VCM
Partners Extranet

Tourism Industry Expresses Renewed Optimism on Border Restrictions

The Council of Tourism Associations (COTA), the voice of the BC tourism industry, is expressing renewed optimism that stringent U.S. border documentation requirements will be delayed until June 2009, after the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan amendment to the Comprehensive
Immigration Act on Wednesday, May 17th.

The amendment, if passed into law, would allow for border documentation rules to remain as they are now - that is, U.S. and Canadian citizens would still be able to enter and leave both countries with a driver's license or birth certificate until June 2009.

But the legislation must still navigate a number of obstacles prior to being passed into law.

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The Gas Tax: A Review Of Gasoline Taxes in BC

With June crude oil trading at $72.28 per barrel, a booming global economy and concerns over peace in the middle east, many BC tourism operators are beginning to worry that continued increases in transportation costs will negatively impact their summer traffic. Some tourism businesses fear that higher fuel costs will not only mean a high price for services and goods, but a decrease in visitation rates to BC’s tourism destinations. This could prove detrimental for an industry already battling a high Canadian dollar, the impending implementation of US passport requirements and an increasingly competitive international travel market.

As a result, some businesses are starting to question the imposition of the governments’ gas taxes and whether or not governments are simply ‘lining their coffers’ at the expense of the travel industry. As such, this summary offers a breakdown of the different taxes imposed on gasoline, an estimate of their revenue and a brief description on projects they fund.

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Media Update!

It’s a busy time for media in the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains region! Jennifer Huitema is off to attend Go Media Marketplace in Huntsville, ON from May 21 – 25. Go Media is the media component to Rendez-vous Canada, open to both international and Canadian media. These 2 marketplaces used to run at the same time in the same location, however this year Go Media has branched off to encourage a stronger focus on travel media and harness greater opportunities between media and tourism partners. Jennifer has a full appointment schedule, so we are looking forward to the media leads that Go Media will provide.

Jennifer will be returning to the region with two travel writers from the marketplace, representing China and Hong Kong. These writers will be escorted on an adventurous 4-day press trip through Vancouver, Coast & Mountain’s Sea to Sky Country, ending their stay in New Westminster.

The Go Media press trip is only one of several that will be occurring in the region for the month of June. Travel media visitors, writing on everything from attractions, to B&B’s, to Scuba diving, will be exploring the region, and hopefully generating a wide range of stories for our tourism partners. If you do happen to see any clippings in the media about your business (or your neighbouring tourism businesses!), please feel free to send a copy to Jennifer, she is always eager to receive them.

Please remember to continue to submit your story starters – thank you to everyone who submitted for the summer issues! The next call for submissions will be in July for the fall editions. Keep your eyes open for that!

Please feel free to contact Jennifer Huitema at 604-637-9046 or jennifer@vcmbc.com if you ever have any media questions or concerns.

Show Report

Kristi Wilson and Doleen Dean attended last month's Calgary Women's Show - a first time show for VCM. Traffic was relatively steady throughout this two day show, and similar to the Edmonton Women's Show, there was a line-up of women waiting to enter the show on Saturday morning.

As with other shows in the Alberta market, attendees were familiar with our destination. Some good trip planning took place, and we received many compliments on our spectacular new 10 X 20 booth display! Those who were interested were keen to take brochures, however we discovered we would have had even more success with collateral that was specifically geared towards 'Girls' Getaways". We are excited to return to Calgary in July to exhibit at the world-famous Calgary Stampede!

Kristi Wilson (second from right), Rebecca Vossepoel (far right) and staff from other RDMO's at the 2006 Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show.