Tourism Tofino Team on the Road

2025 commenced on a high note for our Media & Communications Manager, Danielle. In early January, she traveled to Kelowna to attend the SITE Canada Exchange where she engaged with 24 North American meeting and incentive planners. Several planners are actively considering Tofino for future incentive groups and board retreats, with one site visit already completed for a potential 2026 program.

Following Kelowna, Danielle traveled to New York City to participate in TravMedia's annual International Media Marketplace. Over the course of the event, she held meetings with 24 distinguished journalists and editors from renowned publications, including Travel + Leisure, AFAR, National Geographic, Fodor’s, The Toronto Star, and Lonely Planet. This marketplace offers the perfect opportunity to nurture existing relationships and build new ones with media professionals eager to share Tofino’s story with their readers.

During the same time, our Executive Director, Brad Parsell, headed to Victoria, BC for the annual IMPACT Conference, where he was invited to speak on a panel. The session was titled "From passive Visitors To Active Participants: Regenerative Practices from Destination Management Organizations" with leaders from Tuscon, Arizona and Revelstoke, BC. Brad spoke about some of the work Tourism Tofino was doing to align visitors with the values of our destination, including responsible visitor messaging like the Tla-o-qui-aht ʔiisaak Pledge and regenerative voluntourism activities like the Washed Up Wednesday beach cleans. Brad then played this video that was released last year for the first season of the Travel Beyond podcast.

Anna Atleo and Tyson Atleo from MHSS/Ahousaht First Nation also spoke at the event about some of their work.

Brad attended several inspiring sessions on the state of regenerative and sustainable tourism - including wonderful talks by Wade Davis (Canadian anthropologist) and Robert Sandford (United Nations' Global Climate Emergency Response). There were some great networking opportunities and many learnings to bring back to Tofino as we continue work on the Tofino Destination Stewardship Plan. There is an excellent Karryon article rounding up some of the big takeaways from this year.

Lastly, Danielle was joined by Jody Kirk, our Destination Stewardship Manager, where they headed to Calgary, AB to attend The Wedding Fair. The Tofino booth showcased weddings in Tofino - beachside or under the old-growth trees, while also speaking to attendees about anniversary trips, honeymoons and vacations to visit the coast. It was wonderful to hear of stories from many attendees of their trips to Tofino in the past, or upcoming vacations they have planned.