Dear Members, partners and subscribers,
During difficult times, our appreciation for those working behind the scenes to support our industry grows and this is certainly the case with the Tourism Industry Association of BC. This organization consistently represents the needs of all tourism businesses and organizations in BC, and their work during this pandemic has and continues to make a positive difference.
Their most recent COVID-19 bulletin provides an update on advocacy for additional funding support, restrictions and their impacts, and more. Subscribe here .
Since early November, Tourism Tofino has been supporting the province’s recommendation against non-essential travel. Paid advertising was stopped and will not resume until this advisory is lifted. In the meantime, we are sharing content through our social channels, reminding our followers that now is not the time to travel, yet keeping them yearning for our destination and inspiring them to book a trip – once allowed.
Despite this messaging (echoing that of Destination BC and Tourism Vancouver Island), we see that BC residents are choosing to travel and are selecting places like Tofino where there are wide open spaces and a large selection of self-contained accommodation options. At this time, most of the visitors using our Visitor Centre are from Vancouver Island and numbers are well below normal levels.
It is indeed a difficult and conflicting time for our industry and we commend the many local businesses who have and continue to demonstrate adaptability and maintain strict safety protocols while still providing excellent hospitality to the people who have made the choice to travel.
The Tourism Tofino team continues to provide our members and community with tools to help everyone navigate the current challenges, while we also look ahead to better days. Some of these tools include the ‘What’s Open’ information, Travelling to Tofino During COVID-19 website resource, Welcome to Tofino video and brochure encouraging responsible travel, employee on-boarding ‘How To – Thrive In Tofino’ video, and a 7-day a week Visitor Services team that is always available to help.