KOOTENAY ROCKIES TOURISM INDUSTRY CONFERENCE A SUCCESS!
Thank you to all of our Tourism industry colleagues who joined us for our 38th Annual General Meeting and Tourism Industry Conference on October 6-7, 2015 at the Regent Hotel in Revelstoke BC. Thank you to Brady Beruschi and the team at the Regent Hotel for their excellent service during the conference and delighting everyone with a fantastic dinner in the 112 Restaurant.
The formal business included the announcement of our new Board of Directors. It was a memorable moment at our conference when Doug McIntosh acknowledged the tremendous efforts of Kootenay Rockies long time Chair – Michael Smith of Invermere. Mike has dedicated 35+ years to our organization and has been one of BC tourists most fervent supporters. Over the years, Mike has been a member of the Tourism BC Board of Directors and is a past President of the Golf Industry Association of BC. Mike now steps down as Chair and will remain active in the Past Chair seat. Thom Tischik of Revelstoke is the new Chair of Kootenay Rockies Tourism. The Board and staff would like to say thank you very much Mike Smith and congratulations Thom Tischik!
Congratulations also to the re-elected Board members and a special welcome to the three new Board members.
Kootenay Rockies Tourism Executive & Board of Directors for 2015-2017.
Chair: Thom Tischik, Revelstoke Accommodation Association
Past Chair: Michael Smith, Links Consulting
Vice Chair: Tyler Beckley, Three Bars Guest Ranch
Vice Chair: Deanne Steven, Tourism Rossland
Secretary/Treasurer: Douglas McIntosh, Lake Windermere Resort, Chattan Holdings Ltd.
Directors at Large:
Keith Powell, Koocanusa Publications
Tom Rosner, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies
Ken Wilder, Mountain & Valley DMO, Invermere Panorama
NEW: Nancy Hetherington, Fairmont Hot Springs Resort
NEW: Nicholas Leenders, Revelstoke Mountain Resort & Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing
NEW: Andrea Tubbs, Columbia Valley Golf Trail
For full information on the new board including contact details, please click HERE.
THANK YOU TO THE CONFERENCE SPONSORS!
We would like to thank all of our generous sponsors for their support of our event. Your contribution allows us to have great speakers and a nominal registration fee for participants. Click any of the logos to find more information about the sponsor businesses.
THANK YOU TO OUR GUEST SPEAKERS!
Thank you to the guest speakers who contributed to the success of the conference. We appreciate the time you have taken away from busy careers to share your insights at our conference. We are happy to share the presentations that were provided to us – click the speaker name to access the presentation.
Kootenay Rockies Tourism Presentation
Peter Harrison – Director, Partnership Marketing, Destination BC
Dr Nancy Arsenault – Managing Partner, The Tourism Cafe
Glenn Mandziuk, President & CEO, Thompson-Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA)
Dennis Green – Director, Industry Workforce Development, go2HR
Alan Mason – Director, Community Economic Development, Revelstoke & Area
Walt Judas – CEO, Tourism Industry Association of BC (TIABC)
Kathleen Lorentsen – Director, Marketing Communications, and Mary Elliott – Manager, Marketing Communications, Destination BC
THANK YOU FOR THE DONATIONS TO THE SILENT AUCTION!
Thank you to the businesses who donated silent auction items to support our tourism industry event! Click on any of the names below to find more information about the businesses.
TOURISM INDUSTRY AWARDS
Thank you to Tourism Revelstoke & the Revelstoke Accommodation Association for hosting the Tourism Industry Awards on October 6. We had a fantastic time at Chubby Funsters in Revelstoke, thanks to Joel Asher and his team! Congratulations to the winners of the Tourism Industry Awards. For 2015, the awards were based on nominations from the regional tourism industry and then reviewed by a panel for final decision. And the winners are…
Business of the Year – Cedar House Restaurant & Chalets – Golden BC
Thom Tischik – KRT Chair, Darrin DeRosa – Owner, Corey Fraser – Chef, Kathy Cooper – KRT CEO
Business Person of the Year – Michael Anderson – True Key Hotels & Resorts – Radium, BC
Thom Tischik – KRT Chair, Michael Anderson – True Key Hotels & Resorts, Kathy Cooper – KRT CEO
Hospitality & Tourism – Columbia Wetlands Adventures – Golden, BC
Thom Tischik – KRT Chair, Mo Teasdale – Guide & Sales Columbia Wetlands Adventures, Kathy Cooper – KRT CEO
*Photo Credit for Award Winners – Keith Powell – Koocanusa Publications
ANNUAL REPORT – FY15 – APRIL 1, 2014 – MARCH 31, 2015
We are also pleased to include a copy of the Annual Report – FY15 for those who were unable to attend the Tourism Industry Conference.
GOING FORWARD
We are still hard at work during this current fiscal which ends on March 31, 2016. There are many Tourism Partner cooperative project opportunities available for all sectors including Touring, Golf, Adventure and Ski. In the Travel Trade department, we will be participating as Team BC at Canada’s West Marketplace and Tour Operator training sessions in November. In the Media Relations department, we are planning and hosting press trips throughout winter 2015/2016.
Next fiscal, we will be embracing new roles working with Destination BC in the areas of Remarkable Experiences and Destination Development. We will continue to offer our stakeholders cooperative marketing opportunities through the new ‘Touring & Exploring’ program.
We look forward to seeing you at one of the two Destination BC 2015 Roadshows. Kootenay Rockies Tourism will join Destination BC and will be presenting regional objectives, strategies, markets and tactical direction. We hope you will join us and share in the discussion of marketing tactics for our region in the next fiscal year which begins April 1, 2016.
Save the Date!
The sessions for the Kootenay Rockies region include:
Cranbrook – October 27, 2015 – Prestige Rocky Mountain Resort – 1pm to 5pm – MT
- This session will feature an update on Destination BC’s new corporate strategy, Kootenay Rockies Tourism regional strategy and provincial alignment plus a workshop on the new provincial brand.
Revelstoke – October 30, 2015 – Coast Hillcrest Hotel – 8:30am to 12:30pm – PT
- This session will feature an update on Destination BC’s new corporate strategy, Kootenay Rockies Tourism regional strategy and provincial alignment plus a workshop on ‘Explorer Quotient’.
If you did not receive the invitation directly from Destination BC – please click HERE to register.
*Cover shot – Grizzly Plaza Revelstoke – Bonnie Castle-Dixon
