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Jun 28, 2024

TIABC Voice of Tourism Newsletter – June 28, 2024

TIABC

CEO MESSAGE

No matter how early or late I go to bed, I sleep solidly for the first two hours after my head hits the pillow, then catnap the rest of the night until rising between 5 and 5:30 am to embrace another day. It’s a pattern that has followed me for decades.

Experts say humans need a minimum of seven to eight hours of sleep daily to function at optimum levels, yet many folks like me don’t reach that target for myriad reasons. Some rely on medication to both fall and stay asleep. Others try methods such as reading a book, something my naturopath says I should do more often when I find myself staring at the ceiling at 2 am.

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of reading later in the evening to catch up on various files and I can honestly say, it works as an antidote for insomnia, especially when studying dry subjects such as new legislation as opposed to a compelling novel or biography.

That said, some of the reports I’ve consumed in the last month have actually awakened my senses instead of putting my lights out…which is a good thing to be sure. For example, Destination Canada’s (DC) new Tourism 2030: A World of Opportunity strategy is a solid piece of work that I read cover-to-cover before bedtime a few nights ago. Among other things, it got me thinking about where and how DC’s plan aligns with Destination BC’s Corporate Strategy, and what our members and stakeholders need to do to leverage both.

In case you haven’t read it or heard Destination Canada President & CEO Marsha Walden speak about Tourism 2030 in recent months, the strategy explains how DC will chart a path for sustainable growth and help Canada’s tourism sector generate as much as $160 billion in annual revenue by the end of this decade. To summarize 50 pages of content is not do-able in this space but I’ll do my best to capture a few highlights.

A core tenet of the plan focusses on morphing from good to transformative as an industry, moving beyond conventional measures of growth and revenue to achieving prosperity that makes a difference for businesses and communities. From an action perspective it means reassessing target audiences and the timing of visits, as well reevaluating investments, infrastructure and policies needed to better support the tourism sector and local communities…all within the context of embracing wellbeing, cultural vibrancy and sustainability.

Another tenet sets the foundation for transformation and looks at both areas of strength as a country and barriers that hold us back from becoming more globally competitive as a world destination. Workforce supply, transportation access, and digital transition are among the constraints we currently face…issues that TIABC and our federal, provincial and territorial counterparts are all attempting to address as part of individual and collective advocacy efforts.

DC’s Tourism 2030 strategy encompasses five primary areas:

A). Aspiration – tourism generates wealth and wellbeing and enriches the lives of guests

B). Guiding Principles – collaboration, prosperity, public support, regeneration, reconciliation

C). Strategic Choices – target audiences, markets, seasons, path to purchase, channels

D). Strategic Drivers – sector advancement, brand leadership, destination development collective intelligence

E). Key Outcomes – organizational performance, sector competitiveness, societal wealth and wellbeing

Each of these strategies contain a number of specific actions or initiatives, not only for Destination Canada but also for tourism businesses and destination management/marketing organizations in partnership with DC and/or local operators. These include everything from aligning business decisions with data driven intelligence and creating meaningful journeys, to empowering Indigenous tourism and embracing regenerative practices.

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the strategy, let alone referenced important items such as measures. Nonetheless, I hope to have piqued your interest into reading and becoming more familiar with Tourism 2030, not to cure your bouts of insomnia but ironically to sleep better knowing how you’ve contributed to DC’s efforts for the aforementioned benefits to our industry and communities. For the record, Destination BC’s corporate strategy, which you are likely more familiar with, contains similar goals and actions and is also worth reading if you haven’t already.

Over the course of the summer, I plan to tackle a long list of important reports to read, preferably during times where I’m wide awake, alert and able to comprehend the content. For those periods where I can’t fall asleep, my naturopath recommends I pick a title from a list she found online of the most boring books to cure insomnia. Either that or I’ll dig up an old biology textbook one of my kids left behind. I doubt I would get past the first page before my eyelids closed.

Walt Judas

CEO, TIABC

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