In January of this year, Tourism Victoria, Synergy Enterprises, Starrboard Enterprises and Beattie Tartan partnered to host the inaugural IMPACT Sustainability Travel & Tourism Conference. The conference brought 170 delegates to Victoria from across the country and was a resounding success.
The topic of sustainability in the tourism industry is timely. As destinations and travelers increasingly value economic, social and environmental sustainability it is imperative that tourism professionals and policy-makers share best practices to position the tourism industry for further growth and development. The goal this year is to more than double attendance and attract wide and diverse representation. This representation will not only be from across the country, but also from all industries and organizations that work in collaboration with tourism and can guide the development of a more sustainable and restorative tourism industry in Canada.
The IMPACT Sustainability Travel & Tourism Conference partners are busy planning the next conference, to be held January 20-23, 2019. Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada President CEO Keith Henry is confirmed to return as conference co-chair. In addition, Greg Oates from tourism research and media firm Skift will deliver the keynote address. Greg is one of the brightest minds in tourism research and it is an honour he has agreed to be the keynote speaker. Author Elizabeth Becker, Destinations International Chair and President and CEO of Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Tammy Blount, Ryerson University’s Dr. Rachel Dodds and Greg Klassen from Twenty 31 will be part of the conference program as well. These remarkable individuals will lead a rich discussion on sustainability and contribute to what we believe will be a truly exceptional program.
Following the success of the inaugural conference the partners produced the 2018 Conference Proceedings Paper. This document highlights key conversations, summarizes the outcomes and sets the stage to build a better conference in 2019. The 2018 Conference Proceedings Paper is posted at the IMPACT 2019 website and can be found here: www.impactnational.ca.
I encourage you to look at the website and see what IMPACT 2019 has to offer. If you are interested in attending as a delegate, registration will open September 4 at www.impactnational.ca as well.
Paul Nursey is the President and CEO of Tourism Victoria.
