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Advocacy & Policy

TIABC Policies, Advocacy, Positions & Correspondence

Advocacy

TIABC leverages advocacy as a tool to achieve sustainable tourism solutions by identifying the key issues from our industry, our members and sectors through engagement and gathering of critical research to carefully and consciously recommend the best path forward.

Policies

Guided by the TIABC Policy Committee, policies have been developed to advise, direct and help reframe tourism development and growth; minimizing the negative impacts and maximizing the benefits to improve the resilience of BC’s tourism industry. These are abbreviations of the full Policy. Register to become a TIABC member for access to our full Policies.

The Value of Tourism

In January, 2022 TIABC launched The Value of Tourism (VoT) initiative. This project was designed to increase the understanding of tourism as a powerful engine for economic, cultural, and social well-being, and to secure cross-government support for tourism investments by describing how tourism benefits every community and region in British Columbia.

This project was also designed to increase interest in tourism as a career choice, as well as provide insight into how tourism can be a catalyst for addressing major issues and opportunities such as climate change, sustainability, reconciliation, workforce, among other priorities.

2022 TIABC Presentations to Industry & Stakeholders

Throughout 2022, TIABC has been a guest presenter to a diverse audience of industry businesses, organizations and stakeholders. To date, they included:

Highlights of 2022 TIABC Meetings with Government & Stakeholders

In addition to individual meetings and submissions to government, TIABC also regularly participates in the Industry Engagement Table under the auspices of the Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery & Innovation. Tourism, Arts, Culture & Sport Minister Beare, Labour Minister Harry Bains, Dr. Bonnie Henry, Health Minister Adrian Dix and other government officials provide briefings to various sector association representatives on relevant and important provincial measures.

Click below to view TIABC’s full list of 2022 advocacy meetings

TIABC Advocacy Report Card

As the Voice of Tourism for British Columbia’s 19,300 businesses and 300,000+ employees, we present this Advocacy Report on our efforts to date with the caveat that our job is far from over. As long as it takes for the visitor economy to pull through, TIABC’s number one priority will be to continue to advocate on your behalf.

TIABC CEO Walt Judas, BCHA's Ingrid Jarrett, DBC's Josie Heisig, Destination Vancouver's Michael Drake and Vancouver Deputy Mayor Mike Klassen were among the speakers honouring some 800 frontline workers at the recent Vancouver Tourism Awards Gala masterfully emceed by Fast Signs Paul LeBlanc at the JW Marriott Parq Hotel.

The Gala annually celebrates both monthly winners throughout the year, as well as all nominees. This year's featured speaker was BC Paralympian Josh Dueck who won a silver medal in skiing for Canada at both the 2010 and 2014 Winter Paralympics. His message of passion, perseverance and possibility earned him a standing ovation.

Huge kudos to Peggie Terry, the Board of Directors and the entire Vancouver Tourism Awards team for another outstanding gala.

📷: Rhonda Dent
TIABC’s Walt Judas, TOTA’s Ellen Walker Matthews and Travel Penticton’s Thom Tischik connected at the opening reception of the TOTA Summit in Vernon this week. Walt was one of the Summit speakers and spoke about the new political landscape in BC following last week’s provincial election. 

At the TOTA AGM on Tuesday, TIABC Director Sandra Oldfield was elected as TOTA’s new board chair.
TIABC CEO Walt Judas presented to delegates at the Kootenay Rockies Summit in Nelson where he spoke about what the final election results will mean for the tourism sector in BC.  He also moderated a panel discussion on emergency management featuring BCHA's Ingrid Jarrett, HatchComms' Kate Colley, and Kootenay Rockies Tourism's Corrine Bundschuh. The Kootenay Rockies region represents about 10% of British Columbia's annual tourism revenues.
CEO Walt Judas spoke about TIABC's advocacy priorities at the Northern BC Tourism Association (NBCTA) Summit in Prince George this week. It was the first in-person NBCTA conference in five years and attracted close to 100 delegates including Smithers tourism operator Al McCreary who is the past president of ABLE BC.

Delegates heard from several speakers on topics ranging from tourism crisis communications preparedness and sustainability, to AI and trail building with Indigenous partners. The Summit continues through Thursday with sessions on place making, innovation and marketing.
🍁 Happy Thanksgiving! 🍂 

In observance of Thanksgiving, our offices will be closed on Monday, October 14th. We will resume regular business hours on Tuesday, October 15th. 

Wishing you a joyful and safe Thanksgiving Holiday with family, friends, and loved ones.
2025 BC Tourism Industry Conference 

We’re excited to share that the conference program overview, registration rates, and hotel room booking details for the 2025 BC Tourism Industry Conference are now available to view on our website.

Explore the program overview. While detailed timing will be released later this fall, we're pleased to announce that the program will return to the Wednesday-to-Friday format. Mark your calendars for March 5-7, 2025, and stay tuned for updates on keynote speakers, engaging sessions, networking opportunities, and more.

Visit the conference website through link in bio! 👆🔗 

We look forward to seeing you in Vancouver next year!