This month, we’re turning the spotlight over to a member we all know and love – our very own Jennifer Taylor, Vice President, Business Development & Member Relations, who celebrates 15 years at TIAC this month!


TIAC: Congratulations on 15 years with TIAC! Tell our readers about your current role here.

JT: When I joined the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) many years ago, my role was Events Manager working on the Canadian Sustainable Tourism Advisory Council (CSTAC) as well as Canada E-Connect (CEC).  Over the years, my focus shifted to Marketing, Membership and Business Development.  Today, as Vice President of Business Development and Member Relations, I have the pleasure of working with a great team and meeting and collaborating with members and industry stakeholders across this great country.


How has it evolved since you began?

My first official job was as a visitor counsellor, selling this country. It was a fantastic experience; I didn’t realize it would be the start of an incredible career in tourism. My passion is to work with the industry to develop and deliver solutions to help them grow. Not everyone would see working for a non-profit as the best career choice, but it has allowed me to learn and do more than I ever thought possible.

Before joining TIAC, I was the Executive Director of the Evangeline Trail Tourism Industry Association, a regional tourism industry association in Nova Scotia representing 400 plus operators and organizations. I later led the merging of three associations to form Destination Southwest Nova Scotia to help elevate the region and create a marketing consortium to deliver more significant opportunities. 

Like all small non-profit organizations, I was involved in everything from business planning and writing travel guides, selling ads, and membership recruitment to running day-to-day operations, training visitor counsellors and rolling out marketing campaigns and special projects. As a single parent, I even involved my kids in my work on many weekend adventures. I can tell you; they became experts in helping mom set up trade show booths and deliver travel guides as far as Portland, Maine. 

In 2008, the opportunity came to work with an industry association covering the entire country; it was a dream come true. I have operated remotely from Kentville, Nova Scotia, since.  Well before the world of Zoom and Team Meetings. I communicated on an old fashion landline, and my commute was to the airport. I am very fortunate to be able to work remotely because I am a bit of a country girl.

Do you have any favourite memories?

Absolutely! I spent about 20 days with a group of talented members in China in 2016.  I came away with new friendships, a world of learning, great laughs, and adventures.  Those who took the trip know the laughter we shared, right Linda Linda Linda.

TIAC delivers and manages many events like the Tourism Congress, Canadian Tourism Awards and Rendez-vous Canada. Each one is different and always memorable. Sure, the build-up to the event means a lot of long hours, but working alongside such a talented group of colleagues only heightens the experience, especially since all have such a great sense of humour. I have so many fond memories of laughing so hard at 6 am or one in the morning; I was in tears.  At the end of the event, we all look back, hoping we made a difference in helping the industry and say to each other, “even with the 12 and 14 hours days, we would do it again” now that is a fantastic team!

How has TIAC changed over the years?

Where to begin? In 2008, when I joined TIAC, the organization was focused on delivering programs for the industry. We experienced significant change when David Goldstein joined TIAC as the CEO and began a campaign to elevate the importance of tourism as an economic generator for Canada. It was about advancing the tourism file in Ottawa and making our industry an essential part of the national conversation. It was an exciting time…we were moving the needle while at the same time delivering programs, including our annual Congress, the then-named Canadian Tourism Awards of Excellence, Rendez-vous Canada, GoMedia and Connecting America. Over the next five years, there was a significant change and advancement in the industry.

This passion was carried on by the late Charlotte Bell, who advocated for a whole-of-government approach, which became a reality in 2019, along with the position of Tourism as Canada’s 7th Economic Table. Charlotte embraced the vision to unite and work in step with other national organizations forming the Coalition of Hardest Hit. Before Charlotte’s passing, she began the journey through Covid, encouraging the government to implement wage and rent subsidization programs to help weather the economic storm and fall out of the pandemic.

When Beth Potter came on board, the TIAC engine moved into overdrive. Over the last few years, our small national team, which at one point was down to seven full-time staff, has moved mountains, delivering programs and accomplishing more quickly than most larger organizations could do in a few years.  

We can always do more; our parking lot is overflowing with ideas and concepts to help our members and industry grow. Every day is like plunging into ice-cold water – an energizing, shocking and jolting awakening of endless possibilities. Once tourism is in your blood, you are forever changed; I am living proof.

As you look to the future of tourism in Canada, what are you most excited about?

While I don’t think this industry is out of the woods, I am thrilled how recent challenges brought us together for the good of the whole; a great example is the Coalition of Hardest Hit. The past few years have been brutal; I don’t think we have worked harder and longer to plan and develop strategies to help the industry move forward and rise.

What is exciting is that we are still working together with other organizations behind the scenes tackling the issues such as the critical labour shortage and other hurdles preventing Canada from being the great country and international destination of choice.   This country was built by small businesses, and everyone in our organization counts and has a voice.  I am excited to see how our collective work will make a difference in helping them grow and flourish!