NEWS RELEASE
MINISTERS COUNCIL
ON TOURISM APPOINTED
VICTORIA Thirteen representatives from
the tourism industry will provide advice to the Province on how to market and
expand B.C.s growing tourism industry as members of the new Ministers Council
on Tourism, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Kevin Krueger announced
today.
The new council
represents a broad cross-section of the tourism industry and reflects the
diversity of B.C.s distinct regions. Nearly half of the councils members have
previously served on the board of directors of Tourism BC, providing continuity
and working with the balance of the council to continue building B.C.s
successful tourism sector, said Krueger. The councils expertise and advice
will directly impact how B.C. is marketed to the world as a top-notch tourism
destination.
The Ministers
Council on Tourism will inform the minister on a wide variety of tourism
matters including: product development, competitiveness, infrastructure, labour
force, visitor services, and marketing and research. The councils advice will
help guide development of marketing plans and other strategies to reach the
Provinces goal of doubling tourism industry revenues by 2015.
Through the
ministers council, tourism businesses will be able to help guide tourism
marketing strategies, building upon B.C.s reputation as a world-class
destination at this critical juncture, said Stuart McLaughlin, who will chair
the council. I look forward to working closely with the minister and with the
other council members to help B.C. maximize the tourism opportunities presented
by the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Tourism BC is
being brought into the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, effective
April 1, 2010. As part of the transition, the Ministers Council on Tourism has
been established to provide input and advice on marketing B.C. successfully to
potential visitors from around the world. The council includes tourism industry
representatives from regions around B.C. and will report directly to the
minister.
Bringing Tourism BC into the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the
Arts will better co-ordinate all the Provinces marketing initiatives and
reduce administrative costs, allowing these savings to be reinvested into
marketing initiatives.
Tourism generated
an estimated $13.8 billion in 2008, providing more than 130,000 direct and
170,000 indirect jobs across the province. The Province of British Columbia has
actively supported the robust development of strong, upgraded infrastructure
for the tourism industry since 2001, including airports, highways and bridges.
-30-
For more information on government services
or to subscribe to the Provinces news feeds using RSS, visit the Provinces
website at www.gov.bc.ca.
BACKGROUNDER
November 23, 2009 Ministry
of Tourism, Culture and the Arts
MINISTERS
COUNCIL ON TOURISM MEMBERS
The council includes the following 13
members, who will serve two-year terms.
Stuart McLaughlin is the president of Grouse Mountain Resorts and a director of
Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. He has 20 years experience in tourism and
hospitality through businesses across the province. McLaughlin is a past chair
of Tourism Vancouver, a former director of Tourism BC and has chaired the BC
Chamber of Commerce tourism advisory committee. He has also served on the board
of the Canada West Ski Areas Association and is a past chair of Outward Bound
Western Canada.
Keith Henry is the chief executive officer of the Aboriginal Tourism
Association of B.C., where his work focuses on implementing the Aboriginal
Tourism Cultural Blueprint Strategy. Henry is a Mtis person born in Thompson,
Manitoba and raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He became the chief
executive officer of the Mtis Nation British Columbia in 2003, a post he held
for the next five years. Henry has worked extensively with the Mtis Nation and
various Aboriginal communities.
Darcy
Alexander has more than 25 years experience in the
resort and development industries. He currently provides operations and
development management and planning services to Sun Peaks Resort, the Harvest
Golf Club, Nippon Cable Canada Ltd., and Benchlands Development Ltd. He has
also served on the boards of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, the
Canadian Ski Council, the Okanagan Golf Alliance and the Canada West Ski Areas
Association.
Warren Buckley is the president and CEO of PavCo following a seven-year term as
the CEO of Suntec Singapore, International Convention and Exhibition Center.
Prior to his post overseas, he had worked with the PavCo organization for 20
years, initially as sales manager at BC Place and then through various senior
positions, culminating in his promotion to president and CEO in the mid-1990s.
Steve Smith
is president and CEO of several Prince Rupert hospitality-related businesses
including the Crest Hotel and Pacific Inn. Smith is a director of B.C. Ferries
Services Inc and the B.C. Hotel Association and formerly served as alderman,
president of the chamber of commerce, Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District
director, and past president of Tourism Prince Rupert and the Northern B.C.
Tourism Association.
Dr. Nancy Arsenault is currently on the boards of directors for Tourism Vancouver
Island and Tourism Victoria, and is on the advisory committee for the Northwest
Cruise Ship Association. Formerly the dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel
Management at Royal Roads University, Arsenault has collaborated on numerous
projects with the Canadian Tourism Commission, Parks Canada, the Canadian
Tourism Human Resource Council, provincial destination marketing organizations
across Canada, and the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism.
Laird Miller
is the chief financial officer of London Drugs. He is also the chief financial
officer of Sonora Resort, a B.C. luxury wilderness resort, and London Air
Services, an executive charter airline. With a background in forestry and 10
years in public practice, he brings a wide array of experience in the
hospitality, airline and retail industries. Miller received his chartered
accountant designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British
Columbia.
Andrew Cohen is the senior executive of Fernie and Kimberly Resorts and the
owner of three development companies building resort homes in Fernie and
Kimberly. Cohen has extensive resort management experience in the Kootenays as
well as Whistler and Colorado and is currently on the College of the Rockies
Board of Governors. He has also served on the boards of various community
organizations including the Fernie and Kimberly Chambers of Commerce, Whistler
Planning Commission, Kootenay Rockies Regional Economic Alliance and Canada
West Ski Areas Association.
Peter
Casement is president of the board of directors of
Venture Kamloops. Casement worked for CP Air/Canadian Airlines for 30 years
where his last position was general manager of Prairies and B.C. airports. He
has lived in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver before moving to
Kamloops and joining Rocky Mountaineer Vacations as vice president of
operations. Before retiring earlier this year, Casement was named Business
Person of the year by the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, which also named Rocky
Mountaineer Tourism Business of the Year and Business of the Year. Casement is
a former director with Tourism Kamloops.
Barrett Fisher is the president and CEO of Tourism Whistler and has more than 20
years of tourism experience. Fisher also serves on a number of boards and
committees, including the board of directors of the Vancouver Organizing
Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the Pemberton
Airport Authority, Coast Mountain Reservations and the Whistler Chamber of
Commerce. She has also served on a number of tourism committees with the Canadian
Tourism Commission, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada and the Council
of Tourism Associations.
Dave Brownlie has over 20 years of mountain resort management experience and has
been integral to the successful development of Whistler Blackcomb into North
Americas number-one Mountain Resort. As president and chief operating officer
of Whistler Blackcomb, Brownlie is responsible for long-term vision and growth,
as well as, the day-to-day management of all Whistler Blackcomb operations. Additionally,
Brownlie serves as a member of the board of directors of Tourism Whistler and
as president of the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation.
Coralee Oakes has worked her entire professional life in the tourism sector. She
has been the executive director of the Quesnel & District Chamber of
Commerce since 1999. Oakes is a former president of the B.C. Chamber
Executives, and a former director of both the BC Chamber of Commerce and the
Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association. Oakes has also served on the City
of Quesnel council since 2005.
Susan Barcham is the director of business development for Oak Bay Marine Group,
where she oversees the sales, marketing and promotions department as well as
working on external relations and special projects. Barcham is a board member
of Go2 and previously served with Attractions Victoria and Tourism Victoria.
She also worked for Tourism Nanaimo.
-30-
For more information on government services
or to subscribe to the Provinces news feeds using RSS, visit the Provinces
website at www.gov.bc.ca.
