The Wilderness Seaplanes Hangar saw 160 delegates Wednesday gather for a Tourism Vancouver Island conference.
Many business owners in the industry mingled as Joli White, tourism coordinator at Vancouver Island North Tourism, welcomed the delegates.
White gave thanks to Wilderness Seaplanes for allowing the conference to take place in the hangar. She also thanked the Archipelagos Bistro for catering for that evening.
Mayor Hank Bood then gave an opening speech at the hangar, choosing to miss a council meeting to welcome the delegates.
“We’d like you to join us here on the North Island, where we like to say the adventure begins,” said Bood. “I’m sure you’ll see some of the reasons why this region is so in demand. We’ve been taken by surprise by how increasingly important tourism has played in our local economies. From Telegraph Cove to Port Hardy, folks from urban areas want to spend time exploring our wild.”
He added that “the first themed hotel on the upper half the island, Kwa’lilas, speaks to the new and growing importance of cultural tourism in our area. It’s a huge asset to our community. Tourism is thriving on the North Island.”
The following two days of the conference were held at Kwa’lilas Hotel with many keynote speakers giving business presentations. Many workshops were also held on topics like time management, human resources, and creating visual content.
A gala capped the event off as awards were handed out to different delegates.
