Drop us a line at [email protected].

You may recall a film where Arnold Schwarzenegger played the role of a firefighter who seeks revenge for a bombing that unintentionally kills his family. Admittedly, I’ve never seen the movie but its title…Collateral Damage…is a term many of us use to describe harm done to someone or something other than the intended target as a result of a primary action.

I’ve referenced collateral damage in the context of tourism many times in recent years, particularly during the pandemic when government-imposed directives aimed at the general population significantly impacted our sector for a prolonged period. As an industry we accepted government actions for the greater good even though it cost us dearly.

However, the latest collateral damage to the tourism and hospitality sector is simply unacceptable. The BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) has chosen to picket Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) warehouses (which supply about 40 percent of all alcohol in BC) in its fight with the province over wages and benefits.

This strike action means that pubs, bars, restaurants, lounges, and special events no longer have access to ready-to-drink (RTD) liquor products and imported wine and spirits that are only available through the LDB or government liquor stores, the latter option in tightly controlled quantities if at all. Consequently, many operators are already reporting stock-outs of popular items and are contemplating layoffs as supplies quickly dwindle.

As our professional colleagues from the Alliance of Beverage Licensees (ABLE BC) and BC Restaurant & Food Services Association (BCRFSA) have so aptly stated since the strike began, this fight is between the union and government, not the operators and employees of BC’s tourism and hospitality industry, which is not only recovering from losses incurred during the pandemic, but is again collateral damage in a situation not of its doing.

Earlier this week, TIABC was among a group of 19 industry associations and stakeholder groups representing hospitality, liquor, tourism, accommodation, and cannabis retail businesses that sent an open letter (see below) to Premier Horgan and the president of the BCGEU asking the two sides to resolve their dispute quickly, and importantly, stand down from picketing LDB warehouses while negotiations continue so businesses can access the product they need to stay open and avoid laying off staff.

The letter states that we support the right of government employees to bargain collectively, but we can't afford to get dragged into a dispute we have nothing to do with. Although the group has yet to receive a formal response, we are encouraged that bargaining has resumed as of yesterday.

Unlike the premise of Arnold’s 2002 movie, none of the industry groups is seeking revenge. At the same time, we won’t tolerate our members becoming collateral damage once again. If the strike continues for the foreseeable future, the group will reconvene to plot next steps. Stay tuned.

Walt Judas

CEO, TIABC

In addition to the open letter to Premier Horgan and BCGEU president Smith, a supporting press release issued by the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA), ABLE BC, and BC Craft Brewers Guild, Ian Tostenson, president & CEO of the BCRFA states, “Before the pandemic, BC’s hospitality and tourism sector was growing faster than the provincial economy as a whole, but we’ve suffered an inequitable share of pandemic-related setbacks over the past few years. Now once again, our industries will unfairly bear the brunt of serious economic consequences including business closures and layoffs, cancelled events such as concerts and weddings, loss of consumer confidence, and damage to BC’s reputation among tourists and consumers.”

The BCGEU began targeted job action on August 15th with further turmoil created on August 19th when liquor rations were introduced by government.

Note: The BCGEU announced in a press release on August 23rd that they have accepted the province's offer to return to the bargaining table. TIABC will continue to share updates through our various social media channels.

The BCGEU strike is impacting businesses in many ways, including causing province-wide product shortages, impacting revenues and causing serious damage to our industries. Some businesses will be reducing operating hours, contemplating layoffs as early as next week, or temporarily closing down due to a lack of inventory. go2HR has put together an FAQ about temporary layoffs while ABLE BC has put together an FAQ specific to the BCGEU strike (Click below).

TIABC is also encouraging members and those businesses impacted by the strike to reach out to the go2HR consultant in their region for assistance and guidance when laying off employees.

Thompson Okanagan - Ginger Brunner 

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains - Cindy Conti

Northern BC - Sarah Best

Kootenay Rockies - Sarah Moseley

Vancouver Island - Peter Charles

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast - Christie Blaquiere

ABLE BC is currently surveying its members to quantify the impact the current BCGEU strike is having on businesses and our industry.

As noted in the open letter to Premier Horgan and the BCGEU from liquor, hospitality, tourism, and cannabis industries, the strike action is continuing to cause serious financial harm to our industry. Your participation is critical to showing government and the public the true costs of the BCGEU’s strike.

TIABC was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Warren Buckley, former president and CEO of PavCo who was a visionary leader and left a strong legacy for British Columbia's tourism industry.

As stated in his obituary, "Everyone who met him has a 'Warren' story, whether it be about his long drives off the tee mixed with occasional lack of control, criss-crossing the globe to get home to surprise Rilla for their anniversary, or having to sit across the table negotiating terms and conditions. To experience Warren was to witness quiet leadership, actions over words, and giving a part of himself to lift others up. Despite many adventures, celebrity encounters, and business accomplishments, Warren's pull was always to his family."

To support research and work on Lewy Body Dementia, the Buckley Family asks you to please consider a donation to Dr. Robin Hsiung at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at UBC.

We offer our condolences to the Buckley family. A Celebration of Life will be held tomorrow at the Vancouver Convention Centre West at 3 pm.

The Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC) and BC Hotel Association (BCHA) are excited to announce the date for next year's annual BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference, taking place in Prince George, March 1st – 3rd.

Be sure to save the date and start planning now to connect with industry colleagues, DMO's, communities, and government leaders.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more details.

Kootenay Lake ferry users are now enjoying improved amenities, more parking and better access at the Balfour and Kootenay Bay terminals.

At the Kootenay Bay terminal, the existing washroom facility is now more accessible, and there are new electric vehicle charging stations for EV drivers, along with better lighting and parking improvements.

At the Balfour terminal, improvements include a new washroom facility and a significant increase to the terminal’s vehicle queue capacity. Upgrades were also made to Highway 31/3A to improve safety and traffic flow within the community.

Construction of a new electric-ready vessel for the Kootenay Lake route continues at Western Pacific Marine’s assembly site in Nelson. The new vessel will more than double the capacity of the MV Balfour, which it will replace.

Read more about the Kootenay Lake ferry project HERE.

The Harbour Air ePlane team announced last week that the first direct all-electric point-to-point test flight has been completed.

The historic De Havilland Beaver, which was completely retrofitted in 2019 to operate using 100% electricity, flew 45 miles in 24 minutes. The aircraft left the terminal on the Fraser River adjacent to YVR and landed in Pat Bay adjacent to YYJ. This is a major milestone in the advancement of all-electric commercial flights.

For further information on this project, please follow Harbour Air’s Going Electric page HERE.

Destination BC’s fall marketing campaigns will encourage people from British Columbia and Alberta to explore BC. As part of these campaigns, DBC is promoting the travel offers posted to the Travel Deals page on HelloBC and encouraging potential travellers to explore a variety of BC experiences, attractions, and accommodations.

To take advantage of the interest generated from these campaigns and motivate travellers to book with your business, we encourage you to post your travel offers on HelloBC. Travel offers represent a key opportunity to generate referrals to your business from HelloBC and through Destination BC’s marketing activities.

Offers can be an enticing package, an experience unique to our province or include a savings of some sort. To learn about travel offer criteria and instructions on how to submit your offers, view the Travel Offers Guidelines.

Visit HERE to learn more and to post your offers.

The BC Hospitality Foundation delivers necessary financial aid for individuals in the hospitality sector currently experiencing financial crisis; and after a couple of years "on pause", the Hotels to Help online lottery will be back in October! The last 3 lotteries raised $94,000+ thanks to the amazing prizes donated by hoteliers in our community.

The BCHF is currently gathering this year's prizes and looking for donations in kind. We ask that BCHA members consider donating a stay at your property to support. Get started by filling out the form in the link below.

The Northern BC Tourism Association (NBCTA) has a job opportunity! We are looking for a project coordinator to join our team. The Project Coordinator will work collaboratively with the Northern BC Tourism Marketing team and partners to support promoting Northern BC as a remarkable and sustainable travel destination.

This position is responsible for the effective coordination and project management of the region's marketing initiatives including project management, stakeholder engagement, and campaign coordination - including paying close attention to all details and moving parts of complex campaigns with multiple stakeholders.

Learn more about this opportunity and apply HERE.

It’s time to flex your marketing muscles as the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Marketing Association (CCCTMA) has a unique opportunity for you.

You’ve led or built successful campaigns and now it’s time for you to take the next step and show what you can do. This incredible opportunity exists in the Land Without Limits, the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Region. An amazing place of adventure to live and work.

You’ll be reporting to the CEO and working within the tourism industry with regional stakeholders to promote the development of the tourism industry to targeted markets.

The ideal candidate will have a sense of adventure that matches the region they’ll be marketing. If you’re interested in learning more, please click HERE. Concord is managing the search on behalf of the CCCTMA.

Destination BC has updated the Emergency Preparedness webpage and is available with key messaging guidance and resources to help BC's tourism industry prepare for emergencies such as wildfires.

As operators and service providers in BC’s tourism industry we all have a role to play to protect and preserve our beautiful province especially for our future generations.

We all love to travel but are often overwhelmed and unsure where to start.

A new book by Dr. Rachel Dodds and Dr. Richard Butler (both authors are based in BC) provides all the information any parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle will need when travelling with children.

The book offers practical and easy solutions to responsible and sustainable choices before, during and after a trip including how to book, where to go, the impact of our holidays, how to pack, and even how to continue efforts once we get home.

The book is available on Amazon as well as Kidsbooks in Vancouver. If you would like a copy for yourself or to offer guests at a wholesale rate, please contact Rachel for more info at [email protected] or use the following 15% discount code A5WAD2 for the EPUB at Book Baby. A percentage of all profits from this book will be donated to help protect the places we love.

On behalf of TIABC and Board of Directors, we are pleased to acknowledge the following new member. We appreciate their support and investment in our advocacy efforts. It's a pleasure to introduce them to our industry network and readership.

Founded in 1970, Douglas College is the largest degree-granting college in British Columbia, educating close to 25,000 students per year. The College has two major campuses in Metro Vancouver (New Westminster and Coquitlam) as well as several smaller training centres in Surrey, Burnaby and Maple Ridge. With both main campuses directly on SkyTrain lines, Douglas is one of the most accessible post-secondary institutions in Metro Vancouver, drawing students from across the region.

Last week, Douglas College’s first on-campus housing announced. This will be a new 20-storey building with 368 student beds, academic space and parking, and will be the largest provincial capital investment into a post-secondary institution that will benefit both students and local renters.

Learn more about Douglas College HERE.

We strongly encourage you to consider membership or renew your membership with TIABC to support our important advocacy efforts on behalf of the entire visitor economy. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic TIABC identified your concerns, raised your voice, championed your needs, pushing for support and programs while encouraging policy changes.

Along with the ongoing labour shortage, the recent strike action by the BCGEU is causing significant disruption to the liquor, hospitality, and cannabis retail industries - many businesses are once again considering the tough reality of laying off staff and temporarily closing their businesses. Additionally, there are important HR, mental health, and legal responsibilities to consider when facing layoffs.

If you are considering, or have recently moved towards laying off your employees, join go2HR for this practical and informative webinar.

Date: Wednesday, August 31st

Time: 10:00 - 11:00 am

Location: Zoom

Note: This webinar is geared specifically for ABLE BC members. Members will have an opportunity to submit questions during registration for the session.

Register and submit your questions HERE.

The Hotel Association of Canada and CBRE Hotels will be hosting the first presentation of CBRE's 2023 outlook, covering major markets from coast to coast to coast.

The webinar will also include an update on 2022 year-to-date performance, an updated long-term forecast, and a look at the economic and industry trends impacting the sector over the next year.

Date: Monday, September 12th at 11:00 am

Click HERE to register.

Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until September 4th they are open until 8pm. In addition to the extended hours, a 25% discount will apply to tickets starting at 5pm - with live music on Saturdays.

Learn more about the Malahat Skywalk Summer Weekends program HERE.

TIABC would like to remind industry of the Safer Spaces course: Creating Sexual Harassment-Free Workplaces in BC's Tourism and Hospitality Industry. This free online course has been extremely well-received by industry as it addresses one of today's concerning topics and supports employers and supervisors in creating workplaces that are free from sexual harassment.

We encourage everyone to join the TIABC Board and staff in completing the training and certification.

The culmination of WGBC activities, including marketing, communications, advocacy and more over the Fiscal Year 2022 will be reported on in the Annual Report released at the Annual General Meeting. As quorum is critical for this meeting to proceed, please add this date to your calendar.

Date: Wednesday, September 7th - 10am-noon

Virtual Event: Add to calendar HERE

In TIAC's recent submission to the federal government, they outlined key recommendations on behalf of the industry and proposed key industry goals to be achieved by 2030. they're adamant that these goals are achievable if private- and public-sector partners continue to work together, and the right tools and measures and adequate financial support are put in place. 

Your voice is crucial right now in amplifying TIAC's recommendations to the federal government. Join TIAC for a Special Webinar to learn more about the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy and TIAC's submission. 

Date: Thursday, September 1st - 1-2 pm (ET)

Virtual Event: Add to calendar HERE

Join the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) for the next community coffee talk hosted by CEO Ian Robertson. Questions and points of discussion are welcomed as it helps to know what they are doing well and where they can improve your enjoyment of GVHA’s public harbour spaces.

Date: Wednesday, September 7th

Time: 3 -4 pm

Location: Shoal Point Coffee House

Camping Appreciation Weekend will soon be here and it's a time when many Canadian campgrounds coast-to-coast say thank you to campers for their patronage.

Dates: September 9-11

The weekend is organized and sponsored by the Canadian Camping and RV Council and supported by the BC Lodging and Campgrounds Association to:

There are many BC campgrounds participating - advance reservations are recommended.

Visit HERE to view the map of participating campsites.

The MTB Tourism Symposium is a gathering of creative minds with a vested interest in advancing the future of mountain bike tourism and recreation in British Columbia. The schedule has come together to ensure an exciting event.

Date: September 14-16

Location: Silver Star Resort

Click here to learn more and to register.

With the theme of ‘Rethinking Tourism’, the International Day of Observance will this year focus on re-imagining the sector’s growth, both in terms of size and relevance. All UNWTO member states, as well as non-members and stakeholders from across the private sector, are being invited to host celebrations as well as to promote the day and its central theme.

The potential of tourism is enormous, and we have a shared responsibility to make sure it is fully realized. World Tourism Day has been held on September 27th each year since 1980.

Read the official announcement and learn more about how you can mark the day HERE.

The Meaningful Travel Summit is an event connecting industry professionals with local change-makers in places around North America. The goal is to learn from one another, infuse more sustainability into our businesses with the knowledge we’ve gained and roll up our sleeves to volunteer in and with the local community.

The North America Meaningful Travel Summit provides:

Date: September 28-30, Victoria

Click here to learn more and to register.

The 29th Annual Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) Golf Tournament is back! This year's TOTA Golf Tournament will be hosted at the Black Mountain Golf Club.

Date: Thursday, October 13

Time: from 12 PM (PT) with a full day of food, drink, and fun.

Grab your golf clubs and join a team or register your own to meet colleagues, new and familiar, while helping to raise funds for the TOTA Tourism Student Bursary Program for the University of British Columbia Okanagan, Okanagan College, and Thompson Rivers University.

Click HERE to learn more and to register.

Are you interested in becoming a health and safety champion at your workplace? Save the date for an upcoming Certificate of Recognition (COR) Internal Auditor Training program coming this Fall. These interactive sessions will help you to learn what it takes to be a COR Employer.

Date: Thursday, October 13 - Virtual Event

Click HERE to learn more and to register.

Registration is now open for the 2022 Western Canadian Lodging Conference.

Dates: October 24-25

Location: Hyatt Regency, Vancouver

Join your fellow colleagues for interactive panel discussions and keynotes designed to educate and inspire. The Hyatt Regency Vancouver has been designated as the official host venue for the 2022 Western Canadian Lodging Conference. Book your room before October 11th, 2022 and receive a special rate of $279.00 for a King room.

Click HERE to learn more and to register.

It's that time of year again. Northern BC Tourism Association (NBCTA) will be holding its Annual General Meeting on October 25th.

Stay tuned for further AGM details, as well as an official Call for Nominations for the Board of Directors.

Save the Date: November 2nd (pm) and November 3rd

Location: Sandman Hotel, Castlegar

More details will follow in the coming months.

The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association (CCCTA) will be holding their Annual General Meeting in person.

Date: November 3-4

Location: 100 Mile House

In order to better prepare for the AGM, they are asking for input through a short survey (less than 5 minutes) to give some important suggestions on how to improve this AGM and make it worth your while to attend! Take the survey HERE.

Visit here for more information on the CCCTA AGM.

Three world-class universities on the west coast of Canada have joined forces to offer a virtual fair unlike any other. Meet students and alumni from the top 3 universities in Western Canada - SFU, UBC & UVic.

Dates: November 2-3, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Location: Virtual

Showcase your organization and promote your opportunities to students and alumni from a wide range of faculties and programs in one single event.This is the recruitment fair that you don't want to miss!

Visit here for more information and to register.

Sport Tourism Canada and Edmonton Events have announced that Sport Events Congress 2022 will be held November 2-4 in Edmonton.

SEC22 promises to be everything that attendees know and love about Congress – interactive, educational, opportunities for business-to-business networking, evening social events (including an Edmonton Oilers NHL match-up at Rogers Place). View the preliminary schedule here.

The BC Hotel Association (BCHA) and ABLE BC have partnered to bring the first ever BC Hotel & Liquor Conference.

Date: Tuesday, November 15

Location: Granville Island, Waterfront & Nest Theatres, Vancouver.

The event will include targeted industry sessions, the BCHA AGM, a special lunch at Dockside restaurant, networking reception, and much more. All industry members are welcome.

Your feedback is critical in our efforts to produce a conference that will be impactful and engaging. Please reach out to BCHA Communications Manager, Kelsey Millman, at [email protected] to share your insights on what topics you'd like addressed.

Stay tuned for Agenda and Registration Details.

Save the DATE! IMPACT Sustainable Travel & Tourism, January 23-25 and Day of IMPACT January 22, 2023.

Registration opens in early September, and we have confirmed fees to assist you with budgeting. The biggest change you will see is the option of including Sunday ‘s Day of IMPACT (January 22nd) into your overall registration.

The theme for the event is: O P E N

When we come together with open hearts and open minds, anything is possible. We see connections everywhere. We welcome all ideas, experiences, and ways of life—because this is how we learn, grow, and change.

The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC) is excited to announce registration is now open for the International Indigenous Tourism Conference (IITC).

This conference is designed to unite the global Indigenous tourism industry bringing together tourism operators, international delegates, members of parliament and tourism partners. IITC features collective sharing of best practices and networking as Canadian and global delegates participate in panel discussions, breakout sessions, keynote presentations and local cultural experiences.

Dates: March 8-10, 2023

Location. Treaty 1 Territory and the Homeland of the Metis - Winnipeg

Learn more and register HERE.

TIABC recognizes that our members, stakeholders and staff occupy the ceded, unceded and traditional territories of Indigenous Nations across British Columbia. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to live, work and play on the lands that our Indigenous friends and First Nations ancestors honour and care for.