With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1510895
with my five-iron in hand, I'm smart enough to stick to loop- ing the ball down the fairway (about 100 yards back from the rest of the crew). The other three are kind enough to pile on the compliments, and we continue on our way. I realize my early fears were unfounded, and I breathe a huge sigh of relief. Not only are we playing a scramble—where you hit from where the best shot of your group landed—the people I've been placed with (probably not coincidentally) also don't seem likely to lose their minds when we inevitably fall far short of winning the tournament. In my cart is Michael Drake, director of sales for Destina- tion Vancouver, and, as per his reputation in the industry, the happiest man in tourism. Him being paired with me is also probably not a coincidence, but I'll take it nonetheless. Round- ing out our foursome are Adam Laker, general manager of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, and David Tikkanen, head of the tourism marketing manage- ment program at BCIT. In some respects, I find it hard to separate the individu- als from their organizations and what they represent to the tourism industry. Drake is warm and welcoming, with an indomitable smile that belies a thoughtful and studious mind. "Everybody's saying it's back now," he says of tourism in B.C. "And it is and that's wonderful. But it also isn't the same." One of Drake's main responsibilities is bringing big events to Vancouver and he's been working overtime lately in trying to get the city and province back to what can now be called the glory years of tourism. Destination BC stats for January to June 2023 (the latest available at press time) report that B.C. has seen a 77.6-per- cent increase in international visitors over the same period in 2022. But that 2023 number is down 22 percent compared to 2019. The national picture is similar: data from Statistics Canada shows a year-over-year increase of more than $2 bil- lion in non-domestic tourism spending in the second quarter of 2023. But that's still more than $2 billion less than what the sector saw in the second quarter of 2019. Dressed to the nines (old man golf hat included, of course), Laker exudes the type of old-school cool that's necessary if you're going to run one of the country's most iconic hotels. He's confident and almost never makes a movement that couldn't be described as smooth. He reacts to both 300-yard drives onto the fairway and slices into trees with similar self-effacing grins or comments. You can picture him gladhanding with guests, giving them an excellent, refined experience—palling around with them while still retaining control in every mo- ment. He's more reserved with his thoughts on the industry, which makes sense given the tumult of the past few years. Anything can happen—because it already did, right? Tikkanen is humble and jovial—what the kids might call a "good hang." But he gets seri- ous when pressed about the challenges facing both BCIT's program and the industry at large. "We need more people," he says as the other two nod in approval. "We need to get the message out. The tourism industry, like our hotels and shops, is open for business. We want people to look at it like they do the tech industry— there's something for everyone in tourism, there are so many different skillsets that you can use, so many different ways you can succeed." It's a stark contrast to my golf game, which has one semi- effective weapon in its arsenal: a 60- to 70-yard chip with the pitching wedge. On the ninth hole, after some nice drives get us on the fairway, I use my pitch-and-putt background to chip the ball safely onto the green. We all try for the birdie putt. Mine comes closest but doesn't quite fall in. It's a tap-in for par and I'll take it. The guys applaud me and it feels, dare I say, good? No comment on the rest of the round. £ ( the informer ) G O F I G U R E Going Solo In keeping with this issue's cover theme, here's a snapshot of entrepreneurship in the province by Michael McCullough By most measures, B.C. has the highest rate of entrepreneurship in Canada, with roughly 1 in 10 BCers identifying as entrepreneurs B.C. had the highest number of small businesses (those with fewer than 50 employees) per capita in Canada in 2021 SMALL BUSINESSES IN B.C.: EMPLOY THE GREATEST SHARE OF THE WORKFORCE (43%) AND ACCOUNT FOR 33% OF GDP AND 31.5% OF PAYROLLS, BOTH TOPS IN THE COUNTRY Northeast B.C. led the province in entrepreneurship in 2021, with 110.5 BUSINESSES per 1,000 residents THE FASTEST-GROWING SMALL BUSINESS SECTORS IN B.C. (2016–2021): 134% TELECOMMUNICATIONS 62% BEVERAGE & TOBACCO PRODUCT MANUFACTURING (THINK CRAFT BREWING) 38% NON-STORE RETAIL There were 430,800 self-employed people in B.C. in 2021, representing 16.2% of total employment 25.5% OF WORKERS AGED 55-64 WERE SELF- EMPLOYED, THE HIGHEST OF ANY DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENT The average retirement age of self-employed people is 66, a few years higher than that of employees 14 BCBUSINESS.CA NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023 READ THIS Ben Sporer has been a performance coach and professional in B.C. for decades, including his current role as vice-president, performance strategy, research and innovation for the Vancouver Whitecaps. But now you don't have to be a soccer star to get his insights. Sporer, who has a PhD from UBC in exercise physiology, wrote Output: Optimizing Your Performance with Lessons Learned from Sport, to simplify the strategies of high-performing athletes and show how to apply them to anyone, in any field. Page Two Press, 234 pages, softback, $17.95 £