TIABC Voice of Tourism Newsletter – October 25, 2024

A friend of mine always looks like he’s on vacation no matter what time of day, wherever he happens to be, or whether he’s at work or at a social gathering. By all accounts, his entire wardrobe is limited to a pair of well-used t-shirts, faded jeans, cargo shorts, a blue shirt, sneakers, and slip-on sandals purchased at Costco.

Yet every time I see him in his rumpled old clothes I’m reminded to never judge a book by its cover because, despite his unkempt appearance, he’s a highly respected, sought-after, brilliant speaker who travels the world teaching and conducting seminars for leaders. He doesn’t care what he wears and evidently others don’t either.

I was again reminded of the old adage on judging at the Northern BC Tourism Summit this week where nearly every guy wore what’s known as Prince George formal (PGF), which generally favours comfort over convention.

Regrettably there are still people who mistake the casual fashion style and corresponding laid-back demeanour of rural folks all over the province for being disengaged, uninformed and complacent, yet in my experience, it’s quite the contrary. If anything, tourism professionals in small towns and communities are equally as dedicated, smart, hard-working, and knowledgeable than those in urban environments, even if they prefer jeans and boots to sport jackets or skirts at the office.

At the Summit, as well as the Kootenay Rockies Conference in Nelson this week, I spoke with several intelligent, proud British Columbians who offered solutions to rural issues encompassing access, connectivity, housing, land use regulations, and the painfully slow implementation of DRIPA (Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People) that those in suits and ties haven’t been able to resolve.

In fact, had government listened to rural BC before introducing proposed Land Act amendments, Nathan Cullen might still have a job. The Minister responsible for Water, Lands & Natural Resource Stewardship was ousted as MLA for Bulkley Valley-Stikine, largely because he lost the trust of the majority of his constituents. If you recall, the amendments were hastily introduced and abruptly rescinded due to a massive outcry by the tourism industry, as well as other natural resource sectors such as forestry, oil & gas, mining, and agriculture, most of which operate on crown land predominantly in rural BC.

Cullen’s defeat is being characterized as retribution by an electorate that was well-informed on the proposed legislation and other matters. As I’ve referenced before, TIABC and our sector association colleagues in the Adventure Tourism Coalition believe that while the intent of the amendments within the context of DRIPA was noble, the province failed to consider the unintended consequences on operators in small communities. Consequently, the North lost a very capable and experienced public servant who I always found to be open, fair, sharp, and a person of integrity.

On a related note, hopefully we’ll know the final election results within the next few days so that we can get on with the job of meeting and educating new decision makers, along with the 50+ rookie MLAs that will comprise part of the Legislative Assembly in Victoria in the coming weeks.

Although I could never bring myself to wear cargo shorts and sandals to a speaking engagement, I have made some adjustments to my wardrobe to fit in with the locals wherever I travel. While I wasn’t exactly Prince George formal and more like Johnny Cash in my black jeans, dark shirt, black sport jacket and black boots at the Summit, no one cared about how I looked. All that mattered was whether I was willing to listen, learn and help rural BC resolve the challenges that prevent tourism businesses from growing and prospering.

Obviously I’m committed to doing that but next month I’ll be following the lead of my buddy and swapping work wear for shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops for a vacation in the sun. In the meantime, I’ll be at the TOTA conference next week in Vernon, followed by the BC Lodging & Campgrounds Ideas Forum at Manning Park the week after. Perhaps I’ll see you there.

Walt Judas
CEO, TIABC