Monday, October 24

1:00 - 4:00pm

Online Marketing Workshop

Hosted by:

This 3-hour Tourism Business Essentials workshop will focus on the importance of an online marketing strategy, including social media activities and managing your business’ online reputation. Resources include Tourism BC’s recently released Online Reputation Management guide and the soon-to-be released Online Marketing guide. Click here for more details on these and other guides. Registration is complimentary, but you must pre-register for this workshop. To register, please email Brittney Crump (Brittney.crump@gov.bc.ca), Community Development Coordinator, Tourism BC.

1:00 - 4:00pm

5th Annual Tourism & Hospitality Student Case Competition - Join students from around BC as they tackle industry issues. Learn first-hand why this event is rated one of TIC’s top sessions year over year!

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3:30-5:00pm

Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC) Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) - The TIABC Board will be ‘reset’ in this important industry gathering. Twelve Board seats, a 50% increase from the past model, are up for election. Results will be announced, plus there will be key updates on all priority policies.

TIABC MEMBERS ONLY.

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6:00-9:00pm

Opening Reception/Networking - Crystal Garden (opposite the Victoria Conference Centre)

Tuesday, October 25

7:30 - 9:30am

Breakfast & Official Conference Opening

Keynote: Daniel Levine, Avant-Guide Institute

What Meaningful Tourism Means to British Columbia - How BC tourism will thrive from global trends in 2012 and beyond

How have these changing economic times affected consumer's values and attitudes? What is motivating them to make travel and lifestyle decisions?

Based on new research from Levine's forthcoming book, this extraordinary one-of-a-kind presentation reveals how successful tourism businesses and destinations will not just survive, but thrive, by turning change into profitable opportunities. Spotlighting remarkably original cases, Daniel demonstrates how creative companies from a wide range of industries are profiting and prospering from shifting social values in both North America and Asia. Then he explores how BC tourism stakeholders can take advantage of these same trends in innovative new ways to attract both foreign and domestic visitors and increase sales. While this presentation is inspirational, funny and packed with amazing visuals, the focus is on the practical.

You will learn about powerful new trends that will significantly impact your work, discover straightforward strategies to take advantage of these developments, and walk away with remarkable insights, tactics and motivations you can immediately put to use.

10:00-11:30am

Keynote: Grant McCracken, Cultural Anthropologist

BC as a Moveable Feast! Cultural Secrets and BC Tourism

Presented by Grant McCracken, an anthropologist who has studied American culture and business for 25 years. Grant has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show and worked for many corporate clients including Coca-Cola Company, IBM, IKEA and Kimberly Clark. Author of several books, his latest Chief Culture Officer argues that culture now creates so much opportunity and danger for the corporation, requiring senior managers to focus on it full-time.

Grant McCracken’s presentation looks at using culture to promote BC and the tourism industry. Using four cultural trends Grant will show how these can boost visits and engagement in big cities and small ones, for traditional tourists and more experimental ones. Like every market, tourism has fragmented from one big market, to many smaller ones and we can use culture as a way to find the niches and work with them all.

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12:15-1:45pm

Lunch/DMO Professional Excellence Award - Sponsored, selected and presented by Simpleview

This new annual award is presented to the DMO who demonstrates outstanding performance and operational excellence in the following areas:

-Providing professional service and support to visitors and prospective clients
-Driving business to industry partners and community stakeholders
-Creating a reliable framework for DMO relevance and accountability by establishing key metrics and reporting best practices.

Keynote - Premier Christy Clark

This year's BC Tourism Industry Conference (TIC) will include a keynote address from the Premier of British Columbia, the Honourable Christy Clark. The Premier is the chief architect of a bold Jobs Plan for BC that includes a strategic focus on tourism, international education and transportation. This will be the Premier's first formal address to the tourism industry and emphasizes her government's commitment to our sector.

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2:00-2:45pm

Concurrent Sessions (choice of three concurrent sessions)

A1: Authenticity: Putting the ‘Super’ in Super, Natural British Columbia (c)

British Columbia has promoted itself using the tourism tag-line ‘Super, Natural British Columbia’(c) since the early 1980s, placing the spotlight on the province’s natural splendour. But some say the ‘super’ in ‘Super, Natural’ (c) is the culture of memorable characters in vibrant communities across the province, from cowboys in the Cariboo to beach bums in Tofino. As we look to culture as an increasingly-important component of our tourism product offering, we encounter challenging issues, many of which fall into the topic of ‘authenticity.’ Is the culture on offer ‘real,’ is it truthful and accurate, does it really reflect the special qualities of our BC communities? This presentation shows why tourism operators should care about cultural authenticity, and looks at the tools BC is bringing to bear on measuring and maintaining authenticity in tourism products, including the “Authentic Aboriginal” Tourism Product/Service Program tool from AtBC, and the newest addition to the TBC Tourism Business Essentials series, a guidebook on cultural and heritage tourism. It concludes with observations by one of BC’s most-experienced cultural tourism operators on the challenges and rewards of authenticity.

A2: Five Key Social Media Trends in the Tourism Industry

Social media has dramatically changed how travelers research trips, make decisions and interact with brands. This session will address five key trends that will shape online travel marketing in 2012 and beyond:

• Collaboration
• Integration
• “Co-opetition”
• Social Media Outreach &
• User Generated Content

Drawing social media best practice examples from the tourism industry, presenters will examine how tourism businesses are leveraging these trends to build awareness, engage travelers, drive loyalty and generate advocacy.

A3: Are you getting your share of the meetings business?

Several BC destinations share their perspectives on the importance of working with the community and sharing resources to bring meetings and events to your community – large or small.. Communities that live in the shadow of the ‘Golden Triangle’ have had to develop their own opportunities. Learn from their and other successes, how this market is changing and what you need to do to attract the meetings business.

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3:00-3:45pm

Concurrent Sessions (choice of three concurrent sessions)

B1: Labour shortages are returning. Are you ready?

Labour shortages in BC’s tourism and hospitality industry are expected to return in full force by 2012 as the global economy recovers and the first wave of baby boomers begin retiring. Forecast projects that by 2020 the industry will have more than 100,000 job openings — 24,000 of these jobs may be left unfilled if immediate and decisive action is not taken. What can your business and our industry as a whole do to address this issue?

Based on industry consultations, key strategies from the freshly updated BC Tourism Human Resources Action Plan will be announced to address these shortages, as well as other opportunities and challenges in the tourism workforce. The panel will also discuss other human resource practices, including how to recruit talented foreign workers for your business.

B2: The World in Their Pocket - A Mobile Computing & Digital Mapping Revolution

Smartphones and Tablets are widely used by tourists today, especially for mapping and location based services. The challenge tourism organizations and operators face is how to develop a digital map strategy that can help turn potential tourists into visitors. This presentation will provide an overview of the trends in mobile computing, and show how digital mapping is playing a significant part of the tourism experience. The panel will then review practical examples of how tourism operators can participate in, and benefit from, digital maps in the mobile space.

B3: Organizing and Hosting Community Events for Small to Medium Sized Communities in BC

B3: This panel discussion will look at two distinctly different communities, Merritt and the Shuswap region, and their successes in working with government and industry to grow the local economy through hosting events.

Presenters will summarize their experiences, discuss the outlook for the future, and provide recommendations for other communities.
Session includes:
• Brief history on Merritt’s transition from a resource-based to tourism community
• History of Mountainfest, relationship with the City and spin-off’s
• Merritt’s branding as the Country Music Capital of Canada
• Walk of Stars, Youth Mural Project, Country Music Hall of Fame, Merritt Country Christmas
• The Great Canadian Bike Rally - who, what, why, where, when
• Brief description of the new Shuswap Brand/Image and the importance of this brand recognition when bringing new events into the region
• Benefits of hosting events – financial and non-financial
• Importance of the partnership between the City/Region and Event Organizers
• The importance of community buy-in, stakeholders, and sponsors
• Local Government involvement – recognizing the requirement to invest
• Marketing & advertising
• Volunteers

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4:15-5:00pm

Concurrent Sessions (choice of three concurrent sessions)

C1: TBA

C2: Global Market Demand & the Signature Experiences Collection

How travellers make their vacation decisions is changing. What trends are impacting the tourism industry & travel decisions? How can you be prepared to meet the needs of the new traveller in today’s competitive market? Hear from the Canadian Tourism Commission on key global trends and the opportunity that exists for Canada’s tourism industry businesses to work together to collectively enhance our competitiveness by becoming part of the CTC’s Signature Experiences Collection.

C3: Connecting with Students – Access the Future of Your Business

Learn tips and tools for attracting and working with BC’s post-secondary tourism students. The session will feature highlights from Monday’s award-winning case competition teams and offer powerful takeaways including a CD filled with student resumes.

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6:00-6:30pm

BC Tourism Industry Awards Reception

7:00-11:00pm

12th Annual BC Tourism Industry Awards Gala Dinner

The Tourism Industry Association of BC is hosting this prestigious event to recognize excellence and innovation within our industry. These awards represent the highest accolades for BC tourism operators and associaitons, and will be presented during this gala evening.

Emcee: Jill Krop, Anchor, News Hour Final, Global BC

Wednesday, October 26

8:00-8:45am

Breakfast

Student Case Competition Recognition Ceremony - All student teams will take the stage for a presentation

TIABC/Pat Corbett Leadership Awards Presentation

8:45-10:15am

Plenary: Simon Milne, Director, New Zealand Tourism Research Institute

Tourism 2011: Perspectives from New Zealand

The British Columbia tourism industry—post Olympics—is in a state of transition, ands this presents an opportunity to compare practices with similar overseas jurisdictions. The New Zealand tourism industry has enough similarities (population base, comparable range of tourism experiences, Pacific Rim location) that we can benefit by building links with this nation, and learning from each other. Simon Milne will present a high-level “report card” of how the Industry in NZ is doing, and suggest opportunities for collaboration with BC colleagues. Topics will include:

• The global recession and impacts on tourism - how is New Zealand coping?
• The destination marketing model - has NZ got this right? How effective have recent campaigns been?
• Exchange rates - what impact has there been on the NZ industry?
• Air access issues – what is the current status, and what are future implications for NZ tourism?
• Increasing tourism’s economic benefits - innovative approaches to slow travel.
• Lessons learned in tourism crisis management— industry experiences with the recent Christchurch earthquake and volcanic ash related air disruptions.
• Building tourism’s profile on the political and economic stage.
• The future of NZ tourism-- the hot issues, opportunities and challenges that industry professionals are talking about.

This up-to-the-minute snapshot will be useful for delegates to compare with the current Canadian and BC perspectives on key industry trends, issues and policy directions that will be featured later in the morning program.

Plenary: Presented by Lance Saunders, Executive VP, Managing Director, DDB Canada and sought after thought leader, and Marty Yaskowich, Managing Director, Tribal DDB Vancouver and award winning certified internet marketing professional.

Marketing Myths and Realities: 2012 edition

There is no question that the tools we have today to reach potential consumers have never been greater. So why does it seem then that connecting with them has never been harder? This is especially true in the Tourism Sector where the advent of digital and social media offerings has put the consumer clearly in control. Does this mean that how you are marketing your product is all wrong? This presentation is planned to make you feel both confident that what you are doing still matters, but what matters most today might leave you feeling a little bit anxious as well.

10:45-11:45

Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Update - Minister Pat Bell

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12:00-2:30pm

Closing Lunch

Keynote: Victor de Bonis, COO, Vancouver Canucks

As Chief Operating Officer of the Vancouver Canucks, Victor de Bonis has been a part of the team that has built the Canucks into one of the strongest franchises in the NHL and one of Canada’s great business stories. Reinventing itself constantly to meet the evolving expectations of consumers, the Canucks story has many lessons for the tourism industry as to what it takes to be a winner in the face of ever-changing competition.