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Whistlerites Barrett Fisher and Dave Brownlie this week were named to the new Minister's Council on Tourism.
In August, the B.C. government announced that it was dissolving Tourism British Columbia, an arm's-length Crown corporation responsible for marketing B.C. here and around the world, and incorporating those functions within the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts. The government said it was a cost-saving move, but the announcement caught the industry by surprise and raised questions about the wisdom of dissolving an award-winning tourism marketing organization that many described as a model for the industry.
On Monday (Nov. 23), Minister Kevin Krueger announced the appointment of a 13-member board that will “provide advice to the Province on how to market and expand B.C.'s growing tourism industry,” government officials said in a statement.
Tourism B.C. is being incorporated under the ministry umbrella on April 1, 2010. The council will report directly to the minister and the members will serve two-year terms.
“The new council represents a broad cross-section of the tourism industry and reflects the diversity of B.C.'s distinct regions,” Krueger said. “Nearly half of the council's members have previously served on the board of directors of Tourism B.C., providing continuity and working with the balance of the council to continue building B.C.'s successful tourism sector.”
Fisher, the president and CEO of Tourism Whistler, also services on the board of directors with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, the Pemberton Airport Authority, Coast Mountain Reservations and the Whistler Chamber of Commerce. She has also served on a number of committees with the Canadian Tourism Commission, the Tourism Industry Association and the Council of Tourism Associations of B.C.
Brownlie is president and chief operating officer of Whistler Blackcomb, president of the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation and a member of the Tourism Whistler board of directors.
The Minister’s Council on Tourism also includes Stuart McLaughlin, president of Grouse Mountain Resort; Keith Henry, CEO of the Aboriginal Tourism Association of B.C.; Darcy Alexander, who provides operations, development and planning services to Sun Peaks Resort and others; Warren Buckley, president and CEO of the B.C. Pavilion Corporation; Steve Smith, president and CEO of several tourism-related businesses in the Prince Rupert area; Dr. Nancy Arsenault, a member of the boards of Tourism Vancouver Island and Tourism Victoria; Laird Miller, chief financial officer for London Drugs; Andrew Cohen, senior executive for Fernie and Kimberley alpine resorts; Peter Casement, president of the board of directors of Venture Kamloops; Coralee Oakes, a longtime tourism official based in Quesnel; and Susan Barcham, director of business development for Oak Bay Marine Group.
