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We recently completed the 30th, and final, Ideas Lab that was delivered through Tourism Cafe’s partnership with the BC Regional Tourism Secretariat's Resiliency Network initiatives in support of COVID-19 recovery. What an incredible opportunity it has been to engage with so many diverse tourism operators from around BC and hear what they have been doing to evolve, pivot and invest to make it through COVID. We’re grateful for all of the stories, ideas and creativity shared during these sessions! Ideas Labs were envisioned as an opportunity to share ideas around common challenges faced throughout our industry during the COVID crisis. We hope that the learning gained through these sessions contributes to spark creativity and strengthen the resilience of our industry. Three consistent themes that emerged through the sessions are summarized below. 1. Cultivate relationships with your best customers – Businesses found that their existing, loyal customer base wanted to support them through COVID. This meant creating services, products and experiences that provided new value for customers while generating new revenue for the business. Strategic investment in customer relationship management software that helps build knowledge and communicate with customers is an important part of successfully leveraging those customers who love you the most and optimizing their lifetime customer value. 2. Build capacity for a digital-first mindset– COVID has certainly accelerated the need for increased technology solutions. Businesses that are succeeding through COVID are introducing e-commerce platforms to transact sales, commercialize virtual guest experiences, add more touchless services, and create new online and blended events. Some businesses are investing strategically in technology and re-education/training for their staff, while others are aligning themselves with new partners who have the technological capabilities and skills they need. 3. Re-imagine what is possible with your assets – Retail stores that offer private rentals for bubble group events, fire pits designed for small-group winter concerts, outdoor spaces (e.g. the 9th hole on a golf course) that became creative venues for culinary opportunities – the ways that businesses have been re-envisioning their spaces to deliver their own experience, or through new partnerships, is endless. Understanding what the local/regional customer values and responding through amended space design, was key to success. Your pivot to bridge the COVID period may not work out in the long run but there is learning to be had along the way and positive, unexpected benefits that will emerge. A common word of wisdom was shared by many of the industry topic specialists who told their stories of what they have done during COVID. Don’t be afraid to try and fail! Try something, learn from it, then take the learning and try again. There was a common acknowledgement that COVID has forced new levels of creativity and innovation and afforded the time due to forced closures and less business – it’s described as the silver lining by various businesses accepting and adapting to our new reality. COVID, like it or not, has required that all businesses step back, evaluate what they do, evolve and emerge in new ways. In doing so, many are finding this is creating differentiated value for their customers, opening new markets, keeping staff engaged, and letting the local and virtual communities know you are in business! To access the session summary produced for each of the nine Ideas Lab topics delivered visit http://tourismresiliency.ca/Ideas-Labs/. Image credit: techversions.com

The Adventure Travel Trade Association published an article "3 Tips to Emerge Stronger" that highlights market diversification, building relationships, loyalty amongst customers and reducing costs as COVID recovery strategies for tourism businesses. Since the pandemic, I’ve been observing the practices employed by the Bike Hotel Belvedere in Riccione, Italy to reconnect with their past guests, strengthen relationships and grow the desire to visit again in the future. For those looking for best practices in cultivating community and fostering loyalty amongst guests that translates into repeat visitors year after year, Marina Pasquini (photo right) - the hotel’s owner - and her staff, truly demonstrate leadership in the tourism industry. Here are three ways that they have been connecting with and engaging past and potential visitors to stay top of mind as a destination for future travel plans. 1) Private Facebook group for past guests: I had the good fortune of spending a week at the Hotel Belvedere in May 2019. Shortly after departure, I received an email inviting me to be part of the private Facebook group where Marina, her staff, her guides and other former guests are able to connect, share photos and stay apprised of upcoming events and specials. As Italy shifted into a lockdown, and the hotel closed, the hundreds of posts, photos and messages shared by guests within this 2,800 member group, expressing concern for Marina, her family and the Hotel’s staff, is a testament to the strength and authenticity of the community that has been created. 2) Live-streamed Zoom and Facebook chats between guests and staff: Annually, the hotel hosts a Bella in Sella week where like-minded women can find their tribe and join together for some great cycling and activities. During COVID-19, while the hotel is closed, Marina and her staff have been hosting live-stream events online. The online Bella in Sella event drew a crowd of 30-40 women, all wearing their Hotel Belvedere cycling jerseys, some riding their trainers, and joining together to enjoy each other’s company to feel the Belvedere spirit virtually! 3) Ride with the guides on Zwift: With the hotel closed and guests missing out on their cycling vacations, rides with the hotel’s bike guides are being offered on Zwift, a popular online platform for social rides and races from indoor cycling trainers. These events give the former guests and guides a chance to train, race, socialize and celebrate together in a virtual environment - last week's ride attracted 47 participants!. We know that the cost of acquiring a new visitor greatly exceeds the cost of re-inviting an existing one. And once the COVID travel restrictions lift, we know that the competition to attract visitors to our destinations and businesses is going to be stiff. In just 4 weeks in April, Hotel Belvedere’s online engagement from their 17 posts, 3 events and invitation for guests to share their memories, resulted in over 2,400 likes, 270 photos uploaded and 1,030 comments, all exuding enthusiasm to return to the Hotel Belvedere as soon as possible. Are you engaging your past visitors meaningfully to drive future demand for your business and destination? If not, what can you do now to cultivate interest amongst your community to visit later?

We are honoured to have been a finalist in last night's 2020 Chamber of Commerce Awards in the Business Innovation category and nominated for the COVID-Business Resiliency Award. The quality of the nominees and finalists was stellar and we were proud to be among those recognized. As we reflect on the past year of the pandemic and how so many businesses have innovated, invested, adapted and collaborated in weathering the pandemic to contribute in new ways we know there is hope for the future as businesses are doing amazing things! And while we didn't take home the award, the true reward for our company has been the incredible support from the tourism industry as a company specialized in experiential training that is in-community, high-touch, high-engagement and high-human interaction. Like so many companies, we asked ourselves - how can we contribute in new and different ways that optimize our skills, networks and knowledge, and partners to carve our a 'blue ocean' in these unusual times. We knew the future was in co-creating new ways to connect industry, share expertise and build the knowledge base together. When we announced the launch of Tourism Connects in October to respond to the demand to bridge the gap between webinars and 1:1 advisory services, we couldn't have anticipated the incredibly positive response. Tourism training will forever be transformed and it is so exciting to take this time to work with destination partners all across Canada to define a new future, and be part of it! By April 30th, we will have designed, developed, and piloted several new online e-learning and blended learning approaches for a future where new online training will be needed. Special thanks to the British Columbia Tourism Resiliency Network, Travel Alberta, Tourism Cochrane, Tourism Saskatchewan, Tourism Regina, Regional Tourism Organization 8 and 9, and the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism. With our destination partners, we achieved a major goal of coast-to-coast connections with the launch of #TourismConnects. We've delivered over 40 Ideas Labs bringing the voices and insights of tourism operators and producing a suite of summary outputs for industry, some of which are posted publicly, others to targeted stakeholder groups. And, the dream of connecting tourism training at the tactical, practical level for operators is taking shape as we work with industry on e-micro-learning, short online courses, and virtual blended programs to unite businesses through technology with a common need, interest and desire to connect, share and learn together. 2021 will be a busy year as we prepare to launch the Tourism Connects learning portal in the fall and work with the tourism industry to conquer new horizons in the digital learning space. As the Managing Partner for our company, I know that it takes a village, and I'm so thankful to work with an amazing home team (Lesley, Diana, Luc, Paul, Todd) and incredible collaborating partners: PJ Osler & Associations, RWNetworks, Mitchell Creative, What's Your Story, Island Gourmet Trails, GMIST and JEBBA Strategies and Holdings. Together, we are better.

COVID-19 has brought a wide variety of new and unique challenges to the workplace, including increased customer aggression, heightened job security concerns, mental health challenges, staffing issues, etc. One of our recent Ideas Labs, delivered as part of a series in partnership with the BC Regional Tourism Secretariat, explored the human resource challenges and new human realities impacting tourism businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Five key tips emerging from the presentation by Industry Topic Specialist, HR Manager from True Key Hotels & Resorts, Karina Gaudreau, and the participant discussions on how to support staff through these challenging times are highlighted below: 1. Lead from the top – continuous, honest communication with staff is critical for them to feel supported and cared for. True Key Hotels and Resorts's 97% staff return rate upon re-opening their properties was a testament to the positive impact that regular, personal communication with staff by the CEO and property General Managers had during the crisis. 2. Use a variety of communication channels and one-on-one meetings to engage with staff while they are furloughed/laid off and endeavour to virtually replicate the camaraderie of the work environment. Listen to the staff’s needs and try to support their concerns by pointing them to free, accessible government resources. Affirm and demonstrate your commitment as an employer to their health and safety through your COVID protocols. 3. Provide staff with training on de-escalation techniques to cope with aggressive customer behaviour. Create and enforce customer policies related to abusive behaviour towards staff and don’t be afraid to ‘fire’ customers in situations where needed. 4. Many companies have experienced challenges trying to hire staff back or find sufficient numbers of new staff to support re-opening. Exploring non-traditional hiring channels in non-traditional markets has proven successful for some – e.g. hiring through universities in Saskatchewan and online career fairs. 5. Cross-training staff to be able to handle a number of different roles is a tactic that can help businesses cope with understaffing during this period of uncertainty. The full session summary can be accessed on the BC Tourism Resiliency Network’s website.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27th, 2020 Version française Comox, B.C. - The Tourism Café Canada® announces the launch of Tourism Connects®, a new suite of e-learning opportunities for the tourism industry. Designed to harness the power of peer to peer learning and online engagement, program elements aim to accelerate the growth and resiliency of the tourism industry by focusing on engaging learning and knowledge sharing that is tactical and actionable. COVID-19 has devastated the tourism industry. “Like many businesses, the pandemic wiped out our entire in-person training business for 2020 and 2021,” says Nancy Arsenault, Managing Partner. “What didn’t evaporate were the long-standing relationships with our destination partners, thousands of participants, alumni and our network of amazing small businesses that contribute to the excellence of our training programs.” Adapting to the pandemic requires innovation, co-creation, strategic investment, industry collaboration and terrific partners. “Remote learning will only accelerate in the years ahead” says Lesley Anderson, the Training and Development Manager. “We launched a national research project with the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism (GMIST) to identify where the learning gaps were and identified a range of new activities to add value and enhance peer-to-peer engagement to serve a different need than mass-market webinars, 1:1 coaching and formal education programs.” Currently, the Tourism Café has defined new e-learning projects with the BC Regional Tourism Secretariat, Tourism Saskatchewan, Ontario’s Regional Tourism Organization 8, Travel Alberta, and GMIST, with three more in discussion. Each project has a different foundation, target audience and unique content focus. Partner and lead researcher Jane Osler, of PJ Osler and Associates, confirms “the goal is to launch and learn together, share the outcomes and advance sustainable, affordable and flexible online learning that meets the needs of the tourism industry at a time of great uncertainty and challenge”. Arsenault is no stranger to developing new educational systems. Early in her career she was instrumental in developing and launching the overseas education program in Germany for the Department of National Defence and the University of Manitoba. Mid-career, she became the first female dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management at Royal Roads University, now a school within the Faculty of Business. In 2010 she launched the Tourism Café and returned to her first love in education – industry training in support of small, medium and rural businesses. When asked ‘why are you doing this?’, Dr. Arsenault states, “Our team loves the tourism industry and the passionate partners and people we work with all across Canada and abroad. It breaks our hearts to see what has happened as a result of COVID-19 and want to add innovative learning solutions as our contribution to resetting a sustainable future. Tourism Connects® will focus on micro-learning programs to ensure the knowledge can be accessed in ‘bite-sized bits’ and easily updated as the knowledge needs evolve. Additionally, with our new collaborating partner, Gaetane Palardy, of Island Gourmet Trails, we plan to serve the Francophone market as well.” About the Tourism Café Canada® Celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2020, the Tourism Café is an award-winning tourism training and industry development company.

As we enter the fall and prepare for winter, it is important that all business continue to monitor which provinces have restrictions for travellers, and which do not. It is interesting that I received various media notices advising me of the fall considerations - such as this one from Narcity https://www.narcity.com/travel/ca/where-can-i-travel-in-canada-without-quarantine-you-can-go-to-5-provinces-freely In an effort to validate, I googled, Safe Places to Travel in Canada without Quarantine, and what an interesting visitor journey it was. Twenty minutes later, I had been through numerous government websites, including the main federal public health site, endless referrals elsewhere, and found more time on the 'link hunt' than getting a quick, up-to-date decision to help me travel, quickly and efficiently. The take away for tourism businesses: 1) Ensure you have current COVID-19 information on your website 2) Add a 'last updated' date to the page/information for if it is June, I won't trust it, I need now! 3) Add links to credible sources to validate for easy access by travellers 4) Clearly state your protocols for COVID-19, refund policies and measures for guest safety. And, just like before COVID-19, if you are welcoming guests next summer ensure your information and booking system is ready to accept! People who opted not to travel this year, for so many reasons, maybe scouting there next holiday in the hopes of an ability to go. You want these people to find you! I know as I started scouting some possible places in British Columbia, my home provinces, and found no information about next year, no confirmation if they were open or planning to open so ... I clicked on.

In reponse to COVID travel limitations, many tourism businesses have had to adapt to appeal to and attract new visitors from hyper-local, regional and provincial markets that don’t represent their traditional customer. Our 2nd pilot Tourism Connects Ideas Lab was hosted in partnership with the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association and our Industry Topic Specialist Tim Wilkinson, Sales and Marketing Director for Bella Coola Heli Sports and Tweedsmuir Park Lodge. The discussion focused on sharing insights on how businesses are creatively responding to attract visitors from regional and BC markets. Seven key tips emerged from the discussion to help businesses consider how they might appeal to new markets: 1. Reach out to your best customers – those who have visited you previously and those who have made booking inquiries. They represent your low hanging fruit. 2. Leverage the power of a highly targeted digital marketing campaign through Google Search, Facebook and Instagram. Know the profile of your ideal guest and align your targeting efforts with these characteristics for the best return on investment. 3. Consider attracting similar markets/customers as your core international travellers, but who live in BC. For example, if you traditionally appeal to and attract Chinese visitors, could you identify and attract Chinese Canadians living within your province? 4. Explore new partnerships and collaborations to create different value propositions, packages, visitor offers and price points. Guided and packaged travel often purchased by international visitors is less popular amongst BC residents, and residents don’t perceive the need for a guide in their own backyard. Creatively communicate the value of guided excursions and your guides themselves, e.g. through storytelling, to nurture emotional connection. 5. Re-evaluate your visitor experience design. Maintain visitor value but consider how you can amend/eliminate higher-cost elements (e.g. shuttles, flights) to reduce the price point for local visitors, but still maintain your profit margin. 6. Consider whether a temporary discounting program to attract BC visitors might serve your needs in the short-term. Tweedsmuir Park Lodge has created a marketing video for its 2020 summer/fall season, highlighting its unique experiences and offering BC residents a 30% discount to visit. 7. Don’t take your eye off the future – continue to cultivate and grow awareness in international markets with travel trade partners. Let them know you’re open (or when you plan on opening) and that you’re taking bookings. International travel will return!

September is a new chapter in the COVID-19 recovery as we move into a period of acceptance that "This is here stay." The road ahead will remain paved with uncertainty, new rules, changed rules and retired rules each month, locally and globally. For the tourism industry, this means we must be super vigilant as travellers and businesses as the psychology of the travel industry evolves. For example, reading that the USA, with the largest COVID-19 outbreak in the world that is spiraling upward and has eliminated screening at airports, and removed the 13-entry airports for international flights, thus welcoming international arrivals to more places. From a business and airlift perspective this is good news. But what does it mean for people arriving with COVID 19 or contracting it while in the USA and travelling home? We have to think of others beyond our business and community to successfully rebuild our industry and regain consumer travel confidence. The choices each of us makes, impacts others - good and bad. So think carefully about both fall/winter mitigation choices and those with the strategic long-term needs and benefits, communicate well, and be prepared to amend with the circumstances. Economies must continue, closing down the planet for a second time, I believe will not occur. Finding the balance is critical. We all have to make choices - as individual travellers, and as tourism businesses, regions, provinces/states, and nations are connected and impact each guest who chooses to travel. And, we can all choose to support others, share and partner in new ways - together we are better.

One of my favourite gurus I follow is Seth Godin, a thought-leader, writer, trainer, and content expert in marketing and customer experiences. So today's blog is a shout-out to Seth for his optimism which is so important this time of COVID-19 and the challenges we all face in the tourism industry. It's hard, but we have to move forward. I found Seth's words hopeful and wanted to amplify their reach. "If your team is up by thirty points at halftime, it’s not optimistic to expect that you’re going to win–it’s a realistic assessment. Optimism is an attitude and a choice. It involves context and focus. We’re not deluding ourselves with the reassurance that everything is going to be okay (because that’s not productive). Instead, we’re committed to finding things we can contribute to, work on and improve. We’re devoted to seeking out useful lessons and to discovering where the benefit of the doubt might be helpful. Positive thinking doesn’t solve every problem. But it’s a much better tool than negative thinking."

As travel restrictions lift and businesses and communities re-invite visitors, welcome signals are a new consideration in the visitor experience. In the past, in tourism marketing, our invitation meant we were open for business and ready to welcome visitors. But COVID-19 fears have resulted in major shifts in sentiments towards tourists. The compelling advertising to visit, may not necessarily be matched by open hearts in the destination. More than ever, the alignment of welcome signals within the destination is critical to ensuring the visitors who do come feel invited, valued and safe. Destinations are actively advertising to draw visitors back, but not all businesses are open and many citizens are reticent and communities have different levels of preparedness. Additionally, in a COVID-19 era, there are new impacts to be considered such as increased garbage and recycling collection needs due to single-use plastics, waste clean up and disposal of discarded gloves and masks, social distancing signage in popular visitor locations. Researching dozens of destination and tourism business websites, in mid-July, revealed inconsistency and a mixture of the four types of messages needed by visitors, as part of their online welcome signals: 1. A welcome message inviting them to come, or come back 2. Opening information prominently displaying days and hours of operation 3. Operational information highlighting any limitations on services/activities, information on reservation requirements, maximum group sizes, booking and cancellation policies 4. COVID-19 protocols outlining what procedures to ensure the safety of both visitors and staff In a recent discussion amongst tourism colleagues, the following five actions were suggested to ensure that your welcome signals deliver an experience that makes visitors feel safe, confident and welcomed: 1. Update your imagery and video to reflect the current COVID-19 reality and build a sense of confidence and trust. 2. Clearly set expectations by informing visitors before booking, upon reservation and prior to arrival so they know what to expect and what to bring. Set expectations with staff, suppliers and partners as well. 3. Bring cleaning to a ‘front of house’ activity. Cleaning used to be out of sight. It now needs to be visible and reinforced for visitors to have confidence in your business. Leverage your social channels to showcase images and videos of what's being done to keep everyone safe. 4. Train your staff to ensure they are aware of all the new protocols and procedures, but also help them understand their role in welcoming guests. Some businesses have been able to access government grants to hire extra students to help with the new protocols. 5. Align messaging across the community and the businesses. Stay apprised of current sentiments towards visitors by monitoring Destination Canada's weekly sentiment index and consider a community/regional level sentiment survey to understand how your community is feeling about welcoming visitors.

It is so interesting to watch how different provinces are responding to COVID-19 to provide direct and indirect support to tourism businesses, complementing the federal programs. This week the province of New Brunswick kicked off a highly innovative, short, travel incentive program n response to the COVID-19 pandemic to stimulate the tourism industry. Called the "Explore NB Travel Incentive program" was created to inspire in-province travel by offering New Brunswickers to apply for a 20 percent rebate on eligible expenses (accommodation, food and drink, activities, and travel - ferries, vehicle rental, parking). Citizens who spend more than $1000 between July 15 and Sept. 30 with a minimum of one paid overnight stay can apply for a $200 rebate. What do I like about this program from a tourism recovery perspective: 1. It is investment-based and doesn't put pressure on businesses to do more, as they are already struggling with the additional health requirements and multiple challenges from the pandemic. 2. It has an advertised upper limit of claims to $3M, so there is a 'sense of urgency' to get out and travel, claim and be one of the 15,000 benefactors. It will be fascinating to see how many more applications will be received then funds allocated! 3. There is a very clear table explaining what is eligible and what is not. 4. It targets New Brunswickers to keep their vacation dollars in the province. Businesses benefit as the categories of inclusion are broad, and the tax benefits come back to the government. It is a win-win-win scenario. 5. People thinking about travelling in the Altantic bubble may opt to stay at home and explore NB this summer instead, which also could benefit containing the spread of Covid-19 in a province that has done extremely well containing the virus. 6. It directly responds to the summer desire to travel, while showing the tourism industry the government cares. Congratulations to the Tourism Labour Force Adjustment Committee for their creative thinking approach to stimulating the economy for the benefit of businesses, citizens, and the increased travel will no doubt assist the province through the taxes generated.

As the phased recovery to COVID-19 rolls out across communities, provinces and international destinations, the priority focus on information dissemination as quickly as possible, broadcasting and helping all was needed. Now as we move into recovery, access to information is evolving. Colleagues whose jobs were repurposed to serve as information and business advisors are starting to return to their 'regular' job focus, and organizations that didn't charge in the past are introducing fees. All these will help set our new norm. A few key ones for us: Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) has been publishing regular updates to all. In their recent email, you will note "Effective August 1, 2020, only active members of the association will have access to the complete suite of TIAC resources and data. " It will be interesting in others follow-suite. And, as there isn't a joint membership option between TIABC and TIAC, and some businesses can only afford one membership for advocacy, how this may change the landscape going forward. If you are a SKIFT addict and enjoy reading their regular information, it's time to get out your USD credit card. In March they understandably began asking for donations, now they will reduce access to 3 articles a month as they introduce a pay-to-access service for $365USD per year. What does it mean to you? Identify your most trusted, helpful sources of information and be prepared to pay for them as all businesses in our industry need to survive. Propose new ideas to the business-to-business community on what you need and perhaps there are creative solutions out there we haven't thought of yet as everyone has been nose-to-the grind in response mode. Think about how new partnerships, with shared risk and investment, can get you to a new place, with new hopes and opportunities. Budget wisely. At the Tourism Cafe, we are working on a new and innovative solution for the future - as many of you are doing. Stay tuned! We will emerge from COVID-19. Sadly, we will lose some businesses along the way, others will retire or take early retirement, but the desire to travel is there and we will be there with our contribution to the mix.