Media Releases
Monday, May 28, 2012
Tourism Whistler pleased with Family Day date
Tourism Whistler media release
For immediate release - May 28, 2012
Tourism Whistler pleased with
Family Day date
Whistler, B.C. – Today the Provincial Government announced that the new
public holiday, beginning in 2013 and known as Family Day, will be scheduled
for the second Monday of February, much to the delight of tourism officials.
Initially, the provincial government had suggested the holiday would be
held annually on the third Monday of each February, aligning with other
provinces and neighbouring states which recognize similar holidays.
Tourism Whistler, along with resort and industry partners, lobbied the government
to instead consider moving the Family Day holiday to the second Monday in
February. The original proposal would see the holiday fall on the U.S.
holiday of George Washington’s birthday – otherwise known as Presidents’ Day
-- an already significantly busy time for the resort and other B.C.
destinations.
The province, through the Ministry of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open
Government, and the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, announced a
consultation process asking for feedback from British Columbians.
Feedback was gathered online at http://blog.gov.bc.ca/bcfamilyday/
until May 22 with the announcement coming today from Premier Christy
Clark and Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Labour, Citizens’ Services and
Open Government. According to the provincial government, a record number of
British Columbians participated in the online discussion with 18,202
supporting the second Monday of February compared with 9,436 selecting the
third Monday; 3,508 had no preference.
“We are very pleased with the government’s announcement that Family Day
will be moved away from the Presidents’ Week holiday in February,” said
Barrett Fisher, Tourism Whistler’s President & CEO.
“In conjunction with Whistler Blackcomb, the Resort Municipality of
Whistler and resorts from across B.C., we made our opinion clear that adding
a holiday to an already busy weekend on the calendar was not the most
economically beneficial decision,” Fisher said.
“By adding the holiday earlier in the month, it allows us to capitalize on
the tourism opportunity,” she said. “We encouraged our members and partners
to also voice their opinions on this issue and would like to thank everyone
who weighed in and shared their comments.”
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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.WHISTLER 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.
Media
Contact
Patricia Westerholm
Manager, Corporate Communications
T: 604.938.2748
E: pwesterholm@tourismwhistler.com
W: www.whistler.com/media
T: www.twitter.com/mediaTWhistler
F: www.facebook.com/GoWhistler