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A Message from the Honourable Stan Hagen, Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts
In less than 800 days, your Super, Natural British Columbia® will be seen on TV sets around the world, it will be front page news and the talk of the town around the globe.
The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games present an unparalleled opportunity to increase British Columbia’s exposure as a preferred travel destination.
To truly come away with gold, our game plan has a laser-sharp focus on converting that increased awareness and interest into growing visitation and business for tourism operators around this province.
It’s an Olympic-sized challenge and one that we can accomplish together by sharing ideas, best-case practices and aligning our marketing efforts with the overall provincial tourism 2010 plan.
That’s exactly where Tourism BC’s new e-bulletin comes in. It’s your link to the tourism opportunities associated with the 2010 Games. The Government of BC, Tourism BC and many partner organizations throughout the province are working together to create lasting tourism benefits from this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
I am really impressed with the work that is being done to capture the imaginations of the world as we prepare for the Games across British Columbia. Already the indicators are showing gains – convention business and visitor inquiries are up, investment in resort development continues to rise, new Aboriginal tourism experiences are opening and others are expanding, and a slate of top-notch sport tourism events are on the books before and after 2010, such as the hugely successful FIFA U-20 World Cup in July in Vancouver and Victoria, the 2008 North American Indigenous Games coming to the Cowichan Valley, and the 2009 Police and Firefighter Games in Burnaby.
The private sector and all levels of government are making substantial investments in important transportation and tourism infrastructure upgrades. Action is underway on every important tourism front that will make the difference between a good performance and a great success.
I encourage you to take some time to read through the informative articles and go online to check out the research, case studies and presentations from tourism and business leaders from around the world that you can apply to your individual business plans and strategies.
I can’t think of a more exciting time than right now to be in our dynamic and growing tourism industry. I am proud to be your Tourism Minister and to roll-up my sleeves as we pursue our collective Olympic dream of doubling tourism revenues in BC by 2015.
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