Are You Prepared for the Winter Games?

Since 2003, British Columbia’s tourism industry has been preparing to host the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In just a few days, years of planning, and preparation will come to fruition as 250,000 visitors embark on the province and join in celebrating the Olympic spirit. In this short period of time leading up to the Games, Tourism BC would like to offer a few easy steps that industry stakeholders can take to ensure they are ready to maximize this extraordinary opportunity.

Update your listing on HelloBC.com

HelloBC.com receives 8 million visitors annually, looking for up-to-date information on traveling in BC. This is your chance to showcase your business like never before! Here are some tips to enhance your listing on HelloBC.com:

• Make sure your listing is up-to-date by including current hours, website address and description.
• If you have a special promotion or offer, you can list it for free.
• Enhance your listing with a high-quality colour photo of your business. Now that Tourism BC has released the iPhone app (Near Me BC) this is even more important as it will be one of the first things that consumers will see of your listing.
• Consider adding a logo to your listing. A logo helps to create brand recognition and build trust with your customers.
• Upload an embedded video to showcase the features of your business. Find instructions for uploading a video here. Video embeds are included in your base listing.
• If you are holding a festival or event you can upload it for FREE on HelloBC.com.

Take the time now to get your listing ready for the excitement to come.

If you don’t have a listing yet why not consider signing up before the Games. Visit www.tourismbc.net for details or contact productservices@tourismbc.com.

Join Tourism BC's Reservations Program

Accommodations and attractions already enrolled in the HelloBC Listings® program are eligible to join the Reservations Program. For a one-time fee of $100 + tax, this program enables products to be sold through all of our distribution channels. They include:

• BC Visitor Centres at Peace Arch, YVR, Merritt, Golden, Osoyoos, Mt. Robson
• Community Visitor Centres throughout the province
• HelloBC Call Centre
• HelloBC.com and 7 international websites
• The Olympic Game Time accommodation website - In December alone this site had 12,000 unique visitors.

Important notes about the Reservations Program:

• Suppliers must have a Listing in order to participate in Tourism BC’s Reservations Program.
• The HelloBC® Listing must be current to continue participation in this program.
• Suppliers must be willing to pay the agreed upon commission structure.
• Once Suppliers are trained in our web-based reservations system by the Product Sales team, inventory, rates and rules are managed by them.

Maximize social media opportunities

Stay connected with visitors, industry and Tourism BC during the Games through the power of social media. You can help generate buzz about all things British Columbia using various social media outlets.

Tourism suppliers can join Tourism BC and other industry stakeholders on Twitter and Facebook. Visit Twitter.ca and find Tourism BC as well as the Tourism BC Travel Media team and re-tweet our tweets to help spread the word about what makes BC such a great destination. Become a fan of the HelloBC Facebook page to upload photos and videos, post stories, thoughts and experiences about traveling in BC.

Prepare your staff to welcome the world

Customer service will be a key component for creating lasting impressions for travelers visiting BC for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

To help prepare front line staff for Vancouver 2010, WorldHost® has developed an exciting new half day workshop - Fundamentals Plus!

Fundamentals Plus prepares participants with:

• Practical skills related to the delivery of excellent customer service.
• Understanding of the appropriate language and protocol to deliver exceptional service to customers with disabilities.
• Information about the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Price is $30 per person (including GST).

Morning and afternoon sessions will be held at the Coast Plaza Hotel in Vancouver on:

January 29 and 31
February 6 and 9

To register, email worldhost.trainingservices@tourismbc.com or call (604) 660-3573.

For more information on WorldHost Training Services visit us at: www.tourismbc.com/worldhost_training_services.

2010 Olympic Marketing Campaign     Update your listing on HelloBC.com Join Tourism BC's Reservations Program Maximize social media opportunities Prepare your staff to welcome the world

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Tourism 2010 Resource Centre Tourism BC Industry Programs Travel Media Relations www.HelloBC.com For more information on the business of tourism in British Columbia, marketing research and Tourism British Columbia's programs, visit www.tourismbc.com.