Fall into Fall's Canadian Tourism events and conferences

Fall is a beautiful season in Canada with all the autumn colours and crisp cool air around us. It is also a time when the industry re-evaluates where it is and where it is going. There are several important Canadian Tourism conferences in the Fall. In the past week I have been reminded of two interesting conferences taking place in November (in addition to the national Tourism Summit): HR Forum 2010 (Nov 15 to 17), The BC Tourism Industry Conference (which starts tomorrow) and almost brand new TOTA (Thompson Okanagan) 2010 Tourism Summit (second annual Nov 3 to 5). In this post I will comment on the HR Forum.

The HR Forum is an important conference because it focuses exclusively on human resources issues in the industry. For years we have been hearing about the impending hr crisis in tourism because of the aging of our population and the need for qualified workers (not to mention the critical need for excellence in guest services). This issue has taken a back seat in the last couple of years on account of the global economic downturn. But make no mistake, if Canada is to remain competitive in tourism, the industry has to continually work on solving our human resources challenges. These are some of the sessions the HR Forum will have this year which I think any tourism business in Canada may find very helpful:

Excelling In the Tourism Sector and Learning from the 2010 Olympics - Nancy Greene Raine- Canada’s Female Athlete of the 20th Century, Entrepreneur and Senator

Using Technology for Recruitment & Retention

Foreign Workers – Clarifying the Processes

Diversity and Creating a Cohesive Workplace: Attracting and Retaining Internationally Trained Workers

Performance That Rocks - Jim Knight- Senior Director of Training, Hard Rock International

The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC)’s 9^th Annual HR Forum will be taking place from November 15 – 17 at the Edmonton Marriott at River Cree Resort in Edmonton. With the theme, “FRESH Ideas: New Opportunities - Developing a Dynamic Workforce."

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Jaime

Canadian Tourism Blog

www.cactusrock.com