The Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC)

21/12/2024

🎄 Season's greetings from all of us at TIABC! Thank you for your support and collaboration in 2024. Together, we look forward to driving sustainable growth in 2025.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year! 🌟

19/12/2024

🏆 Award Nominations are Open for the 2025 BC Tourism Industry Conference!

Presented by TIABC and sponsoring partners, the 2025 BC Tourism Industry Awards shine a light on the remarkable achievements that fuel British Columbia’s vibrant tourism industry. These prestigious awards highlight the bold leadership, creativity, and innovation shaping the province’s tourism scene. With a focus on excellence, the awards set the bar for industry standards, showcasing the province’s best products, services, experiences, and people.

✨ Awards will be presented in 10 categories, including:
- Indigenous Operator or Experience
- Sustainability Excellence
- Tourism Woman of the Year
- Inclusive and Accessible Tourism Experience
- And more!

Finalists will be announced in early February, and the official recipients will be awarded at the Awards Gala evening during the 2025 BC Tourism Industry Conference on Thursday, March 6, 2025, held at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre.

📅 Deadline: January 8, 2025

🔗 Learn more & submit your nominations here: https://bit.ly/3Zs16tr

16/12/2024

TIABC is saddened by the passing of Sun Peaks Mayor Al Raine over the weekend. On behalf of our board, staff and membership, we offer our deepest condolences to Al's wife Nancy (Green Raine) and sons Charley and W***y.

Al was beloved and respected by so many friends and colleagues across British Columbia. The tourism industry and ski sector, in particular, were the beneficiaries of his tremendous efforts as a business person, civic leader and community contributor.

Al was instrumental in the incorporation of Sun Peaks as a mountain resort municipality, where he had been mayor since its inception. Al was a friend and big supporter of TIABC and helped inform many of the policy files we've worked on over the years. He will be deeply missed.

15/12/2024

TIABC Welcomes New Member: BCIT: British Columbia Institute of Technology 🎉

📚 BCIT Business + Media offers a range of industry-relevant programs to help prepare students for their careers. Hands-on training is taught by instructors working in your field of choice, which means you’ll be more than ready to enter the world of business with the skills employers are looking for.

📍 Classes are taught at the Burnaby and Downtown campuses, as well as online.

🔗 Learn more about BCIT: https://bit.ly/41xSoeE

BCIT Business + Media offers a range of industry-relevant programs to help you prepare for your career. Whether you aspire to be a CEO or a digital animator, the School of Business + Media can help you get there. Hands-on training taught by instructors working in your field of choice means you'll be...

13/12/2024

TIABC CEO Walt Judas joined Northland Properties CEO Tom Gaglardi, Destination Vancouver CEO Royce Chwin and dozens of special guests at the official opening of the new Grouse Mountain Resort gondola. After two years of construction, the new gondola gives Grouse the capacity to move up to 1,000 guests every hour and takes just 5 and a half minutes each way.

Grouse Mountain Resort is locally owned by Northland Properties, which has extensive tourism holdings in the form of hotels and restaurants throughout BC and internationally. Northlands is also Canada's largest privately owned hospitality company and continues to invest in BC's visitor economy through projects like the gondola.

12/12/2024

Destination Vancouver's annual holiday luncheon featured two special guests pictured with TIABC CEO Walt Judas: Hon. Spencer Chandra Herbert, MLA for Vancouver West-End and the new Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture & Sport; and Hon. Terry Yung, MLA for Vancouver Yaletown and the new Minister of State for Community Safety & Integrated Services.

Some 600 guests attended the Christmas lunch on the heels of a big week for tourism and hospitality in the city with three sold-out Taylor Swift concerts, the record-setting TIAC Congress, a Billie Eilish concert, Canucks home games, and a 16,000 delegate city-wide convention.

08/12/2024

📢 REMINDER: TIABC Annual General Meeting

🗓 Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2024
🖥 Location: Virtual
⏰ Time: 9:00 am - 10:30 am (PST)

Join us for TIABC’s AGM to:
✔️ Review the 2023 financial statements
✔️ Approve the minutes from the November 2023 AGM
✔️ Elect six (6) new Directors

Voting Details:
Each TIABC member organization in good standing may designate one voting representative for the AGM.

Learn more and register today here: https://conta.cc/3O0ermj

07/12/2024

TIABC CEO Walt Judas with Destination Greater Victoria (DGV) CEO Paul Nursey, former TIABC Chair Christine Willow and senior tourism leader Frank Bourree at the annual DGV Christmas lunch at Crystal Garden.

2024 proved to be a good year for Victoria. Along with being named Best Small City in the World for the second year in a row and the most sustainable destination in North America, Victoria's tourism industry generated $3.5 billion in economic output and $1.9 billion in visitor spending.

2025 looks to be a strong year with near-record bookings for city-wide conferences.

06/12/2024

TIABC CEO Walt Judas joined Tourism Saskatoon CEO Steph Clovechok, Destination Canada Director Stan Cook, & Tourism Richmond CEO Nancy Small at the Canadian Tourism Awards on the final night of the TIAC Congress in Vancouver. Three TIABC members, including the winner of the Employer of the Year Award, Accent Inns, were among the finalists while TIABC partners Air Canada and GreenStep Solutions were among the sponsors.

06/12/2024

At the Tourism Industry Association of Canada Congress in Vancouver this week, TIABC CEO Walt Judas moderated a session on emerging trends and innovations that are driving economic impact and diversifying the tourism industry including the rise of RVing and road trips, the transformative effects of wellness tourism, the growing impact of sport tourism, and the substantial contributions of meetings, conventions, and business events to local economies.

Walt was joined by expert panelists Kathryn Munro of CanaDream, Minto Schneider of Meetings Mean Business Canada, Lesley Anderson of the Tourism Cafe, and Sheena McCrate of Sport Tourism Canada.

The Congress wrapped up Thursday night, drawing a record 495 delegates from across Canada including dozens of TIABC members from around the province.

04/12/2024

CEO Walt Judas with Air North’s Ben Ryan and TIAC CEO Beth Potter at a joint TIAC-Destination Canada Board of Directors dinner on the eve of the TIAC Congress in Vancouver. This year’s conference will welcome some 500 delegates from across Canada for 3 days of workshops and plenary sessions. The Congress is being held at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre which will also host the BC Tourism Industry Conference in March.

👉 Learn more about the TIAC Congress 2024: https://bit.ly/41dcdaX
👉 Discover the 2025 BC Tourism Industry Conference: https://bit.ly/2HAiPWT

02/12/2024

🐦 EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION!

Registration is open for the 2025 BC Tourism Industry Conference. The conference will take place at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, March 5- 7, 2025.

Early bird rates are available with member and non-member pricing options. Full conference registrations include complete access to all conference sessions, workshops, silent auction, welcome reception, and the awards gala. Register at our early bird rate by January 15, 2025 to save on your registration!

The theme for the 2025 conference is ‘Tourism for All - Embracing the Journey’

REGISTER TODAY TO SECURE YOUR SPOT HERE: https://bit.ly/3Rqx5pS

Program details will be available in the coming weeks on the conference website.

30/11/2024

TIABC CEO Walt Judas connected with Richmond-Steveston MLA Kelly Greene, as well as Mayor Malcolm Brodie, Tourism Richmond CEO Nancy Small and Destination BC CEO Richard Porges at the Richmond Epic Tourism Awards this week. The awards honour companies and individuals who embody Tourism Richmond's values of excellence, passion, integrity and collaboration.

Greene is also the new Minister of Emergency Management & Climate Readiness, which serves as part of the Tourism Emergency Management Committee that TIABC co-chairs along with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture & Sport.

On the heels of the Richmond Epic Tourism Awards, nominations are now open for the BC Tourism Industry Awards which take place as part of the BC Tourism Industry Conference March 5-7, 2025 in Vancouver.

Learn more & submit your nominations here: https://bit.ly/3Zs16tr

28/11/2024

🏆 Award Nominations are Now Open for the 2025 BC Tourism Industry Conference!

Presented by TIABC and sponsoring partners, the 2025 BC Tourism Industry Awards shine a light on the remarkable achievements that fuel British Columbia’s vibrant tourism industry. These prestigious awards highlight the bold leadership, creativity, and innovation shaping the province’s tourism scene. With a focus on excellence, the awards set the bar for industry standards, showcasing the province’s best products, services, experiences, and people.

✨ Awards will be presented in 10 categories, including:
- Indigenous Operator or Experience
- Sustainability Excellence
- Tourism Woman of the Year
- Inclusive and Accessible Tourism Experience
- And more!

Finalists will be announced in early February, and the official recipients will be awarded at the Awards Gala evening during the 2025 BC Tourism Industry Conference on Thursday, March 6, 2025, held at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre.

📅 Deadline:January 8, 2025

🔗 Learn more & submit your nominations here: https://bit.ly/3Zs16tr

27/11/2024

Industry Leaders Respond to IRCC Policy Changes Impacting International Students and Newcomers

TIABC was one of the industry partners supporting the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) in a letter to Hon. Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, addressing recent IRCC policy changes related to the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) program and Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) announced a detailed list of 966 Canadian academic programmes that would provide post-graduation work permit (PGWP)- eligibility to international students. Notably, this announcement excluded all international students studying at community colleges and those enrolled in public colleges and polytechnics in programs related to hospitality, tourism and culinary education.

The letter states how this change has significant implications for the tourism and hospitality industries and stressed it is critical that tourism programs at public colleges and polytechnics be included in the list of eligible PGWP programs to mitigate these challenges and ensure a robust tourism workforce in the years to come.

The letter concludes by requesting government prioritize new strategic investments in the tourism workforce as part of the 2024 Fall Economic Statement and the 2025 Federal Budget and a request to meet to discuss these priorities.

Read the full letter to Minister Miller here:

22/11/2024

OC and TIABC Sign Strategic Partnership 🤝

Okanagan College (OC) is building on its relationships with industry partners in the food, beverage and tourism sectors to enhance its programming, signing strategic partnership agreements with TIABC, the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA), and Tourism HR Canada (THRC).

The agreements will align the tourism and hospitality curriculum at OC with industry standards and create opportunities for OC food, beverage and tourism students to connect with industry for Work Integrated Learning opportunities and eventual careers. OC will match its programming to meet Tourism HR Canada’s smart accreditation program while members of the organizations will provide guidance to OC through its program advisory committee.

🗨️ “The Tourism Industry Association of BC is proud of its partnership with Okanagan College, which is doing exceptional work to educate and prepare students for careers in BC’s tourism and hospitality sector...” – Walt Judas, CEO, TIABC.

📸 Pictured: Joe Baker (L), Dean of OC School of Business, and Walt Judas, CEO, TIABC.

➡️ Read the full announcement:https://files.constantcontact.com/23050cbb001/d059b6bc-b3cb-4a23-925d-dda11394848d.pdf

21/11/2024

📢 Register Today! TIABC Annual General Meeting

🗓 Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2024
🖥 Location: Virtual
⏰ Time: 9:00 am - 10:30 am (PST)

Join us for TIABC’s AGM to:
✔️ Review the 2023 financial statements
✔️ Approve the minutes from the November 2023 AGM
✔️ Elect six (6) new Directors

Voting Details:
Each TIABC member organization in good standing may designate one voting representative for the AGM.

Learn more and register today here: https://conta.cc/3O0ermj