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Tourism Vancouver COVID-19 Advisory – 8 July 2020
As a destination marketing organization and business association representing approximately 1,000 members in tourism and related industries/activities, Tourism Vancouver is committed to providing our partners with reliable, accurate and timely information related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We are obtaining the latest details from provincial, Canadian and global health authorities, and staying in close contact with related tourism organizations – both at home and abroad. We continue to participate in bi-weekly updates with Destination Canada and a range of additional travel-related organizations.
CANADA COVID-19 UPDATE AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
- The federal government has extended the mandatory quarantine order for most people entering Canada until the end of August to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. Any travellers entering the country will have to isolate for 14 days, whether or not they are showing any symptoms of COVID-19.
TIAC TOURISM INDUSTRY IMPACT SURVEY ON GOVERNMENT SUPPORT MEASURES
The federal government has put several programs in place to provide support for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. While these programs are meant to assist operators during this difficult time, we know some of these short-term measures are not meeting the needs of the tourism industry. Government is reviewing current programs but requires strong data showing where the shortfalls are. Please complete this TIAC initiated survey to help make the case for much-needed change. Results of this survey will be shared with senior government officials who influence these decisions.
BC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ‘PULSE CHECK’ SURVEY
As in previous 'pulse check’ surveys, the BC Chamber of Commerce wants to know the most recent impacts to your business, and the efficacy of existing government supports, and challenges your business is facing in reopening. Survey results are shared directly with government. This survey will close on July 13, 2020.
MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS UPDATE
Tourism Vancouver’s M&C team continues to develop new business opportunities but are primarily focused on protecting as many citywide clients as possible, many of which continue to cancel or move dates.
- Many of the 2021 and beyond cancellations are due to a change in rotation of their annual meetings, uncertainty over 2021 international travel restrictions and the impact on the economy as it relates to sponsors, attendee travel budgets and loss of income from cancelling their own 2020 conference. Many need the annual revenue from their conference to sustain their association and the 2020 cancellations are negatively impacting their budget.
- The current list of citywide and sports events can be accessed here . Almost all lifestyle events are cancelling through to Q1 2021. (A lifestyle event would include E-sport, International Wine Show, Pride etc.)
- Bids for future citywide conferences continue, most virtual events cannot replace in-person events and associations need to have their annual conference to generate revenue. For citywide conferences and events that are continuing, Tourism Vancouver is starting to forecast attendance as attendee numbers will change. As the team learns more, this is a statistic that the team is starting to track and will add likely in the fall.
- In US Market updates, last week, Tourism Vancouver attended the first Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals Virtual Conference. FICP is an industry partnership under the BEC umbrella. FICP members are a priority market because they book short-term and will come out strong in the recovery phase. They still plan to have their Annual Conference, Nov 15-18, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
- Through the funding of the VHDA, Tourism Vancouver will be the title sponsor of the SITE Canada Education Day on October 29th, 2020. This will be a virtual event so all are welcome to participate. The team is currently reviewing other sponsorship opportunities with Canadian chapters of MPI, PCMA and CSAE.
- Tourism Vancouver has joined the Canada Life Return to Physical Meetings Advisory Group to gain insights to our Canadian corporate clientele and share what our destination is doing to successfully navigate through COVID-19. Apart from the citywide conference market, the Canadian corporate market is a key priority and will continue to be for some time to come.
If you have questions about meetings and conventions please contact Dave Gazley, Vice President of Meeting and Convention Sales at dgazley@tourismvancouver.com or Michael Drake, Director of Sales, Meetings and Conventions, International, Tourism Vancouver at mdrake@tourismvancouver.com.
BUSINESS RESOURCES - WEBINARS
Restarting Safely: In Conversation with Kory Fawcett (Zaui Software) & Dr. Adam Lund
Tune in to hear Kory Fawcett, CEO, Zaui Software and Dr. Adam Lund, Emergency Physician and Event Medicine Specialist at Odyssey Medical dive into the conversation, sharing their travel tech and medical perspectives on how different industries are approaching reopening, as well as key considerations for tour operators in creating safe guest experiences.
- Thursday, July 16th at 10AM
BUSINESS CONTINUTY RESOURCES
Post Media Local Marketing Grant Program
Postmedia and its local brands - Vancouver Sun and The Province - are accepting applications to its Local Marketing Grant Program. This grant is designed to help the local economy rebound by giving local businesses a leg up as they start to reopen. Grants ranging from $500-$15,000 per month per client are available for the months of July and August 2020 to approved businesses, not–for–profit and charity organizations.
We value your continued feedback and want to ensure we are providing you with information that you find valuable. As businesses begin to re-open, we would like to hear from you on how our efforts can complement your priorities.
Checking for symptoms
If you or someone you know is experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms, call the provincial health information hotline at 8-1-1, or contact the B.C Centre for Disease Control at 1-833-784-4397.
You can also direct them to the provincial government’s HealthLinkBC page which has steps to conduct an initial self-diagnosis:
Non-medical information about COVID-19 is available at 1-888-COVID-19, or texts can be directed to 604-630-0300.
Information and Planning Sources
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