applies to individual hotels or multiple properties.

The tool can support hotels to:

• benchmark their carbon emissions and energy usage

• prepare corporate reports for hotel companies or corporate client requests

• assist customers in their booking decisions

How was it created?

Hotel Footprinting was created in collaboration with Greenview. The dataset for benchmarking comes from the Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking Tool (CHSB). Hotel Footprinting uses the methodology from our Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative (HCMI).

Research Study: Access and Equity for LGBTQ2S+ Businesses in Canada

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.

Learn More & Get Involved →

Survey on Tourism Relief Fund

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.

Take Survey →

Government of Canada Budget 2022 Questionnaire | Submit by Feb 25, 2022

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.

Learn More & Take Questionnaire →

Planning to Install a Patio This Summer? TESA Applications Expire on June 1, 2022

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.

Learn More & Apply →

Download the Canada Business App to Find Government Programs & Services

The Canada Business App offers new features to make it even easier to find government programs and services.

Download and explore:

• Easy navigation to government programs and services

• Recommendations tailored to your business

• Personalized notifications straight to your phone

• Easy access to COVID-19 support and other programs and services

• Answers to help you start up, scale up and access new markets

Get the App →

Revised PHO on Gatherings & Events (January 27, 2022)

On January 27th, the Provincial Health Officer, published revisions to the Public Health Order on gatherings and events.

 Revisions include:

1. Youth sports tournaments may resume as of February 1

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Gyms and fitness centres have their own section and are able to operate once again with additional measures.

5. Please note, there are no changes as it relates to hotels so please continue to operate as you have been. 

View Order →

View Current Restrictions →

February is Black History Month

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.”  

Actions you can take:

1. Tune in to Canada's Black History Month virtual celebration on February 17, 2022 at 4 PM PT on Facebook Live for feature performances, tributes, interviews, and more

2. Download and use the Government of Canada's Black History Month toolkit

3. Read the joint statement in recognition of Black History Month by BC Premier John Horgan and Rachna Singh, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives

4. Learn more from the BC Black History Awareness Society and participate in their events, many of which will be held virtually online

5. Are you a Black-owned or operated tourism business in the Thompson Okanagan region? Email us at News@TOTABC.com to share your story and let us know how we can help amplify your business

Paid Sick Leave Survey | Open Until February 10, 2022

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.

This survey will be open until Thursday, February 10, 2022.

Take Survey →

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.

Visit the FAQ to better understand this policy.