TIABC Voice of Tourism Newsletter – May 29, 2026

Road Trips

I remember sitting in the backseat of my dad’s beloved Ford pickup, heading from Prince George to Vancouver for our annual pilgrimage to visit my grandma. The truck had no air conditioning. I was wedged in the back with my two sisters and our family dog. This was also well before the technology revolution, so no iPhones, no YouTube, no playlists on demand.And yet, we loved those trips.

We would give Mr. PG a friendly wave good bye and then sit back and enjoy the ride. We had our favourite stops along the way. The gas stations with the best candy selection. The lookout points where we stretched our legs. We played games like Eye Spy and one we invented called Red Car, Blue Car. We sang every camp song known to humankind, including particularly enthusiastic versions of 100 Bottles of Pop on the Wall (my mom wouldn’t allow us to sing about ‘beer’). We rolled down the windows and felt the warm air rush in. We held our breath through the tunnels in the Canyon. We watched the scenery change from north to south.Despite the limited luxuries, those road trips felt like an adventure every single time.

I found myself thinking about those childhood journeys this week as I embarked on a road trip of my own. A work road trip, but a road trip nonetheless. It was a bit of a mixed bag, beginning with a short flight, thank you Air Canada, and then transitioning into a couple of drives through the Kootenays as I attended the final TIABC provincial roundtables of the year.

The camp songs were replaced by the rental car stereo. There was, thankfully, air conditioning. But it was a road trip all the same. And what a trip it was.

I had the opportunity to stay at the stunning St. Eugene Golf Resort & Casino, which is every bit as beautiful as you would imagine. From there, I drove to Fernie and then on to Invermere, tracing roads that cut through mountain passes, river valleys, and small communities that are as resilient as they are welcoming.

These roundtables marked the culmination of a year spent visiting communities and engaging with tourism stakeholders across BC. Over the past months, we have gathered insights from operators, business owners, community leaders, and partners from every corner of the province.

We talked about what is working. We talked about what is not. We discussed lessons learned, persistent challenges, and emerging opportunities. We listened to concerns about workforce shortages, infrastructure pressures, investment hurdles, and regulatory complexity. We also heard stories of innovation, collaboration, and resilience that are deeply encouraging.

Those conversations have given TIABC invaluable perspective.You can read reports, analyze data, and review economic forecasts. Yet there is something irreplaceable about sitting across from someone who is running a lodge, operating a restaurant, managing an attraction, or leading a destination marketing organization and hearing firsthand what they are experiencing.

Road trips slow you down in the best possible way. They allow you to see the transitions between communities, to notice the subtle differences in landscape and economy, and to appreciate how interconnected this province is.

As these roundtables conclude, we are carrying forward a wealth of insight. Insight that will shape how TIABC serves the sector. Insight that will inform the messages we bring to government. Insight that will help ensure tourism is understood not only as a collection of experiences, but as a strategic economic driver.

This week’s road trip may have lacked the backseat chaos of my childhood adventures, but it carried something equally valuable. A reminder that sometimes the journey itself provides the clearest perspective.

Just like those trips from PG to Vancouver, it is the stops along the way that give you a little more perspective; and that makes all the difference.

Amber Papou, B.Ed, MBA, ICD.D

CEO, TIABC