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Hi everyone,

March historically is a month where we start to feel a glimmer of hope that Spring is around the corner. If you have school-aged kids, then it is the month of Spring Break, and maybe you are packing a suitcase for a sunny destination.  In Langley, we historically see record-breaking crowds at the Langley Events Centre while highschool teams and their fans pack the building to play in Provincial Championship games.  This year, none of that is true other than maybe that glimmer of hope for Spring.  Many conversations I have had recently seem to reference March 2020 in the way we talk about significant historical events "do you remember where you were when....".  If I were to play that game, about this time last year, Daniella and I had our suitcases packed, and we were headed to Victoria for the annual Tourism Industry Conference.  The conference is always a highlight of my year. I have been working in the Tourism Industry for almost 30 years, so not only do I love all the inspiring speakers and hearing about trends and predictions it is a chance to see many former colleagues.  Last year was no different, we attended sessions including - Video Marketing Trends and How to Master Them, The Future of Transportation in British Columbia, The Road to 2030 – A Strategic Vision for the BC Wine Industry, How to Build a Film Tourism Legacy, John Furlong presented -  Inside the Games that Changed a Country and Caroline Beteta, CEO of Visit California was one of the last presenters with a session that I have often reflected back on this past year - Charting California’s Recovery from Several Years of Wildfires.  Little did we know how instrumental that word RECOVERY would become!  My first "career" boss Rick Antonson, former CEO of Tourism Vancouver was presented with a lifetime achievement award and we left the conference inspired to come back home and invite visitors to the Township of Langley.  No spoiler alert here, we came back and for the first time in my near 30 year tourism career, we worked long hours figuring out how to tell people to stay home but inspire them to visit when the time was right.  

Next week the Tourism Industry Conference is taking a virtual approach and last week I sent out the details of the conference and offered to pay for some of our stakeholders to attend.  We did have several people ask to participate but we have a few more registrations in our allotment.  If you are interested, please reply and I will register you.

Below, I have rounded up pieces of other industry newsletters I receive and am sharing information I hope you will find useful.  

Erinn and Daniella 

      

INDUSTRY NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES

Stay Local, Support Local Influencer Guides        

In December, Destination BC reached out to us and asked for help identifying a local influencer they could work with on a series of Local Guides.  They picked Meray Froese to showcase her best tips on how to stay local and support local businesses over the holidays and beyond. Meray's real-time Instagram stories not only showcased her favourite local businesses, but also outlined the health and safety precautions businesses are taking to keep customers safe. Destination BC amplified her stories to their 555,000+ followers on Instagram, and also utilized the Instagram Guide tool to create helpful lists featuring Meray and other community influencer's local recommendations. To date, the Instagram stories featured on the influencers’ channels and their channel have earned 2.5 million impressions.  You can see Meray's Langley Guide HERE.

Good news from the Aviation world

In February we heard some great news for the Fraser Valley as Flair Airlines will enter the Fraser Valley with 25 weekly flights starting in August.  Full details are available here.

Share Your Love for BC                

Destination BC has launched the Share Your Love for BC Contest, an engagement and advocacy initiative for British Columbia residents to re-ignite their pride of place, share their love for their province, and keep the magic of BC top of mind.

From the ability to access awe inspiring nature at our doorstep, to experiencing diverse cultures, our award-winning culinary scene, and the sense of calm that comes from the sound of a crashing coastal wave, there are countless reasons – big and small – why British Columbians feel grateful to call this province home. From now until March 26, BC residents (ages 19+) are invited to share their own reasons why they love BC or their community, by submitting a photo and brief story on ShareYourLoveforBC.com, for their chance to win one of ten prizes.

Ten residents will each win $500 in gift cards or vouchers to spend at up to three local businesses, within their own community, to further support Destination BC’s Stay Local, Support Local initiative. Winners will be selected by random draw at the end of the contest period and announced on social media. Throughout the contest, Destination BC will also share some of the submissions on its social media channels.

To enter the contest, or for more information including contest rules & regulations, please visit ShareYourLoveforBC.com.

TIABC Sector Videos 

This week TIABC released the second in a series of sector specific videos on the extensive protocols businesses have implemented to ensure the health and safety of guests, employees, government and other stakeholders. The first video focused on the hotel sector while this new PSA provides insight into the Public Health Officer’s orders and direction to the bars and pubs sector. We encourage you to share the videos via email or social media to help spread the word on how hard the industry is working to keep customers safe.  You may recognize some Langley locations in both videos as we were asked to help share some of the content we have been building.

Additional videos focusing on the Attractions and Restaurant/food services sector will be released within the next week. Stay tuned.

      

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada in partnership with TIABC is happy to offer these free, online webinars to tourism operators and organization on culinary tourism development. Five themed webinars will assist small and medium tourism operators and partners develop culinary tourism strategies to maintain their businesses and attract domestic visitors and international visitors once Canada is ready to welcome them again. Register today!

Attracting Culinary Tourists Webinar 

Friday, March 12th at 9 am PST (11 am MST)

This webinar will be delivered Friday, March 12th as part of the upcoming BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference 

Multisensory Experience Development Webinar 

Tuesday, March 16th at 10 am PST 

Partnering For Success Webinar 

Thursday, March 18th at 9 am PST 

Growing Agritourism Webinar

Thursday, March 25th at 8 am PST

Exceeding Expectations Webinar 

Wednesday, March 31st at 8 am PST

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