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Nov 4, 2022

TIABC Voice of Tourism Newsletter – November 4th, 2022

TIABC

CEO MESSAGE

When car manufacturers introduced vehicles with DVD players, I thought nothing of piling the kids into our new mini-van and driving 18 hours straight to Christopher Lake in Northern Saskatchewan to stay with family at the cottage. Playing videos as we travelled stopped the kids from asking, are we there yet? every 10 minutes and also kept me awake (along with several cups of coffee). We did that trip so often, I knew every line in the movie School of Rock even though I never actually saw the film.

For the most part, the days of long drives for vacation are over for me, but not necessarily so for business trips. Case in point…this week I put upwards of 1,700 kms on my rental car in three days travelling from the Vancouver Coast & Mountains region, to the Thompson Okanagan, on to the Kootenay Rockies region, then to the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, and back home again.

Given how difficult it was to find convenient flights, I chose to drive an average of seven hours each day to allow me to get to various destinations on time. Although it was somewhat tiring, I thoroughly enjoyed criss-crossing BC, while taking in the incredible scenery and experiencing fall and winter-like weather along the way.

In Castlegar, I had the good fortune of attending the Kootenay Rockies Tourism Association annual general meeting and conference where I met with and presented to colleagues/friends, many of whom I hadn’t seen since before COVID.

Same for 100 Mile House, where I presented to the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association (CCCTA) AGM and conference (along with Ingrid Jarrett & Richard Porges). Again, it was good to be among friends and colleagues, especially CCCTA CEO Amy Thacker who is back in the saddle after an extended leave.

My presentations focussed on seven areas with three main points in each. To begin with, I spoke about the changing political climate in BC with 70 new mayors taking their positions this month, along with a new premier about to assume the province’s top job, and a new tourism minister at the helm as of a few weeks ago.

I referenced three recent TIABC policies (camping reservations, short-term vacation rentals, highway signage); three budget requests to government (emergency management funding for tourism, RMI security, infrastructure funding); three challenges to tourism growth (transportation, housing, workforce); three requests to the federal government (develop tourism assets, improve visitor access; create Indigenous workforce strategy); three sector opportunities (tourism renewal, reconciliation, regenerative tourism); and three bits of information on TIABC (member survey, AGM, BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference).

It was a bit of a whirlwind trip to be sure but so worth it for many reasons. Contrary to the days when I listened to kids’ movies on road trips, there were long stretches where I had neither cell service or a radio station to listen to, let alone a DVD player. Even my hybrid rental car made little noise other than the sound of rubber on pavement at high speeds. I tried at times to recite lines from School of Rock to stay awake and alert. Sadly I couldn’t remember many.

Walt Judas,
CEO, TIABC

Related Posts

Walt Judas spoke with TIABC Director Mike Retasket, former Chief of the Bonaparte First Nation, for his perspective on what this day means to Indigenous peoples and what it should signify to everyone else. 

What does National Truth & Reconciliation Day mean to you? 
 
Mike said: Orange Shirt Day or National Day For Truth and Reconciliation makes me realize there is so much work to do. So many things have happened to the Indian people there needs to be accountability. Who is it that needs to do the reconciling here? Reconciliation will require land, water, medicine, ceremony, language, culture, heritage, values and restitution. There are outstanding issues that will need to be addressed before truth and reconciliation hits the ground. It is this groundwork that requires commitments from government that can be measured so we ensure moving forward together.

#trw2023  #NDTR
🛫 Exciting News in the World of Travel! 🌎

TIABC CEO Walt Judas with the partners behind Airble, a new BC-based charter flight and tour app that allows customers to book on-demand and customized flight experiences for business or pleasure to hundreds of destinations.✈️🌟

(from left to right):
🔹 Saeed Golzar
🔹 Walt Judas
🔹 Sarvar Minwalla
🔹 Kevin Adlparvar

#Airble #TravelInnovation #NextGenTravel #BCtourism #BC
TIABC CEO Walt Judas with Hon. josie_osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines & Low Carbon Innovation, along with @guideoutfittersassociationofbc's Scott Ellis and @cariboochilcotincoast's Amy Thacker at the Vancouver Cabinet office following a productive discussion on ways the tourism industry can more effectively work with government to achieve mutual benefits for both the visitor economy and resource extraction industries such as mining.
Your support matters to us! 🤝

Meet Will Harding, Founder of Travel Local and proud member of TIABC. Hear why his business recently became a member of TIABC and why he encourages other businesses and organizations to consider a membership.

Your support and engagement is vital to ensuring businesses, DMO’s and sectors are united and speaking with one voice on issues that impact BC’s tourism industry.

Join TIABC today through link in bio. 👆
TIABC CEO Walt Judas with Hon. josie_osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines & Low Carbon Innovation, at the Fully Charged Live Canada exhibition at the Vancouver Convention Centre. 🙌
🚁 Weekend vibes: TIABC CEO Walt Judas joined a heli-hiking tour in the Cariboo Mountains near Valemount with pilot Nadia and fellow adventure enthusiasts. A thrilling experience in BC's stunning landscapes! 🏔️🌲