Provincial News ~ November 2011

AHSA awareness promo makes hotel safety fun

EDMONTON—“Safety-In-A-Minute” is a safety awareness campaign for the hotel industry in Alberta presented by the Alberta Hotel Safety Association.

“Communications I’ve had with the hotels have been consistent.  They recognize safety is an important component to business operations, but sometimes it feels daunting, and sometimes they just don’t know where to even begin,” said Barbara Malacko, AHSA executive director.

“What we wanted to do was provide basic safety education to the industry, to heighten awareness.  This is a start to show the industry the basic steps that can be taken to implement safety programs, but also do it in a fun and engaging way (as we all know that this can be a dry subject).”

AHSA wanted to keep the training simple; thus “Safety-In-A-Minute”.  It is a 10 week campaign, with 10 different videos. Participants simply watch an entertaining one-minute video, answer a skill testing question, and then enter their name to win one of the weekly prizes.

If the participant then downloads one of the documents that they can use in the workplace, they will have their name entered a second time for the weekly prize.

Weekly prizes include items such as iPods, Kindles, digital cameras, Visa gift cards and more.

AHSA added an incentive for hotel general managers to encourage participation. Each staff member who completes the 10 videos will have the hotel’s name entered into one of three draws for AHSA training dollars.

“This campaign has been built as a permanent fixture with the hopes to be able to add more into it in the future,” said Malacko.  “This piece will remain available for Alberta’s hotel industry to use with training and/or orientations.”

For more information go to www.safetyinaminute.com.

Ontario business faces accessibility deadline

TORONTO—Tourism businesses in Ontario are reminded of the new requirements for accessible customer service they must meet by January 1, 2012. The customer service standard is the first standard to be implemented under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA).

The customer service standard applies to all businesses and organizations that provide goods and services to the public or to other businesses and have at least one employee in Ontario. In order to comply with the customer service standard, tourism businesses will have to meet certain requirements such as developing customer service policies and procedures for serving people with disabilities and ensuring staff are trained to deliver accessible customer service.

HAC briefs Maxime Bernier on tourism

OTTAWA—The $74 billion travel and tourism industry employs 594,000 people across Canada. The lodging sector is a key component generating $16 billion in revenue, employing 284,000 people and paying $7.1 billion in taxes including $3.2 billion to the federal government.

Tony Pollard of the Hotel Association of Canada cited these figures in an Oct. 18 brief to The Hon. Maxime Bernier, federal minister of tourism, titled “The Hotel Lobby”.

He pointed out that the recent recession and recovery conceal a larger problem of declining tourism competitiveness which has been evident for several years. HAC recommends:

o    That the federal government undertake a comprehensive review of the aviation cost structure in Canada.

o The adoption of the Australian model of securing visas electronically to assist the availability of people to work in the lodging industry under the federal Temporary Foreign Workers Program.

o Providing the Canadian Tourism Commission with long term sustained financing. The HAC recommends that the federal government revisit the funding model for the Canadian Tourism Commission with the objective of providing a competitive and stable base for effectively marketing Canada internationally.

Taking Care of Business in Hamilton

Left to right, Grace Sammut, Frank Vismeg and Sheila Maxwell.

HAMILTON, ON—Grace Sammut, managing director - Resorts of Ontario, Frank Vismeg, managing director of the Pinestone Resort, Conference Centre, Spa & Golf Course - Haliburton and Sheila Maxwell, president - Resorts of Ontario were among those who attended the 7th annual Ontario Tourism Summit at the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel and Hamilton Convention Centre from October 3 - 5, 2011. There were over 500 delegates from across Ontario including government officials, Steve Davidson, deputy minister of Tourism & Culture and representatives from Tourism Ontario and private sector. The Summit started with a trade show, cocktail reception and hors d'oeuvres at the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel Ballroom.

Keynote Speaker was Michael Adams, president of Evironics Group of Research and Communications Consulting Companies, who addressed the delegates on how Ontarians have weathered the recession. There were several other Conference speakers who provided ideas and recommended that all parties "Get together. Work together.  Win together."

The slogan of the Tourism Summit was "Taking Care of Business" and that Ontarians must promote the best they have in their individual regions. Every destination loves word-of-mouth-marketing. No cost, no fees and it's endless.