By Tom Mark

Tourism Conference Hits Kelowna

Mar 7, 2018 | 7:38 AM

Hundreds of tourism operators, destination marketing organizations and sector associations meet over the course of the three days as the BC Tourism Industry Conference kicks off in Kelowna today.

Delegates will be talking the issues, challenges and opportunities that the tourism industry faces in the future.

This year’s theme is Together Towards Tomorrow.

Chair Jim Humphrey says despite the floods and wildfires last summer, BC’s visitor economy outperformed many other business sectors leading the way in growth, employment, revenues and GDP.

He says another solid year is forecast for the months ahead in most regions.

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The conference opens today with a Town Hall where the organization will facilitate individual discussion groups on 10 key topics and issues ranging from short-term vacation rentals and ride-sharing, to labour and liquor policy.

Delegates will provide input, ideas and feedback on policies and priorities for the Association to tackle and/or for government attention.

Following the Town Hall, post-secondary student winners of regional showdowns will demonstrate their strategic thinking and presentation skills to a live industry audience to determine the ultimate winner of The Winning Pitch competition.

The opening reception follows hosted by Aboriginal Tourism B.C.

Other conference highlights include keynote presentations by:
• Lital Marom, who has spent over a decade helping executive teams to leverage the power of emerging technologies
to grow their competitive advantage and scale their business.
• Sophie Pierre, a former Chief who holds both an Order of Canada and British Columbia, and was recognized by BC

Business Magazine as one of the top 50 most influential women, will discuss Indigenous tourism and reconciliation.

Conference delegates will choose from several concurrent workshops designed to reflect various components of the

Together Towards Tomorrow theme. Topics include MPs on the Hot Seat, employer reputation, digital tagging, adapting to the traveller of the future, trends and impacts of digital media, reconciliation in action through Indigenous tourism, gardens tourism, visitor experience, sustainable cities of the future, economic transformation, and the future of airports.

Special guests from Colorado Tourism and Travel Oregon will lead a session on marijuana legalization and what it means for tourism, and Destination BC will deliver its annual tourism industry update.

Big White hosts the Thursday night extravaganza, welcoming conference attendees to the mountain for an evening of both outdoor and indoor activities, celebrating the best of Okanagan food and wine.

The conference starts its final day first with a keynote by Darby Allen, known as the face of the Fort McMurray wildfires and widely celebrated as a national hero.

A keynote address by the Honourable Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism Arts and Culture, is followed by the presentation of five BC Tourism Awards, celebrating the best of the best, to conclude the event.

The Tourism Industry Association of BC advocates for the interests of British Columbia’s $17+ billion tourism economy.

As a not-for-profit tourism industry association, it works collaboratively with its members – private sector tourism businesses, industry associations and destination marketing organizations – to ensure the best working environment
for a competitive tourism industry.

by Tom Mark