The head of an association representing restaurants in the province suggested now could be a good time to explore a concept for a hospitality program which educates customers about the place they live.
British Columbia Restaurant and Foodservices Association president Ian Tostenson said there are already all sorts of restaurant programs – from appetizer programs to patio programs and dining programs.
To illustrate this idea, Tostenson described an example of this vision as customers scanning a QR code to receive information while they buy a coffee.
“Do you know about Victoria? Do you know about the harbour? Do you know about the history? We can engage through the power of hospitality, in our 15,000 restaurants, engage our British Columbia people on educating and really getting an appreciation for the B.C. economy. That’s never been done.”
He said he hopes such a program would help people realize they live in the best place in the world, and hopefully the province would partner with the business community to make it happen.
This idea comes amid the ongoing saga of trade troubles with the U.S.
“I see it as a worse threat than the pandemic just because we can’t control most things south of the boarder.”
With the instability, the price of non-local produce risks going up. However, he noted it is optimistic that many meats come directly from within the province.
At the end of the day, he said we can’t lose our confidence and need to continue going out and spending a little money to keep the economy going.
“The worst thing that we could do I think is collapse on ourselves in the face of uncertainty,” he added.
On the issue of making trade more efficient within Canada, Tostenson said the priority needs to be streamlining regulations.
Tostenson was on CFAX 1070 with Al Ferraby this morning: