COVID-19 UPDATE & GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

• On Saturday, November 7^th, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced new restrictions for residents of the Lower Mainland to slow the spread of COVID-19. The orders are in effect from Saturday, November 7^th until Monday, November 23^rdat noon.
  • Socialize only with those in your core bubble.
    
  • Funerals and weddings may proceed with a limited number of people and a COVID safety plan in place.
    
  • Restaurants, movie theatres and worship services can continue to operate as long as they have a COVID safety plan in place.
    
  • For travel, it is strongly recommended that travel into and out of areas of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health should be limited to essential travel only. Those who live outside these areas should not visit unless it is urgently required or essential and travel through only when needed.
    
  • Party-buses and group limousines must stop operations immediately.
    
  • Businesses and recreation centres that operate indoor group physical activities have been told to suspend these activities.
  • For more information, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/lower-mainland

• On Monday, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marc Garneau published a statement that impacts on the airline sector have been severe, and that the government will work with Canadian airlines to stabilize the sector. Support would be contingent on airlines refunding customers.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEMBERS

Help us promote your holiday products, offers and experiences!

Immediately following the expiry of the additional Provincial Health Orders announced this past weekend (and barring any extensions of those orders), Tourism Vancouver will be launching a campaign (November 25^th) , to promote safe enjoyment of our holiday attractions, displays, menus, events and hotel offers. We are actively collecting information about available holiday, festive and winter-themed inventory and we are asking our members to help us gather that information.  There are three ways in which you can ensure that your Vancouver holiday product and offers are included in the promotion:

1. Complete the attached form to update us on your winter operation status. For the purposes of this form, Winter is described as the period between November 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
2. Update your member listing with your relevant holiday offerings.
3. Send us your assets. We need any holiday imagery (.jpg or .png) or video B-roll you may have, the URL address for us to link to and a copy of your press release if applicable. Please forward these to Caitlin Jones (cjones@tourismvancouver.com)

Please complete these as soon as possible, preferably no later than November 20^th. We will accept content after this date, but with no guarantee that it will be available on the campaign landing page at the time of launch.

Endorsement Request: BC Meetings & Events Industry Working Group

The BCMEIWG continues to work on communication plans and strategy in order to present the right information to senior leaders within the provincial government at the appropriate time. As shared earlier, we have received a very positive industry and government response to the BC Meetings & Events COVID-10 Safe Restart Guidelines. However, given the recent Provincial Health Order, we are delaying the next communication phase by a few weeks. 
In the meantime, we are continuing to ask individuals, companies and organizations in the Meetings and Events industry across the province to formally endorse the Guidelines in order to demonstrate to the provincial government the foundational high level of support across BC.
Please click on the link below and submit your details, it takes no more than 30 seconds. Thank you.

If you would like any additional information please contact:
Joanne Burns Millar, CEO - Pacific Destination Services (PDS)
Dave Gazley, VP, Meetings & Conventions Sales – Tourism Vancouver 

WTTC Safe Travels Stamp Update

Currently Tourism Vancouver has registered 33 businesses who have signed on to the WTTC Safe Travels Stamp.

This is a tremendous response in the first couple weeks of the launch of the program in Vancouver. We encourage tourism businesses who now have the stamp to speak to other partners in their supply-chain ecosystem who are customer facing to sign on for the stamp.

If your business is in one of the following categories, please click on the link below for additional details on how you too can register!

• Hospitality (hotels and restaurants)
• Outdoor shopping and retail
• Aviation
• Airports
• Tour Operators
• Convention Centres, Meeting, Events, and organizers
• Attractions
• Short Term Rentals
• Car Rentals
• Insurance
• Adventure Tourism

Request for Submissions: Culinary Experience Providers

As part of Season 19 of Tourism Vancouver's Dine Out Vancouver Festival for 2021, we have launched a request for submissions for culinary experiences to be featured as part of the calendar of covid-safe food and drink-centric events. Click below for more information:

TOURISM VANCOUVER NEWS

Visitor Centre Update

To help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, BC’s public health officials are strongly encouraging that travel to, from and between the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health regions be limited to essential travel only until November 23, 2020. The Tourism Vancouver Visitor Centre at 200 Burrard Street will be temporarily closed and will re-open on Monday, November 23, 2020. The Visitor Experience team will continue to provide virtual support services via email, phone, LiveChat and Facebook messenger. The non-peak season hours of operation will stay in effect: Monday to Friday 9:00am – 3:30pm. To reach a team member at the Visitor Centre, email or call: visitvancouver@tourismvancouver.com or 604.683.2000

BUSINESS RESOURCES

Destination BC’s Tourism Digital Academy add 5 new intakes (free)

The Tourism Digital Academy is a free, 8-week digital marketing program for BC tourism businesses who are interested in building their knowledge and skills in digital marketing to an intermediate level.
Designed for business owners or their marketing team members, this comprehensive program is focused on providing practical, actionable guidance to complete your digital marketing plan. From setting your goals to building a better understanding of SEO, website usability, content, email marketing, analytics and more – you’ll leave the program with the confidence and knowledge to put that plan into action.

This online program includes:
• 8 weeks of interactive sessions led by digital marketing experts and ongoing access to the video recordings (Tuesdays & Thursdays each week for a total of four hours per week)
• Technical tutorials to dig deeper into specific areas and share experiences with other participants (Wednesdays each week for one hour)
• One-to-one coaching available, on-demand, to answer your sticky questions
• Audits of your business website, SEO and social media channels, to assess your current situation
• A marketing plan template to guide the development of your own plan
• Opportunities for peer support and networking
 
There are multiple intakes, each running for 8 weeks, beginning the week of:
• January 4
• January 11
• January 18
• February 1
• February 15

Click below to see eligibility requirements and to apply:

INDUSTRY EVENTS

Vancouver Tourism Facility Managers Association Annual General Meeting

If your tourism organization has a chief engineer a director of engineering or a facility manager responsible for the maintenance & operation of the buildings, please forward them the invitation to the VTFMA Annual General Meeting. This is an opportunity for those who are not yet familiar with the organization to get acquainted and learn about this collegial professional network. 
It will take place at noon on November 18th at the Westin Bayshore Hotel and be broadcast via Zoom. 

Meetings & Conventions – A Fresh Perspective on Engagement

PCMA Canada East – Virtual AGM & Awards
November 18, 2020 / 4:00PM-6:00PM EST | Virtual
PCMA Canada East presents: An evening guided by the stars, together shining a light on our industry.
Michelle Taylor will be attending on behalf of Tourism Vancouver. 

ConferenceDirectX Virtual
November 18 – 19, 2020 | Virtual 
Bringing together corporate and association meeting planners along with our Associates and key Industry Partners for two days of educational sessions. Topics will include Virtual & Hybrid Events, Marketing Strategy to Drive Event Revenue, Digital Marketing, SMMP, and Case Studies for Safe Events. Start and end the day in the networking lounge to connect with peers, share ideas, and have some fun!
Owen Chiu will be attending and hosting a virtual booth on behalf of Tourism Vancouver. 

MPI Chicago Area Chapter - Signature Luncheon
November 24, 2020 / 11:30AM - 1:45PM CST | Virtual 
Join us virtually at MPI CAC’s 5th Annual 2020 Signature Luncheon, November 24, 2020. Speaker Dr. Rebecca Heiss will help attendees overcome evolutionary limitations - the ancient fears that hold us back fears that we're often not even consciously aware we have.
Lacy Hawley will be attending on behalf of Tourism Vancouver. 

MPI Ottawa – Festive Dinner
November 25, 2020 / 5:00PM – 7:30PM EST | Virtual
MPI Ottawa annual Festive Dinner celebration.  Wine tasting, cook-along demonstration, networking and games - a chance to catch up with friends – new and old! You don’t want to miss this opportunity to support the events industry and kick off the holidays with the MPI Ottawa Chapter.
Michael Drake and Michelle Taylor will be attending on behalf of Tourism Vancouver.