Best of BC

By Bruce Constantineau

B.C. tourism marketers face budget cutbacks that will challenge their ability to take advantage of the global exposure coming their way from the 2010 Olympics.

Tourism Vancouver has lost 14 people — nearly 20 per cent of its workforce — through attrition and layoffs in the past two months.

Tourism Victoria has cut 4.5 full-time positions through attrition the past six months and will review staffing levels on a quarterly basis.

Tourism Whistler expects to maintain its 75-person workforce, but will cut overhead costs such as travel expenses wherever it can.

Falling corporate sponsorship and hotel tax revenues this year are forcing tourism marketers to scramble to offset expected revenue shortfalls.

Tourism Vancouver president Rick Antonson expects his organization’s 2009 budget will be about $1.6 million less than its $13-million budget last year.

“Everybody has fewer dollars to work with now and nobody seems to be sure how or when it’s going to end,” he said. “It just seems prudent to maintain a practical financial situation.

“That means looking at everything you’re doing and making sure it’s the right use of program resources and human resources.”

Antonson said the budget cutbacks will force all tourism agencies to engage in more joint marketing efforts.

“We have to become a lot more efficient and learn how to drive new partnerships,” he said.

Tourism Victoria president Robert Gialloreto said staff salaries have been frozen and staff attrition combined with cuts to non-core programs — such as consulting for professional development — have already cut about $200,000 from his organization’s $4-million annual budget.

“We’re still faithful to the core mission to market our destination and bring people here,” he said. “2009 is not a time to hide your head in the sand. We’re blessed with a great brand and we have to be out there swinging hard.”

Tourism BC president Rod Harris said the provincial tourism marketing agency will cut overhead costs where it can but it won’t reduce staffing levels. He said Tourism BC’s 2009-2010 budget will benefit from a March 31 year-end that includes a surge in revenues from Games-related activities.

“The opportunity we’re about to embrace with the Olympics will be unsurpassed and we will never get as great an opportunity to showcase British Columbia to the world,” Harris said.

Tourism Whistler president Barrett Fisher said her agency won’t face the severe cutbacks faced by some others this year because about 70 per cent of its funding comes from member assessments, which have increased by two per cent this year.

The rest comes from sources such as hotel taxes, corporate sponsorship and operations.

Fisher expects hotel tax revenues will decline this year but plans to offset that decline with overhead cuts that won’t affect marketing programs.

“Here we are looking at probably our biggest positive opportunity, yet we have this [budget] challenge,” she said. “We have some pretty aggressive 2010 plans and we don’t want to put those items at risk.”

Fisher said Tourism Whistler may save money by backing away from new market segments such as health and wellness, and arts and culture, to focus on traditional lucrative core markets such as skiing and summer activities.

http://www.canada.com/Travel/Layoffs+tourism+industry/1252207/story.html