C-19 BULLETIN - November 4, 2020

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New Mandatory Requirements for Travellers to Canada 

As part of Canada’s efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19, all travellers are required to provide specific information upon and after entry into Canada. This includes requirements to provide a quarantine plan and contact and travel information. The Government of Canada introduced ArriveCAN in April 2020 to create a secure and user-friendly way to help travellers comply with these border measures. ArriveCAN is available as a mobile app or by signing in online.

Recently, the Government of Canada announced new mandatory requirements for travellers to Canada.

Pre-arrival to Canada:
As of November 21st, air travellers whose final destination is Canada will be required to submit their information electronically through ArriveCAN before they board their flight. 

Post-entry to Canada:
As of November 21st, travellers who enter Canada by air, land or marine modes, unless exempted under conditions set out in the Mandatory Isolation Order, will also be required to submit information through ArriveCAN or by calling the 1-833-641-0343 toll-free number during their quarantine or isolation period.

Learn more at:
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CITAP Letter to Minister Joly

The Canadian Inbound Tourism Association (CITAP) wrote to Minister Joly earlier this month, outlining various suggestions to improve government programs based on multiple discussions with their members.

The letter outlines seven key recommendations including:
  • extension of the wage subsidy (CEWS)
  • support of foreign workers in the industry
  • programs to address mental health challenges of workers
  • easing restrictions on international travel among select countries
  • GST/HST rebate on packaged tours sold to non-residents
  • support for marketing Canada in overseas markets
  • incentives to encourage improved use and appropriate development of limited industry infrastructure to steady income flow

View the letter here
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Canada Risks 500,000 Jobs, $37B GDP
as a Result Of Travel Restrictions

As Canada keeps its borders shut to tourism, Statistics Canada reports the travel restrictions will lead to an estimated loss of 400,000 to 500,000 jobs, and a reduction in GDP between $27.9 billion and $37.1 billion.

The Stats Canada Economic Insights article presents five scenarios representing the impact on GDP and jobs based on when travel restrictions are lifted and the speed of recovery. The longer it takes for restrictions to be lifted and the slower the recovery, the larger the likely impact, concludes report author, Huju Liu.

There is no comparative study on outbound travel at this time, however, the domestic travel impact on the GDP is significant and directly resultant from travel restrictions. The hope is that the projection of job losses will influence the government’s approach to overall travel limitations.

Under the five scenarios, the travel restrictions could lead to a reduction in GDP for the tourism industry of 50% to 70% in 2020 and, due to the interdependency between tourism and other industries, could lead to significant losses across multiple sectors.

"Under the scenarios considered in this article, the travel restrictions could cause a large blow to the tourism industry, reducing its GDP in 2020 by almost 50% to 70% from 2019," Liu notes. "The travel restrictions could also cause significant losses in other industries. The total impact for 2020 alone could result in a loss of real GDP of about 1.2% to 1.7%, which accounts for more than 10% of the projected overall decline in GDP growth. The pandemic will likely have a large impact on the Canadian economy."

In the current most optimistic scenario -- where domestic travel restrictions are lifted in JUL and international travel restrictions are lifted by DEC -- the travel restrictions could result in a national GDP loss of $17.6 billion to the tourism industry and $10.3 billion to other industries -- for a total of almost $28 billion, or 1.3% of total real GDP in 2019.

In the worst-case scenario – where both domestic and international restrictions are lifted in DEC -- the total impact could reach $37 billion, about 1.7% of total real GDP in 2019.

The impact on jobs is equally distressing, according to the report. The number of jobs directly impacted in the tourism industry ranges from 284,000 to 406,000, accounting for about 74% of total job loss.
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Attention Sunshine Coast

Workshops for Shoulder Season and the Culinary Sector
November 19 & 20: 9am - 12pm
 
Sunshine Coast Tourism was one of two regions in BC selected to tap into the pilot project, Elevating Canadian Experiences. Coordinated by TIABC, our national counterparts at TIAC are offering a series of workshops across Canada that are designed to support, rebuild and grow Canada’s winter, shoulder season and culinary sector.

Originally designed to help bolster Canada’s tourism expansion in high-potential growth areas, the COVID-19 global health pandemic has drastically changed the tourism landscape in Canada. This has left tourism operators across the country worried about what this means for their future. In response, TIAC has pivoted the design of the workshops to reflect the new tourism reality for most operators. These workshops will now assist small and medium tourism operators and other tourism organizations across the country in developing strategies to maintain their businesses and develop winter and shoulder season and culinary experiences to attract visitors back once Canada is ready to welcome them again.

The time is now to come together and focus on capacity building content and strategy development. Please take advantage of this opportunity and register for this event ASAP! 

Register today at:
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Last week TIABC's CEO Walt Judas participated in a webinar entitled Insurance: What You Need to Know.

Many in the tourism sector have been experiencing dramatically increasing renewal costs, if operators are even able to renew their policies at all. Insurance is complicated and few people truly understand it. It’s overwhelming to read and comprehend the policy information your broker provides to you. This webinar was designed to arm you with some additional knowledge to better navigate this important aspect of your business, especially during these challenging times.

In this webinar, we covered:
  • Current Insurance Market and why it matters
  • Coverages available and required
  • Role of Broker and importance
  • Potential COVID-19 Coverages
  • An update on TIABC’s advocacy role regarding insurance

Speakers:
  • Craig Burkart, National Insurance Advisory Leader, MNP LLP
  • Walt Judas, CEO Tourism Industry Association of BC

The webinar can be viewed at:
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Golf in Canada Contributed $18.2B to GDP in 2019 - $3.7B from British Columbia

The Economic Impact of Golf in Canada (2019) report, conducted by the National Allied Golf Association and prepared by Group ATN Consulting Inc., continues the accumulation of consistent and comparable data about Canadian golfers, courses and the economic impacts of the industry. Research was conducted prior to COVID-19 although all signs point to 2020 being another strong year for the sector.

British Columbia Golf Industry Highlights Include:
  • $3.7B toward BC’s GDP (up 82.3% from 2.03B in 2013)
  • 52,183 Jobs (up 18.6% from 44,000 in 2013)
  • $2.3B in Household Income (up 81.1% from 1.27B in 2013)
  • 858M in government tax revenue (up 259.1% from $331.2M in 2013)

Canadian Golf Industry Highlights Include:
  • $18.2B to Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), up 14.5% from $15.9B (2019$) reported in the 2014 report (2013 data)
  • 248,878 direct and indirect jobs with as many as 48% of those identified as students.
  • $10.6B in household income (direct, indirect & induced, up 27.7% from $8.3B in 2013)
  • $4.5B in government tax revenue ($1.8B federal and $2.1B provincial)
  • $727M conservative industry-wide estimate on capital expenditures
  • $8.6B in golf-related travel nationwide through 4.8M trips by Canadians 


For further information, expanded summaries of key points, and additional links, visit: aga-bc.org/golf-in-canada-contributed-18-2b-to-gdp-in-2019 or download the report here
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November is FREE Education Month at Small Business BC

Small Business BC, alongside their partners WorkSafeBC, is pleased to announce November is FREE Education Month.

This means you can attend over 25 webinars, and Talk to the Expert sessions during this month – for FREE. Whether you are looking to start, grow a business, or build resiliency during COVID-19, their educational calendar for the month is stacked with informative and practical sessions that will put your business on the road to success.

If that’s not enough, you’re also invited to join us for Build. Grow. Thrive. a day of FREE education on November 18th.
 
Learn more at:
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The 50 – 30 Challenge: Your Diversity Advantage

On October 19th, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development launched the 50-30 Challenge, which is asking organizations to voluntarily sign-up to achieve, over time, a corporate leadership goal that reflects 50% gender parity and 30% under-represented groups.

The 50 – 30 Challenge is an initiative between the Government of Canada, business, and diversity organizations. Together with project co-creators, many of whom have been striving to increase corporate diversity for decades, the government is shaping a plan to improve access for racialized persons, people who identify as LGBTQ2, people living with disabilities, as well as First Nations, Inuit and Métis to positions of influence and leadership on corporate boards and in senior management.

The goal of the program is to challenge Canadian corporations to increase the representation and inclusion of diverse groups within their workplace, while highlighting the benefits of giving all Canadians a seat at the table. The government has always believed in seeking the best available advice when making decisions. The 50 – 30 Challenge will be developed with the help of decades of expertise from both private sector and advocacy partners, and will offer a variety of tools and resources to support participating companies in achieving real results.

Learn more at:
Download the information document here
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#WeAreTourism

Tourism and hospitality businesses across Metro Vancouver are participating in the social media movement #WeAreTourism. We are supporting each other by sharing these stories of challenge and hope. 

This is one story.

The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver

As this premiere summer hotel turns 60, they sure didn’t expect it to be like this.  

In 1961, the Bayshore Inn opened with 314 rooms, along with the original and popular Trader Vic’s restaurant. Since then, the hotel was renamed The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, and a guest room tower overlooking the water and Stanley Park was added to bring the guest room count to 499 rooms. More recently, the property completed several revitalization projects including the guest rooms, function rooms, lobby and all their food and beverage outlets. 

This hotel property can employ up to 500 associates during a typical peak season summer day, welcoming pre- and post-cruise or Rocky Mountaineer guests, and a variety of events within the 71,000 square feet of function space. 

“Normally through the summer occupancy would be in the high 90%, running outlets seven days a week, and have up to 5,000 people coming into the property, and it went down to 10 people on property” said hotel General Manager, Paul Cannings, on how the pandemic affected the hotel. “Right at the beginning of the pandemic, the hotel dropped to single digit occupancy and pretty much every outlet we had closed and we were just managing cancellations and re-bookings.”  

It was a very challenging time for associates of the hotel, and difficult decisions had to be made that were beyond their control. But the hotel is proud of the fact that they were one of a handful of downtown hotels that remained open with special packages for front line workers with the added benefit of being able to offer employment to staff. 

Read the full story at:
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Richmond Launches Business Resilience Program

Help your business thrive in the face of adversity.

The City of Richmond Business Resilience Program helps local entrepreneurs recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and adapt their businesses so they can emerge from the crisis thriving and able to withstand future economic shocks.

The program provides businesses with tools and resources from experts including videos, templates and worksheets that can be accessed at the user’s own pace. It is designed to take an entrepreneur through the process of assessing their current situation, developing new plans and taking simple and achievable steps to strengthen their business. Users of the Richmond Business Resilience Program will also have access to an online community of local entrepreneurs sharing their best practices and ideas, bi-weekly ‘Ask an Expert’ webinars, as well as one-on-one support from the City’s Economic Development Office.

Richmond-based businesses and entrepreneurs can access the free program through an online learning platform delivered by the City’s Economic Development office and powered by Spring Activator, a leading global incubator and accelerator empowering entrepreneurs to build better businesses.

Learn more at:
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Fortify Conference 2020

Don’t miss the virtual version of the 2020 Fortify conference and tradeshow for those in the business of fermenting and distilling - November 24th.

In a time of few silver linings, the organizers of the Fortify 2020 Conference are pleased to see on-pace delegate registrations from all of the beverage alcohol sectors, and for the first time, out of province delegates. On this trajectory they will exceed the registration numbers of previous events. In a year of such uncertainty, with many of the usual industry events cancelled outright or postponed indefinitely, they know getting in front of customers and prospective customers is even more challenging.

The 2020 Fortify format will give you an opportunity to present and promote your products and services to prospective and current customers, not only on the day of Fortify (November 24th) when the virtual tradeshow will be open all day with dedicated tradeshow time, but the platform will remain accessible until December 31st at no additional cost.

Learn more at:
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Sport Fishing Institute
Conference and Webinar Series 2020

The Sport Fishing Intsitute is hosting a series of virtual discussions intended to seek pathways for recovery of salmon stocks and predictable opportunity and reliable access for BC’s public fishery. Each session will be approximately 90 minutes long and will cover topics within this year's theme, Charting a Predictable Path for Salmon and BC’s Public Fishery.


Attendance is free, with thanks to conference sponsors, but you must register in advance for each session. Please visit the SFI website and the 2020 Conference page for registration links and conference updates.
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Together with the Tourism Cafe, the BC Regional Tourism Secretariat is pleased to announce expanded support through the BC Tourism Resiliency Network. Launching this month, Ideas Labs are a series of 30 online sessions on nine original topics selected from requests from tourism operators across the province. The labs will bring small groups together in a business-to-business learning environment to address hot topics where solutions to common problems are discussed and shared, and new ideas are incubated. These are 1-hour online peer-to-peer discussions led by an inspiring industry topic specialist.

Each session is limited to only 12 participants and space is limited. Ideas Labs is a program created and produced by the Tourism Cafe.

Learn more at:
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TIAC Congress (virtual, free event)
November 17 & 18

TIABC AGM
New date TBD

Indigenous Tourism BC AGM
November 25
TIABC's C-19 Bulletin is published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Feel free to send us your ideas on what information would be valuable for TIABC to share through our COVID-19 Bulletin going forward. Drop us a line at info@tiabc.ca.