TIABC Voice of Tourism Newsletter – May 10, 2024

For me the toughest shot in golf is inside of 120 yards. According to Golf Channel instructors, instead of generating speed on my downswing, I decelerate which often results in a divot the size of PEI and leaves my ball well short of the green. Seems I’ve fallen into a bad habit of recalling previous duffs, losing focus in the moment, and ultimately hitting my wedge ‘fat’.

Admittedly, this innocuous example of a negative pattern pales in comparison with other destructive practices that many of us fall into, some far more consequential than shooting a double bogey. Yet regardless of what it is, long-standing bad habits are hard to break and often take months or even years to reverse and turn into a positive routine.

Case in point, some media and government officials have a habit of referring to wildfire season anytime flames engulf the backcountry or a community somewhere in BC. To be sure, there are times of the year where wildfires are more prevalent, particularly in the hotter, drier months. But consistently calling it a season implies that it’s always a prolonged period of time for the entire province every year, which is not necessarily the case.

As Emergency Preparedness Week wraps up, I draw your attention to a meeting that the Tourism Emergency Management Committee (TEMC) had last week with Hon. Bowinn Ma (Minister of Emergency Management & Climate Readiness) and Hon. Lana Popham (Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture & Sport Minister) to discuss sector concerns in the context of various crises, including drought and wildfires.

Among other things, we raised the importance of communication and requested that decision-makers refrain from saying wildfire season given the ramifications on the visitor economy, especially during what we normally refer to as peak tourism season.

At a news conference yesterday to announce government’s new Emergency Ready Planner, the term wildfire season was used repeatedly by media and officials. Because of the seriousness of the subject matter, I hesitate to be too critical but the TEMC, the Tourism Emergency Response Team (TERT), and our various partners have been working diligently for years to expunge the common vernacular ‘wildfire season’ and instead simply refer to these emergencies as wildfires to avoid the messaging that implies that because it’s wildfire season, BC must be avoided. I suspect that given what prospective visitors are hearing online and through media channels, a decline in advance bookings in certain regions is to be expected.

As mentioned earlier, old habits are hard to break but with more education and consistent advocacy, our goal is to influence a change to the term wildfire season no matter how long it takes.

For the record, in the meeting with the Ministers last week, we also spoke of the need for dedicated resources for regional destination management associations to prepare businesses for emergencies, better business and economic impact data following a crisis, a support program for impacted businesses, and assistance to develop a risk assessment profile for all operators.

As co-chair of the TEMC, I am encouraged by the progress we’re making on the tourism emergency file (see other news below), yet at the same time recognize the work that still needs to be done to prepare, protect and help our industry recover from whatever crisis befalls us in the days ahead.

I have a habit of watching the Golf Channel and snacking on something sweet just before bedtime every night. I’m trying to break it by recording everything I eat each day to track calories, find better balance in my diet, make healthy food choices, and to prove to my wife that I’m not the one eating all the chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately, I’m failing miserably…or pleasurably as it were.

Walt Judas,

CEO, TIABC