Sustainable Tourism Symposium – powered by TIAC

January 10 to 25, 2023

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada introduces it's all-new Sustainable Tourism Symposium. TIAC has partnered with industry experts to grow urban, and rural and remote communities across all 13 Provinces and Territories, to assist SMEs, Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and other tourism stakeholders and organizations across all sectors of the industry in building awareness and capacity to develop more sustainably; that is, in a matter that maximizes positive environmental, social, and economic impact while reducing negative externalitiesto build awareness and capacity to develop more sustainably; that is, in a matter that maximizes positive environmental, social, and economic impact while reducing negative externalities.

REGISTER for your Symposium in your region

January 10, 2023	January 12, 2023	January 17, 2023	January 19, 2023	January 25, 2023
Western Provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba)	Northern Territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut)	Atlantic Provinces (Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick)	Ontario	Quebec (also open to all other francophone communities across Canada)
Sessions in English	Sessions in English	Sessions in English	Sessions in English	Sessions in French
Time: 8:45 AM to 3:30 PM MST	Time: 8:45 AM to 3:30 PM MST	Time: 8:45 AM to 3:30 PM AST	Time: 8:45 AM to 3:30 PM EST	Time: 8:45 AM to 3:30 PM EST
REGISTER NOW	REGISTER NOW	REGISTER NOW	REGISTER NOW	REGISTER NOW
SEE FULL AGENDA BELOW

Agenda

Will be in the local time indicated above for each symposium day

8:45 AM - 9:00 AM		Introduction


9:00 Am - 10:00 AM		SDG Decade of Action Planning
		Introduction to the UN SDGs and Synergy’s Decade of Action Plan Program Introduction to the UN SDGs. An overview of how organizations can develop their own sustainability/regenerative tourism plans build around the SDGs.

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM		Fast Track to Sustainable Tourism & Pathway to Net Zero Carbon
		Gain a sneak peek into how your tourism business, organization, or destination can accelerate your sustainability efforts through our two highly interactive Masterclass options; the Fast Track to Sustainable Tourism, and the Pathway to Net Zero Carbon. We’ll first explore the key challenges tourism organizations face when it comes to meaningfully tackling sustainability, why it’s imperative that we get started now, and the business case to demonstrate how integrating sustainability into the business model is great for the bottom line. An overview of the two Masterclass options will then be presented. You will learn how the FastTrack to Sustainability program will help you measure your sustainability performance using criteria that have been recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and then create a set of goals, targets, and an action plan for improvement, customized to meet the size and needs of your organization. In the second part of the session, participants will gain insight into how the Pathway to Net Zero Carbon Masterclass will help you measure your carbon footprint based on the internationally accepted Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, learn how to set a science-based carbon reduction target, and create an action plan to both reduce emissions and save money in the process. For both masterclasses, participants will leave with an action plan and key tips for how to implement, and then authentically and credibly report and communicate their plans to improve performance.

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM		Flourishing Business Strategy for Tourism
		If you are an owner or operator of a tourism business or a senior executive or manager at a tourism organization, and you want to effectively respond to perceived risks and opportunities, then you will benefit from the Flourishing Business Strategy for Tourism session! After a sense-check on the state of the world today and what this means for tourism now and into the future—including looking current trends, outlooks, and implications—this session will build the case for and share the benefits of planning with the future in mind. The Flourishing Business Canvas will then be introduced to participants as an innovation management and storytelling tool for strategically planning futures for integrated social, environmental and financial results, leading to the possibility remains for humans and all other life to flourish on this planet for generations to come. This session ends with an invitation to both reflect upon and explore whether you are ready to take action for your flourishing futures!

12:00 PM - 12:30 PM		BREAK

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM		Regenerative Event Management
		An introduction to the Masterclass on Regenerative Event Management In this short and dynamic session we will give you an introduction to the regenerative event management masterclass. We will look at the core concepts of regenerative development; explore how this applies to the events industry, and discuss what this means for your business and the services you offer. We will explore the concept of impact management and highlight the importance of both footprint and handprint measurement. We will do all of this in a fun. interactive and dynamic format using theoretic models and lots of real case studies.

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM		The Pathway to Regenerative Trails Tourism
		The Pathway to Regenerative Trails Tourism, an introduction to solutions to visitor use impacts.

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM		Strong Farm & Rural Shores - Rural Community Strategy
		Strong Farm & Rural Shore Destinations familiarization session Targeting information related to the individual impact of our programs in each region of Canada.