April 2, 2009
In this issue:

VCM joins elite group of DMO's
VCM announces a significant internet marketing milestone
Do you Twitter too?
Congratulations to Kilby Store and Farm, Xá:ytem Longhouse and Historic Yale!
US Traveller Intentions on the rise
And kudos goes to ...
How companies are cutting in response to the economic slowdown
Welcome to the world!l

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains joins elite group of DMO's

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains is thrilled to announce that we have been awarded accreditation from the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP). DMAP is an international accreditation program developed by the Washington, DC based Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI). In order to attain accreditation we demonstrated compliance in a wide variety of topics including governance, finance, management, human resource, technology, visitor services, group services, sales, communications, brand management, destination development, research/market intelligence, innovation and stakeholder relationships.

“By applying for and receiving DMAP accreditation, Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region has demonstrated a commitment to quality programs and services," said Christine Shimasaki, CDME, DMAP Board Chair. “Earning DMAP accreditation tells the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains region and potential visitors that your DMO has attained a measure of excellence assuring that their trust is well placed and their business is in good hands."

Excuse us while we pat ourselves on the back!

For additional information on DMAP visit www.destinationmarketing.org.

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains announces a significant internet marketing milestone!

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains is proud to announce a significant internet marketing milestone that will take place this week.

On April 2, 2009 our official regional website, VCMBC.com, began to display content exclusively within the structure of the official British Columbia tourism website, HelloBC.com.

VCMBC.com's home page will continue to appear much like the most recent design of the site but when visitors choose Visitor Information from the menu they will find themselves in the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains section of HelloBC.com.

This consolidation of marketing messages within one internet platform is one of a number of activities associated with the strategic integration of Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region and Tourism British Columbia designed to further lever our combined resources and provide greater benefits to the provincial tourism industry.

For a more detailed description of this milestone please click here for a message from Kevan Ridgway, President & CEO.

Do you Twitter too?

It’s official, Vancouver, Coast & Mountains is all a”twitter” over Twitter! Our resident tweeter, Lisa Clement, is diligently sourcing twitter worthy bits of information about Vancouver, Coast & Mountains and would love to receive product updates, event information or anything that you feel needs to be tweeted from the rooftops! Follow us at http://twitter.com/VCMBC .

Congratulations to Kilby Store and Farm, Xá:ytem Longhouse and Historic Yale!

A recent announcement by Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Bill Bennett shows the importance of heritage to the tourism industry. Kilby Store and Farm near Agassiz, Xá:ytem Longhouse in Mission and Historic Yale in the Fraser Canyon are the three sites in the region that will receive a share of an $8.1 million fund committed to heritage sites in British Columbia. This funding will cover the operating and capital requirements needed by these sites over the next 3 years.

Click here for more information on this announcement.

US Traveller Intentions on the rise!

Finally, some good news about traveller intentions! According to Peter Yesawich of YPartnership, the US Traveller Sentiment Index is rising for the first time since January 2008.

“ Seems like the bad news just keeps coming from both within and outside the industry. As such, we were delighted to see, and are now pleased to share, some welcomed good news: the U.S. Traveller Sentiment Index™ is now rising, the first increase we have observed since January of 2008.

The Traveller Sentiment Index™ is measured in our quarterly travelhorizons™ survey, a nationally-representative survey we have co-authored with the U.S. Travel Association (formerly the Travel Industry Association) since early 2007. The survey is the only national survey that tracks the near-term travel intentions of Americans viewed through the lens of emerging economic, social and political developments. The most recent survey flight was conducted the week of February 7 (2009) with a national sample of 2,270 U.S. adults.

Read Peter’s complete blog entry here - http://blog.ypartnership.com/?p=268

And kudos goes to ...

Our warmest congratulations go out to the team at the Days Inn Vancouver Downtown as they recently received the Days Inn Canada award for Best Sales & Marketing Efforts of the Year!

How Companies are Cutting in Response to the Economic Slowdown

All industries have been affected by the global economic downturn. The National Business Travel Association recently surveyed 320 corporate traveller managers between July and September 2008 to find out what they will be doing in response to the economy and higher travel costs.
Among the findings:

Increasing teleconferencing and Web-based meetings	75%
Sending fewer employees to conventions/conferences/tradeshows	51%
Eliminating all nonessential corporate travel	50%
Encouraging employees to book midprice/limited-service hotels vs. luxury hotels	41%
Reducing meetings and company events	39%
Working to renegotiate hotel rates	32%
Implementing stricter pre-trip approval requirements	25%
Undergoing a temporary travel freeze	9%
Experiencing no impact on business travel	23%

Find the National Business Travel Association on-line at www.nbta.org

Welcome to the world!

As many of you know (and for some that don’t), VCM’s Director of Communications, Jennifer Rhyne, finished her last day at the office on Friday, March 6 before beginning a one-year maternity leave. Almost 3 weeks later (and almost 10 days late) Jennifer went into labour and little Ava Noelle Rhyne officially entered the world on March 25. Despite the lack of sleep, Mommy, Daddy & Ava (and Emmy & Peyton) are doing wonderfully and we congratulate them on the newest addition to the family!