Media Releases

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Tourism Whistler and Tourism Vancouver enter marketing and sales partnership to increase meetings and incentive market share from Mexico and the UK-EU

Whistler, B.C. – Tourism Whistler and Tourism Vancouver are pleased to announce a regional destination partnership to increase meeting and incentive market share in the UK and Mexico. The partnership includes joint in-market representation and creates a great benefit to all collective members. This memorandum of understanding is effective January 2019.

Lois E. Wallis will be responsible for business development in the UK and Europe for Whistler and Vancouver. She has been on contract with Tourism Vancouver since January 2016 and has greatly improved Vancouver’s market presence and lead volume in those key markets. Currently residing in London, Lois is a former Vancouverite with a strong Vancouver hotel sales background with Pan Pacific and Fairmont Hotel Group. She is an industry veteran with over 20 years of hospitality experience working in Canada, United States and UK/Europe and has been very active in the incentive and corporate market along with International Congresses.

Whistler and Vancouver are fast becoming desirable locations for UK organizations looking for long-haul meeting and incentive destinations. This comes as a result of increased flight capacities and an amazing new array of experiences and products as well as the physical presence of Destination Canada’s Business Events office in London.

Margarita Valle, a strong and experienced in-market hospitality expert, will be supporting efforts as the new representative in Mexico. A former Director of Sales for the Starwood Global sales office in Mexico City, Margarita brings 30 years of experience and client relationships to this position. Her broad range of industry connections extends beyond the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) market and includes corporate retail and wholesale, luxury markets and airline contacts. Margarita will focus on the MICE market for Whistler and Vancouver, specifically on end user corporate and incentive business as well as third party agencies who are driving incentive business.

Since the change in the Canadian visa restrictions in December 2016, Whistler, Vancouver and Canada have seen an increase in Mexican incentive group opportunities.

Margarita and Lois will report to Cassandra Zerebeski, Tourism Whistler’s sales manager for all International group business and the US association market.

Meeting planners can visit Tourism Whistler’s website at www.whistler.com/meetings and Tourism Vancouver’s website at www.tourismvancouver.com/meetings to learn more about the variety of meeting opportunities available in both destinations.

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Whistler is Canada's premier year-round leisure and meeting destination located in the Coast Mountains 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Consistently rated the top ski resort in North America, Whistler was the Host Mountain Resort of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The resort offers an extensive range of accommodations totaling 10,000 bedrooms among 24 hotels as well as townhomes, condos, B&Bs and chalets. Whistler also boasts more than 100 restaurants and bars, 200 retail shops, 25 spas and countless activity options from world-renowned skiing and snowboarding, mountain biking and golf, to hiking, rock climbing, and watersports. The Resort Municipality of Whistler is home to a diverse community of more than 10,000 permanent residents.

Tourism Whistler is the member-based marketing and sales organization representing Whistler, operating the Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler Golf Club, Whistler Visitor Centre, as well as 1.800.944.7853 and whistler.com - Whistler's official source for visitor bookings and information. As the convention and visitors bureau for the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler represents more than 7,000 members who own, manage and operate properties or businesses on resort lands including hotels, restaurants, activity operators and retail shops.

Media can visit whistler.com/media for Whistler facts, media releases, story starters, local personality profiles and access to images and B-roll.

Broadcasters: Whistler now has the capability to take you live with our enhanced fibre network. The significantly expanded network of more than 200 kilometres of fibre optic cabling throughout the resort allows instant transmission of HD signals to any location at any time. Details on how to access, and book the fibre are available on our media site.

Tourism Vancouver is the official destination marketing organization for Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The not-for-profit, member-based organization represents over 1,000 tourism businesses in Metro Vancouver and beyond. Tourism Vancouver markets Vancouver as a premier leisure, business, meetings and group travel destination in strategic markets around the world. www.tourismvancouver.com.

Media can visit tourismvancouver.com/media for Vancouver facts, media releases, latest story ideas, images and B-roll.

Vancouver offers unparalleled destination value and one of the most cohesive and supportive hospitality networks in the world. A diverse city on the edge of spectacular nature offers planners a wide range of facilities, services and experiences, while our stunning scenery, world-class dining and renowned sightseeing draws in delegates to beat previous attendance records. With North America's second-largest west coast airport, Vancouver is easily accessible from all corners of the globe.

Media Contacts

Tourism Whistler

Michelle Fernandes
Coordinator, Communications
T: 604.938.2726
E: mfernandes@tourismwhistler.com

Bree Eagles
Coordinator, Travel Media
T: 604.938.2718
E: beagles@tourismwhistler.com

W: www.whistler.com/media
T: www.twitter.com/mediaTWhistler
F: www.facebook.com/GoWhistler

Tourism Vancouver

Sabrina Tey
Acting Manager, Communications
T: 604.631.2870
E: stey@tourismvancouver.com

Carly Whetter
Communications Specialist, International and Trade
T: 604.631.2873
E: cwhetter@tourismvancouver.com

W: www.tourismvancouver.com/media/
T: www.twitter.com/meetvancouver
F: www.facebook.com/insidevancouver/