SMALL SHIP TOUR OPERATORS ASSOCIATION / SIMON AGER
Wilderness tourism is a force for good
The WTA supports projects that focus on the sustainable management of BC’s wild spaces, and the sustainable development of BC’s tourism industry. We offer our members project support ranging from proposals, development, administration and advocacy.
Our Projects
We support projects on land tenure access and security, management of land and natural resource use, marine and fisheries planning, protection of wild Pacific salmon, and marketing British Columbia’s wilderness tourism experiences. Learn about some exciting initiatives we have been involved in over the past few years:
OUTERSHORES EXPEDITIONS
CLIMATE READY BC SEAFOOD PROGRAM
Have you heard of ocean acidification and hypoxia? CO2 pollution causes a lowering in PH (acidication) and oxygen (hypoxia) levels in the ocean. To put it simply, our oceans are turning acidic and being depleted of oxygen. This has serious impacts - it prevents shellfish from forming shells and decreases the metabolic rate in fish (it has sometimes been referred to as osteoporosis of the sea). Our seas depend upon healthy intact ecosystems ---ocean acidification and hypoxia is throwing everything off balance. This change will become more extreme as the world continues to burn fossil fuels and CO2 outputs become unsustainable for our planet. And this obviously puts ocean food supplies and coastal economies at risk.
What is our organization doing about this about this? In 2024 and 2025, the WTA is honoured and excited to be a recipient of the 'Climate Ready BC Seafood' grant. This summer we are equipping some of our member's boats with sensors to measure ocean acidification and hypoxia as our vessels cruise the BC coast. By collecting useful data we will help combat climate change. This is a great example of 'tourism as a force for good' and citizen science at work. Stay tuned as the project develops...
This initiative is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and we are also working with the good folks at the Tula Collaborative Centre and Hakai Institute.
Climate Ready BC Seafood Program Partners:
SSTOA / JEFF REYNOLDS
Historic Coastal Clean Up with the Small Ship Tour Operators Association of BC
As the events of the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in the spring and early summer of 2020, and travel and tourism came to a halt, the SSTOA and the WTA conceived and conducted a massive shoreline clean up along British Columbia’s coast.
In 2020 and 2021, this initiative saw a collective 327 tonnes of plastic waste removed and recycled from local waters, making it BC’s largest marine debris clean up in history. The WTA has been an integral member in the success of this project through its administration, delivery and publicity.
NIMMO BAY RESORT
#BellyUp Campaign to Save Wild
Pacific Salmon
In October 2021, the WTA partnered with Wave’s Edge Canada Group and Salal Foundation to promote sustainable, land-based salmon farming solutions. The campaign called upon community members and tourism businesses to help voice the connection between the health of wild salmon and the vitality of BC’s tourism economy, in hopes of encouraging the government to transition from open-net pen salmon farms.
The campaign ran for a month and ended with a successful meeting between the WTA and the BC Government. Over 1.5 million people in BC saw the campaign on social media, the campaign elements were seen over 4.5x in total, and the 6 interview videos with remote tourism operators garnered over 600,000 plays.
MAPLE LEAF ADVENTURES / KEVIN SMITH
Destination British Columbia’s Co-Op Marketing Program
In 2021 and 2022, the WTA participated in Destination British Columbia’s Co-Op Marketing Program to help showcase the WTA membership to consumers. The program is designed to sustainably grow the visitor economy through innovative marketing, and to increase tourism revenues which provide social and economic benefits for residents of BC.
By 2023, the WTA and DBC will have spent $50, 000 on marketing the plethora of experiences offered by WTA members to domestic and international travelers.
WILD BEAR LODGE
The WTA is an active member of the Adventure Tourism Coalition (ATC), comprised of a group of 19 diverse adventure tourism stakeholders and sectors. The ATC aims to encourage, enable, and manage the sustainable growth of adventure tourism in BC by improving collaboration and alignment across the adventure tourism industry, governmental organizations, and recreational users. The ATC is currently championing an Adventure Tourism Policy to the BC Government.
PACIFIC YELLOWFIN
The WTA holds a seat at the Fish, Wildlife and Habitat Coalition (FWHC), which is made up of 28 non-government environmental organizations and stakeholders. The mission of the FWHC is to advocate for biodiversity and ecosystem health including the restoration and long-term sustainability of fish, wildlife and habitat in British Columbia. This group works to ensure sound, long term management of BC's fish, wildlife, park and other recreational resources in the best interest of all British Columbians.