As the COVID-19 situation escalates it’s important that all of our local tourism businesses are providing official information to guests and inquiries.    This information is changing quickly and Destination BC has created a ‘one-stop shop’ containing links to all Canadian and BC health authorities, government agencies and more.   Information is updated daily and presented in an easy to read manner so there is no need to provide your guests and inquiries with a list of links – the only one you need to use is: https://www.destinationbc.ca/news/coronavirus-update/

Included on this site is relevant travel information, travel advisories, protective measures and containment, airports and borders, what to do if your staff or visitors become sick, how to prepare your business and much more.  Please familiarize your teams with this information and use this site as your primary information source for visitors and inquiries.

Additionally, we know that every business represents the Tofino brand and it’s very important that Tofino presents itself as an understanding and accommodating destination so that clients, whether they cancel or not, continue to be positive advocates of Tofino.   This will go a long way in the recovery of business after this situation wanes.   Some tips to support this approach are:

  • offer people requesting cancellations with the opportunity to reschedule without financial penalty
  • if  rescheduling is not possible then be flexible with cancellation and refund policies to reduce or eliminate financial penalty
  • work with your supply chain to charge group clients (meetings, weddings, events) only for hard costs that have already been incurred and cannot be re-couped through returns

Key Messaging: 

  • British Columbia continues to be a safe travel destination
  • We encourage you to continue to consider Tofino for your vacation and recommend that you speak to your accommodation provider about their cancellation policies during this time of uncertainty
  • We are committed to guest safety and will provide travellers with the most current information available
  • For complete and official information on travel to BC we encourage you to go to  https://www.destinationbc.ca/news/coronavirus-update/