CEO’S MESSAGE: MARCH 2023

Dear Team Richmond,

It’s hard to believe we’re already in mid-March! I hope your 2023 is off to an excellent start and you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy some Spring weather. We are looking forward to warmer weather and the chance to enjoy the cherry blossoms that will be blooming in Richmond soon.

There is great energy and optimism in the industry right now as we continue to recover. Some of our team members experienced this energy first-hand at the BC Tourism & Hospitality Conference, which was held in March in Prince George, BC. Tourism Richmond was proud to sponsor and present the Community Contribution & Impact Award, which was won by Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre.

The beginning of 2023 has been full of optimism with strong occupancy rates indicating that travel is recovering and that Richmond’s tourism & hospitality industry is continuing the momentum that started last year. While leisure travel is growing and on the path to recovery, in Canada business travel, events, and conferences have been slower to recover.

I’m very excited to announce that Tourism Richmond is launching a new program to help bring more business meetings, conferences, and events to Richmond. The Richmond Business Events Incentive Fund is launching this month and includes several features that will help ensure Richmond is competitive and well-positioned to attract more business events, such as:

• New program with higher funding limits.
• Funding is available for bid-phase expenses, such as site visits.
• Flexible program that can be applied to a variety of event expenses.

I am very pleased to launch this new program and am excited about its potential to attract more events to Richmond, helping to fuel the recovery of our industry. Tourism Richmond will be working closely with our hotel partners in the coming weeks and months to promote this new program to key industry contacts (such as meeting planners) and will use it to strengthen our bids to bring events to Richmond in 2023 and beyond.

All the best this Spring season, and I look forward to continuing to work with you!

Sincerely,

Nancy Small

Tourism Richmond Team Member

Chief Executive Officer