BC Escapes Press Trip
Victoria
(March 2005)

Meetings & Travel Trade Update

There is a reason why Victoria has been named one of the Top 10 Best Foreign Cities in the World by Condé Nast Traveler magazine. In fact, there is an island full of reasons and all of them point to this seaside, resort-style destination as the perfect location for meeting, conference or incentive trips.

To assist you with stories ideas for the business and travel trade market, we have compiled the lastest information about new and featured products in Victoria and on Vancouver Island for the Meeting & Incentive Travel, Cruise and Travel Trade customers.

Meeting & Incentive Travel

SAIL THE WILD SIDE
This summer, Blackfish Wilderness Expeditions is offering groups visiting Victoria, BC the chance to experience a hands-on sailing regatta. Half and full day sailing and teambuilding tours for groups of four to 48 people are available. Groups will experience sailing 27 ft. to 50 ft. sailboats "flotilla style" from either Victoria's Inner Harbour or Oak Bay to explore Discovery Island, Race Rocks and Fort Rodd Hill while enjoying the beauty of the Vancouver Island coastline and watching for marine wildlife. The tour will stop along the way for lunch, sightseeing and activities before sailing back. No experience is required, only a desire to participate. For group members who prefer a more sedate experience - where a captain does all the sailing - larger cruise-style sailboats which hold up to 18 people are also available. Rates range from $80.00 CDN/$72.00 US per person for a half day sail to $125.00 CDN/$112.00 US per person for the full day sail. Other group activities offered by Blackfish Wilderness Expeditions include a journey in a giant canoe, kayaking in and around various local islands, whale watching adventures and overnight trips using multiple boats that sleep up to four people each. For more information visit www.blackfishwilderness.com.

MEET IN THE TEMPLE'S CHAMBER
The Temple Restaurant in Victoria, BC has opened a new private dining and meeting space called the Chamber. Situated on the second floor of the restaurant, the Chamber can accommodate up to 22 people. The room can be set up in various ways to accommodate group needs and includes two private washrooms. Housed in downtown Victoria's historic Temple Building, built in 1893, the award-winning Temple Restaurant boasts a beautifully restored heritage exterior while  its interior offers a stylish and sleek contemporary design. Although the name of the building suggests a place of worship, it actually refers to its architectural style, but visitors will not want to miss the "confessional." Since opening in 2003, Temple has epitomized the "hipper" side of Victoria. Its interior design and commitment to locally inspired cuisine has drawn a discerning urban clientele and international reviews in magazines ranging from Flare to National Geographic Traveler. The restaurant was named one of Canada's Top Ten Best New Restaurants in its inaugural year by Air Canada's Enroute Magazine. For more information visit   www.thechamber.ca.

TRAVEL WITH TASTE TOURS
Travel with Taste Tours offers visitors to Victoria, BC the opportunity to take an edible journey through Southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Travel with Taste offers custom tours to groups of two to 28 people to the Cowichan Valley, Saanich Peninsula and Salt Spring Island as well as chef demonstrations and cooking classes. Victoria and Vancouver Island have it all - fresh seafood, pasture raised meats, artisan cheeses, outstanding organic produce, hand harvested seaweed, wild foods from the forest and balsamic vinegar, cider and fine wines. Guests will meet producers, taste local foods and wines and experience special details that they would not receive on their own. Day tours are offered March through October, but custom group bookings are also available throughout the year. Corporate and group bookings are custom designed to accommodate individual group needs. A culinary tour is an innovative way for groups to combine a meal with a teambuilding activity. For more information visit www.travelwithtaste.com.

NORTHWIND VOYAGES
The M.Y. Northwind, a legendary, private yacht that has sailed the world and seen everything from war to royalty and celebrities, is now moored in Victoria, BC's Inner Harbour and offering tours along BC's coast. Available tours include the Gulf Islands, West Coast, Golf, Equestrian and Self Discovery, as well as custom charters. The 130 ft. Northwind is currently licensed to carry 12 passengers, but can hold upwards of 100 people if moored. Recently restored to her 1930's grandeur, the Northwind has five accommodation suites, a personal chef with customized dining options and wine cellar. Originally commissioned by wealthy American industrialist Charles Martin Clark Jr., the Northwind played a vital role in the evacuation of British troops at Dunkirk during WWII and has entertained Winston Churchill, members of the British Royal Family, Aristotle Onassis and the Kennedys, and the Sultan of Oman to name just a few. For more information visit www.northwindvoyages.com.

Travel Trade

BREECHING NEW GROUND
This summer, Prince of Whales, Victoria BC's largest whale watching operator, has launched the second of its 62-ft., 74-passenger vessels and will offer a new marine link from Vancouver to Victoria. Daily departures from downtown Vancouver at 7:30 am will transit the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands on a four-hour whale watching and sightseeing adventure enroute to downtown Victoria. The return trip to Vancouver departs at 3:30 pm and follows a different route to take in the moving wildlife. Whale sightings in Victoria's waters are 90 per cent or better from May through October. As of July, rates start at $149.00 CDN/$133.00 US for adults and $125.00 CDN/$111.00 US for children age five to 12. Return tickets offer a discount at $248.00 CDN/$220.00 US for adults return and $200.00 CDN/$178.00 US for youth return. For more information visit www.princeofwhales.com.

VICTORIA CLIPPER CELEBRATES 20th ANNIVERSARY
This summer, Victoria Clipper, the high-speed passenger-only ferry between Victoria, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington, celebrates 20 years of travel. Since the Clipper's first sailing on July 1, 1986, it has carried nearly six million people on the round trip between Victoria and Seattle. A vital contributor to Victoria's tourism-based economy, the Victoria Clipper makes over 750 round trips between Victoria and Seattle each year and has become a custom for many Seattleites and visitors to the Pacific Northwest as a year-round means to visit Victoria. Offering both comfort and convenience for travellers during the two and-a-half hour cruise, the ferry docks right downtown in pedestrian-friendly Victoria. En route to the city, passengers are privy to breathtaking views while cruising through Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Aboard, visitors can engage in a family board game, shop for gifts and duty-free items, or relax and enjoy a light meal. Over the past two decades, Clipper Navigation, Inc., which owns the Victoria Clipper and the ever-expanding Clipper Vacations, have significantly raised the profile of Victoria and Vancouver Island throughout the Pacific Northwest. For more information visit www.victoriaclipper.com.

NEW CELEBRITY CRUISES TO BC
Celebrity Cruise Lines has launched a series of new cruises that only visit British Columbia ports instead of the traditional Alaskan destinations.  After a successful inaugural year in Fall 2005, Celebrity will again offer the BC-only cruises in September and October 2006. The BC cruises depart Seattle for three and four-night trips to BC destinations including Victoria, Vancouver, Nanaimo, Campbell River and Prince Rupert. Campbell River, located 4 hours north of Victoria, has been added as a new stop for the 2006 cruise season due to the construction of a new cruise facility. Six out of eight cruises will visit Campbell River as part of their itinerary; more than any other BC port. Three cruises will sail Canada's Inside Passage; a distinctive cruise destination between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia. While smaller pocket cruise ships have done BC only cruises for years, this is the first foray into British Columbia by a major cruise line which carries over 1,800 passengers per trip - a success of the efforts made by Cruise BC, the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority and other partners who have been working to bring this sort of cruise business to the province. For more information visit www.celebritycruises.com

FATAL ATTRACTION TEMPTS VISITORS AT THE ROYAL BC MUSEUM
From October 5, 2006 - January 7, 2007, a new exhibit entitled Fatal Attraction will appear at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC. Fatal Attraction is an internationally travelling exhibition from Europe that explores the language of love in the animal world. This 8,611 sq. ft. interactive and light-hearted show reveals the unique and often surprising courtship rituals among creatures great and small including mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, insects and even humans. The number of forms that these "love letters" take is almost infinite: songs, calls, positions, mimics, vibrations, light codes, bright colours, scents, proud strutting and "dirty dancing." Visitors are greeted by several impressive creatures (Note: there are no live animals in this exhibition) and a number of interactive, colourful, spiral-shaped exhibits exploring visual, chemical and sound signals. Next, the "fatal" in Fatal Attraction is revealed as visitors learn that attracting and seducing a mate is not always a no-risk business as predators may also read the signals. Finally, visitors will complete their exhibition experience with a look at one of the strangest animals of all - humans. A short video tastefully shows people's seductive behaviour and how, when it comes to "love," we are not that different from other creatures around the planet. For more information visit www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.