BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: OCTOBER 2022

For the first time since 2019, Tourism Richmond hosted a three-day FAM (Familiarization) Tour in September. We welcomed eight meeting planners from Eastern Canada with the goal to showcase Richmond as a top meeting destination.

Starting at the Richmond Night Market, planners got an early taste of the rich culture and diversity that makes Richmond such a special place to visit. This set the stage for other culinary experiences such as breakfast at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel, lunch at Pajo’s floating wharf, a seafood experience at Catch Kitchen & Bar, the Pacific Plates tasting menu at 75 West Coast Grill and a final lunch at Versante’s Bruno restaurant. Planners were blown away by both the Asian influence as well as the coastal bounty of Richmond.

In between meals, planners experienced top sights such as the Richmond Olympic Oval where they toured the site and heard local Richmond athlete and Olympic Bronze Medalist, Evan Dunfee, share his journey to the podium. In Steveston Village, we took them on tours of the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, Britannia Shipyards, and a coastal river tour on board the Gikumi.

Along the way, Tourism Richmond had the invaluable opportunity to learn more about each of the planners’ events, and clients and build strong relationships for future opportunities. Feedback and surveys from planners revealed planners were very likely to consider Richmond for their future events and to recommend Richmond to others in the industry.

Based on the success of the 2022 event, Tourism Richmond plans to host additional FAMS in 2023 with a new group of planners from Canada and potentially the US markets.