The tourism sector has been among the hardest hit by COVID-19, but Tourism PG CEO Tracey McBride feels confident the industry will pull through.
“For a little context, before COVID-19, tourism was one of the fastest-growing industries in the world and a lead economic driver,” she explained,
McBride said, even as the province enters the second phase of the Restart BC Plan, Tourism PG is following the advice of Destination BC.
Destination BC is currently telling people to explore their local communities, although a shift to provincial travel might come before the end of the year.
“Provincial travel will be our biggest source of an audience, and we’re going to have to do that very strategically – together – rather than chopping up our audience and pulling them every which way,” McBride stated.
She anticipates this summer might see a rise in “staycations” as people explore the attractions and amenities found in their own communities.
“Right now we’re still in the hyper-local phase… as things start to loosen up based on provincial health authorities, we’ll change out messaging to encourage people to travel a little outside their community.”
McBride emphasized the importance of a collectivist approach as municipalities throughout the province work to handle the global pandemic.
However, Tourism PG’s CEO believes the city will bounce back quickly when given the opportunity:
“I think our juxtaposition of being a city with amenities and being right next to the wild plays really well.”