Destination BC is providing $4.2 million to support 84 tourism projects across British Columbia this year through its Cooperative Marketing Partnerships Program, to continue fostering a collaborative “Team BC” approach to marketing tourism and to further support the sector during its recovery.

The program helps partners drive consumer demand and increase tourism revenue by investing resources where and when capacity exists, leveraging private and public funds to maximize marketing impact, and creating deep collaboration to improve our collective global competitiveness as an industry, which has become increasingly crucial as global travel restarts. Originally designed to require annual new applications and matching funding from industry, the program has been modified over the past three applications to remove these requirements, in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the British Columbia’s tourism industry.

Over the past seven years, the program has supported communities in every corner of the province, funding new and established marketing initiatives for tourist destinations and key activities such as golf, skiing, mountain biking , wine tours, backcountry lodges, camping and RV, and fishing.

Examples of sector projects include:

• British Winemakers Ccolombia: With the rise of wine and food tourism globally, British Columbia has never been in a better position to develop this tourism sector market. British Columbia has nine distinct wine regions, each with a unique set of award-winning wines, amazing cuisine, and destinations rich in scenery and flavor, which strongly position British Columbia to be a leading global destination for tourists. food and wine. Wine Growers British Columbia continues to find innovative ways to support and grow BC’s intrinsically linked wine, tourism and hospitality sectors, launching a number of collaborative campaigns to support these efforts, including their co-funded, Magellan Prize-winning Wines of BC Explorer. App, with 15,000 users and growing.
• British Columbia Bird Trail: Now in its third year, the BC Bird Trail has had tremendous success raising awareness of the diversity and quality of birding experiences in British Columbia. Working closely with local partners, the Trail provides bird-enthusiasts with bird-centric travel itineraries that encompass key trip-planning touchpoints, including restaurants, accommodations, tours and bird watching related equipment, designed to drive conversion and generate revenue. Serving as a one-stop-shop for birdwatchers, their website offers information on BC birds, birding tour itineraries, bookable experiences, birding and conservation stories, and more. .
• BC Golf Marketing Alliance: Golf partners across the province have come together to market British Columbia as the ultimate golf destination of choice, offering golf vacation itineraries, tourism partner referrals and personalized experiences fully bookable directly on their site web, driving strong business sales and a seamless booking experience. for visitors. Leveraging creative partnerships with other tourism partners such as accommodation providers and catering establishments to create comprehensive golf travel packages, the Alliance is a true testament to success through collaboration.

In addition to sector funding, the program also supports community consortia: a group of communities, Indigenous communities, regions and regional districts, business associations and other community partners who come together to collectively market their unique sale that connects them. These collaborative initiatives help visitors better understand the diverse regions of the province, the unique experiences found there, and the many ways to travel between them, while increasing visitation and overnight revenue during shoulder seasons. Consortia can include regional travel itineraries, Indigenous education initiatives, self-guided itineraries and more, such as:

• Visit South Kootenay (Kootenay Rockies): with capacity in the summer and shoulder seasons, communities in the Lower Columbia region are leveraging their collective brand as one of the last authentic and hip mountain destinations to cement its reputation as a year-round go-to spot.
• Visit the Northwest BC (Northern British Columbia): bring together the voices of rural communities for increased marketing impact while highlighting tourism businesses and self-guided driving and sightseeing experiences along the Highway 16 corridor from Prince George to the coast, as well as Highways 37 and 37A.
• South Island Spirit Loop (Vancouver Island): municipalities and Indigenous communities work together to promote and expand awareness and increase visitation to less traveled areas with capacity, while providing visitors with itinerary suggestions, tourism business referrals and stories about the places that they will visit.
• Crowsnest Cruise (Thompson Okanagan): developed to encourage greater visitation to communities along this key corridor between Manning Park and Christina Lake, while introducing visitors to the abundant scenery, history and experiences along the way.
• British Columbia Scenic Route 7 (Vancouver, coast and mountains): partner to increase visitor spending by creating and marketing multi-destination travel itineraries, events, seasonal opportunities and overnight stays along the route, increasing tourism revenue and driving economic recovery communities along the corridor.
• Land of Hidden Waters (Cariboo Chilcotin Coast): the communities of South Cariboo, Lower North Thompson, Wells Gray and Kamloops come together to educate self-directed visitors about the unique fishing, wildlife and nature experiences along BC’s Fishing Route and to position the fishing route as a route of choice, promoting the corridors of highways 24, 97 and 5, as well as the secondary road leading to Wells Gray Provincial Park.

Links and resources:

Quotation:

Hon. Melanie Mark, Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport

“I am delighted to see the tourism sector picking up speed for the summer in British Columbia – we are already seeing an increase in flights to British Columbia and hotel occupancy rates which are skyrocketing compared to the past. ‘last year ! Destination British Columbia’s cooperative funding will help the tourism industry thrive in communities across the province. It is a key pillar of British Columbia’s StrongerBC Economic Plan and Tourism Policy Framework, supporting people, planet and prosperity, all rooted in reconciliation. We look forward to welcoming the world back to British Columbia. »

Richard Porges, CEO, Destination BC

“Collaboration has been fundamental to BC’s tourism industry over the past two years and will continue to drive our recovery as we look to the future. The Cooperative Marketing Partnerships Program – and this year’s 84 projects that find unique ways to showcase every corner of our province – is a prime example of our successful “Team BC” approach to tourism marketing, we continue to develop and leverage for our competitive advantage and our collective success.

About Destination BC:

Destination BC is a provincially funded, industry-led Crown corporation that supports a strong and competitive future for British Columbia’s tourism industry through a combination of global marketing, destination development, industry learning, cooperative community programs and visitor services. Destination BC receives approximately $52 million each year, out of a provincial investment of approximately $140 million across BC’s tourism ecosystem. These investments help improve the visitor experience, support businesses and communities, and strengthen British Columbia’s global reputation as a destination of choice. For more information on Destination BC programs and services, please visit: http://www.DestinationBC.ca/