A BCIT Tourism Management team took first place in go2HR’s ‘The Winning Pitch‘ case competition for the Vancouver, Coast and Mountains Region for the second consecutive year. The competition tasked Lower Mainland tourism students to develop a business idea to increase shoulder season visitation to the Vancouver, Coast, and Mountains Region. This event is a precursor for the provincial competition at the BC Tourism Industry Conference in Kelowna in March.
Tourism students had 10 minutes to present their solution for increasing traffic to an underserved area. The winning proposal, called Land and Lakes Cultural Adventures (LLCA), paired a Harbour Air seaplane experience with a multi-day immersive Indigenous cultural experience south of Lillooet. The winning team was comprised of Kelsey Acres, Melissa Long, Amanda McArthur, and Daniella Potesta, all second-year BCIT Tourism Management diploma students.
The judges for the competition were:
- Michael Pye, General Manager of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
- Eda Koot, General Manager of the Pacific Gateway Hotel.
- Alison McKay, Director of Destination and Industry Development for Destination BC.
- Nikki Bayley, an award-winning journalist and travel writer.
The winning student team was joined by a second BCIT tourism team, Rainbow Tours, who developed a day hike experience for LGBTQ+ visitors to Hope. Douglas College were first runners up with their “Eight Days of Fortune” package geared to Chinese visitors, and the Local 8 Festival concept from Capilano University – in addition to presenters from Vancouver Community College and Canadian Tourism College.
Next stop for the winning team is the BC Tourism Industry Conference, where they’ll join the winners from the Kootenay Rockies, Thompson Okanagan, and Vancouver Island regional events for a provincial showdown.