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Approved Destination Status ‘a long time in coming’

Tourism Whistler has done groundwork in China over last five years

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's trip to China was rewarded with a long-awaited but unexpected prize from the Asian superpower. China is set to bestow Approved Destination Status on Canada, making it possible for Chinese nationals to get travel visas to come here on holiday.

Chinese citizens can already come to Canada with student visas, to visit family or for business travel, but allowing for tourists could be a huge boon to Vancouver and Whistler. The 2010 Winter Games, where China is competitive in several events including freestyle aerials and snowboarding, is an obvious draw, but estimates several years ago suggested that Chinese tourists could generate $100 million in revenue annually for Canada.

Premier Gordon Campbell welcomed the announcement and gave Harper credit for pushing the changes through.

"Achieving Approved Destination Status with China is a major economic and cultural step in terms of building our important relationship with China, particularly as we prepare to host the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games," said Campbell in a release on Dec. 3. "I want to thank the Prime Minister for making Approved Destination Status with China a priority and congratulate his government on what will be an important economic opportunity for British Columbia."

Approved Destination Status allows tour operators and travel agents to organize tours and advertise Canadian destinations within China, as well as for Canada to advertise directly to the Chinese people. Chinese tourism to B.C. is expected to increase 25 per cent annually as a result.

When ADS was approved in Australia the number of visitors from China doubled in the first three years.

Barrett Fisher, president and CEO of Tourism Whistler, says it's been about five years since China brought up the prospect of Approved Destination Status, but that has given the resort time to become more familiar with the market before diving in.

"It's been a long time in coming," she said. "We have been clearly working in that direction for a number of years now and we're delighted that it's finally happened.

"We've actually started to lay the groundwork over the last five years, and we've made a couple of missions into China to work on developing relations with tour operators. In fact, with Tourism Vancouver we did some media relations work there - really just laying the groundwork since we were not allowed to officially market and sell to clientele at that point."

Fisher doesn't expect to see the paperwork completed until midway through 2010, but the next step is to grow awareness levels within China and to create relationships with tour operators and travel agents that let them know everything that's available in Whistler. They will also look at air access to Vancouver, and work with tour operators to create travel packages to Canada.

The next steps will also involve partnerships with tourism agencies in Vancouver as well as at the provincial and national level, at least at first. It makes sense in the beginning to pool resources and to share costs, says Fisher, and take a collective approach to create more impact. Any tours would like include Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler and other destinations in B.C. and Canada.

"Every market is different, but typically a new market comes through tour planners that provide those services," she said. "That means Chinese speaking guides, Chinese language itineraries... When you look at the market from Japan it came predominantly through tour operators in the beginning but over time we saw growth in independent travelers coming here as well. Once an area becomes known people are more comfortable venturing out, and not necessarily traveling with a group package."

If the number of visitors from China is high enough Fisher says it could be necessary for businesses to provide information in Chinese to visitors, including websites and brochures.

"The majority of our future (tour operators) will be, in fact, more comfortable speaking their own language and we need to adapt to that," she said.

Dave Brownlie, president and chief operating officer of Whistler Blackcomb, welcomed the news but doesn't expect it to result in a significant number of skiers and snowboarders visiting the resort in the near future.

"We don't have any plans immediately (to promote Whistler Blackcomb in China), but obviously I think it's a great thing and over the long term we are going to see some impact - especially being on the West Coast, and a gateway to North America," he said. "Whistler will be all over the television with the Games and I think that will do a tremendous amount when it comes to getting Whistler out there."

That said, he believes the market for Chinese tourists is probably stronger in the summer months than winter.

"It's going to take a little more time to harvest and really work the winter side of (Chinese tourism)," said Brownlie. "Although the industry in China is rapidly growing, it's still a small skiing and snowboarding population over there. I expect we can see a strong impact in summer reasonably quickly. It's not a silver bullet for the ski industry yet. I definitely think it's positive, and I think we're positioned as a resort for the future."

But while Whistler Blackcomb has no plans to promote itself directly within China, he says they are already working with groups like Tourism Whistler, the B.C. Ministry of Tourism and the Canadian Tourism Commission to focus more on the Chinese market.