On January 21st, our team attended the IMPACT Sustainability & Tourism Conference for the very first time!

Hosted in Victoria, B.C., this two-day event brings together industry experts, community leaders, and business professionals to collaborate on creating a more sustainable and regenerative future where tourism is a force for good.  

A key takeaway this year was learning how Destination Canada is shifting the way they determine value in the tourism sector. Previously, metrics focused on a “heads in beds” model where the measure of success was based on bookings.

This year, the new standard is a “wealth and well-being” model. This is made up of 6 key pillars:

• Economy
• Employment
• Environment impact
• Enablement
• Engagement
• Experience 

The new versus old model is an effort to change from net zero to net positive tourism environments. What does that mean?

The bar is no longer just avoiding damage or reducing the size of our footprint. We want to go beyond that and create a positive impact on tourist destinations. It means leaving behind more value than you came with so that communities can continue to foster a healthy ongoing relationship with travellers. 

For more information, keep an eye out for IMPACT’s new website! We’ve designed and programmed a new online experience and can’t wait to show you. For now, you can check them out at Destination Victoria’s site below.