Paul Nursey, President and CEO of Destination Greater Victoria
The last few months have been very difficult for the Greater Victoria visitor economy. As the COVID-19 pandemic meant people were discouraged from travelling and the US border was restricted to essential crossings, our outlook went from one of optimism to one of survival. Many were laid off as we stayed home to “flatten the curve.” However, the Province’s economic restart plan has meant many businesses can reopen if they take the necessary precautions to keep their customers and workers safe and healthy. Phase 3 of this plan was announced on June 24 and includes easing of restrictions around domestic travel.
Phase 3 could not have come at a more urgent time. July and August are the industry’s high revenue-generating months, as people take advantage of the sunny weather for vacations and time away. Many businesses are facing solvency issues and need vital revenue to stay afloat. By no means is the visitor economy back to profitability and more help is still needed, but the fact that we are trending in the right direction and starting to see some visitation provides hope for business owners and employees that activity will pick up.
As part of our restart Destination Greater Victoria launched a new marketing campaign. Titled Reconnect, the campaign’s focus is for visitors to reconnect to nature, special places, and favourite restaurants and social activities they enjoyed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign will run from June 29, 2020 to September 2020. The campaign includes partnerships between Destination Greater Victoria, the Victoria Hotel Destination Marketing Association (VHDMA) and CHEK. This paid media campaign is focused on the Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland markets but could be expanded to additional geographic regions. The Reconnect campaign also includes a promotion for a free $75 pre-paid Visa card with a two-night stay at a VHDMA-member hotel. The pre-paid Visa card is an initiative of the VHDMA and can be used for accommodation, dining, shopping, attractions and more.
I would like to thank our partners at the Victoria Hotel Detitanation Marketing Association for generously supporting the $75 pre-paid Visa card based on a two-night stay. This is a very generous give back to the community directly from our hotel partners and will stimulate local recovery in small businesses where the gift cards are spent. Hotels, through taxes and fees on their guests have long resourced destination marketing initiatives such as these. When the chips were down during this pandemic, local hotels have stepped up to resource recovery and support local small businesses. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
The Greater Victoria visitor economy will press on. We are still advocating to local, provincial, and federal governments regarding the perilous state of our industry. A roadmap back to profitability is still required – one that accounts for the seasonal nature of tourism. But in the meantime, we are welcoming visitors with open arms. Come and enjoy everything our destination has to offer and support our honest and hard-working tourism businesses.
Paul Nursey is the President and CEO of Destination Greater Victoria
