The Wellness Travel Show

An inspired conversation with Patrick J. Spencer, Marketing Manager with Halycon Hot Springs Resort, to learn what this means during a pandemic!  With bragging rights to some of the world’s most restorative hot springs, Halycon Hot Springs Resort is exceptional.  The history of the area as a wellness destination goes back over 100s of years as the Resort sits adjacent to Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenays region of British Columbia in Canada.  Listen in to the history, the opportunities for your well-being, and why this special destination resort should be on your wellness bucket list!  Learn more at www.greatwellnessgetaways.com.

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Wellness Travel BC is a collective of unique travel partners that engage wellness travel-seekers to look at, and then book authentic experiences for rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-energizing at beautiful hotels, resorts, retreats and destinations throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Wellness Travel Show features wellness travel experiences for everyone from couples to families to solo travellers. We also showcase specialists from all modalities of wellness including nutrition, mental wellness, skin and body health, fitness and spirituality.

Thanks to Rob Wilson and Art Factora for production management with our podcasts.

We are so glad you found us and would love to have you follow us, like us, and share us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.

Wellness Travel BC gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the 204 First Nations in British Columbia and 14 First Nations in Yukon.

An engaging conversation with a great lady I call the unofficial ambassador for Canada’s Yukon Territory!  Deb Ryan of Air North, Yukon's airline, will have you spellbound, then daydreaming about places to discover in this great land and in fact, all across Canada.  Territories to provinces, each holds nuggets of wonder that are unique with many a local’s best kept secret.  The Yukon Territory is such a place.  Deb and her husband, Joe, have spent over 40 years living here, raising their family while growing the territory's own air carrier. Pandemic update? Not only did Air North immediately create innovative health and safety protocols on the ground and inflight - their attendants wear flight jumpsuits specially created for the pandemic - they have maintained their authentic hospitality from check-in to take off!  Learn more at www.flyairnorth.com

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Support the show

Wellness Travel BC is a collective of unique travel partners that engage wellness travel-seekers to look at, and then book authentic experiences for rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-energizing at beautiful hotels, resorts, retreats and destinations throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Wellness Travel Show features wellness travel experiences for everyone from couples to families to solo travellers. We also showcase specialists from all modalities of wellness including nutrition, mental wellness, skin and body health, fitness and spirituality.

Thanks to Rob Wilson and Art Factora for production management with our podcasts.

We are so glad you found us and would love to have you follow us, like us, and share us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.

Wellness Travel BC gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the 204 First Nations in British Columbia and 14 First Nations in Yukon.

Join me with my guest, Keith Henry, CEO of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada as we talk health and wellbeing for the Indigenous tourism sector across Canada.  Our country has some of the most interesting and culturally diverse tourism providers within Indigenous communities, from province to province and within each territory, than anywhere in the world. Since 2014, the sector has seen unprecedented growth in all Indigenous tourism offerings, resulting in new job creation, increased GDP from $1.4 billion in 2014 to nearly $2 billion in 2019, and increased market and export readiness from 65 to over 130 Indigenous owned businesses within only three short years. The impact of COVID-19 has greatly affected this growth, and the opportunities it held, yet  Keith and his team are working tirelessly to provide support both financially as well as emotionally to its members.  This is a candid, engaging conversation on what this looks like in the next 18 months.  Learn more about Indigenous cultural experiences as a Great Wellness Getaway here.

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Support the show

Wellness Travel BC is a collective of unique travel partners that engage wellness travel-seekers to look at, and then book authentic experiences for rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-energizing at beautiful hotels, resorts, retreats and destinations throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Wellness Travel Show features wellness travel experiences for everyone from couples to families to solo travellers. We also showcase specialists from all modalities of wellness including nutrition, mental wellness, skin and body health, fitness and spirituality.

Thanks to Rob Wilson and Art Factora for production management with our podcasts.

We are so glad you found us and would love to have you follow us, like us, and share us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.

Wellness Travel BC gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the 204 First Nations in British Columbia and 14 First Nations in Yukon.

With leadership roles in globally recognized companies such as Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Boutique Hotels & Resorts of B.C., Watermark Beach Resort, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, Destination British Columbia, and Canadian Vacation Ownership Association, Ingrid Jarrett has a stellar career path with tourism entities in British Columbia.  Ingrid’s passion for people and place, complemented by a high level of confidence, integrity, and well-honed leadership skills means her role as the first woman to lead the BC Hotel Association as CEO and President in its 103-year history puts the Association in very good hands.  

Wellness and wellbeing are top of mind with everyone now.  COVID-19 has hit hoteliers and resorts especially hard with recovery being touted as far out as 2025 and onwards. Join me and Ingrid as we touch on the severity of the forced closures, loss of staff, and more.  Yet, as always, we get to positive solutions that might help the recovery happen sooner so the industry we both love so much will soon be well to once again return to its glory.  #bewell #bctourismcounts #bchotel #greatwellnessgetaways

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Support the show

Wellness Travel BC is a collective of unique travel partners that engage wellness travel-seekers to look at, and then book authentic experiences for rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-energizing at beautiful hotels, resorts, retreats and destinations throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Wellness Travel Show features wellness travel experiences for everyone from couples to families to solo travellers. We also showcase specialists from all modalities of wellness including nutrition, mental wellness, skin and body health, fitness and spirituality.

Thanks to Rob Wilson and Art Factora for production management with our podcasts.

We are so glad you found us and would love to have you follow us, like us, and share us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.

Wellness Travel BC gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the 204 First Nations in British Columbia and 14 First Nations in Yukon.

COVID-19 has all but decimated tourism in British Columbia.  While industry stakeholders are known for their resourcefulness and resiliency, the unimaginable loss in revenues, staff and in some cases, the return to operations as a direct result of the pandemic could never have been imagined in January 2020.  Global travellers are no longer, the meetings and convention guest is paused indefinitely and the cruise industry which has delivered millions of dollars into cities like Vancouver and Victoria is not returning for at least three to five years from now.  Join me, Cheryl MacKinnon, and my special guest, Walt Judas, CEO and President of the Tourism Industry Association of British Columbia for a candid conversation of what’s really going on behind the media coverage of the summer of 2020.  And yes, we do touch on how Walt and his family are striving to be well through these extraordinary times. Ice cream plays a major role.  

More at www.greatwellnessgetaways.com and https://www.tiabc.ca/. Thank you for sharing on your social channels #greatwellnessgetaways #bctourismcounts

Send us a text

Support the show

Wellness Travel BC is a collective of unique travel partners that engage wellness travel-seekers to look at, and then book authentic experiences for rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-energizing at beautiful hotels, resorts, retreats and destinations throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Wellness Travel Show features wellness travel experiences for everyone from couples to families to solo travellers. We also showcase specialists from all modalities of wellness including nutrition, mental wellness, skin and body health, fitness and spirituality.

Thanks to Rob Wilson and Art Factora for production management with our podcasts.

We are so glad you found us and would love to have you follow us, like us, and share us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.

Wellness Travel BC gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the 204 First Nations in British Columbia and 14 First Nations in Yukon.

A favourite getaway for recharging is to the Thompson Okanagan region of British Columbia.  Lakes for a quiet paddle, ski hills where the fresh mountain air invigorates, a desert with vistas to calm the mind, to wineries where a small indulgence can stimulate your palate, the area is a haven for all things wellness.  Joining me with an update on how tourism stakeholders have been doing through the pandemic is Ellen Walker-Matthews, Vice President.  Ellen and her team have pivoted from being the marketing agency for tge region to being the key resource for industry to engage with for everything from government support to mental health during the pandemic.  Savvy and engaging, Ellen shares what is happening with one of the leading destination marketing organizations in the province.

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Support the show

Wellness Travel BC is a collective of unique travel partners that engage wellness travel-seekers to look at, and then book authentic experiences for rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-energizing at beautiful hotels, resorts, retreats and destinations throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Wellness Travel Show features wellness travel experiences for everyone from couples to families to solo travellers. We also showcase specialists from all modalities of wellness including nutrition, mental wellness, skin and body health, fitness and spirituality.

Thanks to Rob Wilson and Art Factora for production management with our podcasts.

We are so glad you found us and would love to have you follow us, like us, and share us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.

Wellness Travel BC gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the 204 First Nations in British Columbia and 14 First Nations in Yukon.

How things have changed since we launched our site in late November 2019. Opening with podcasts describing a ‘natural high’ wellness getaway only 90 minutes outside of Vancouver, we would never have imagined the changes that lay ahead. In this episode, we welcome back Robert Reyerse, Executive Director of Tourism Harrison Hot Springs to share updates. Good news is, Harrison Hot Springs and its surrounding communities of Agassiz, Harrison Mills, and Kilby are as inviting as ever. The pandemic of COVID-19 has certainly changed the protocols of health and wellness when visiting, but it sure hasn’t taken away the wellness experience of a day or two spent revelling in such glorious surroundings. Hiking, biking, kayaking on Harrison Lake, forest bathing to dining on fresh and local bounty from farms dotting the area’s rich agricultural landscape. It’s been a good summer, yet the hope is it will continue into fall and winter. Because there’s nothing like walking the lakeshore on a brisk autumn day too. More at www.tourismharrison.com.

Send us a text

Support the show

Wellness Travel BC is a collective of unique travel partners that engage wellness travel-seekers to look at, and then book authentic experiences for rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-energizing at beautiful hotels, resorts, retreats and destinations throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Wellness Travel Show features wellness travel experiences for everyone from couples to families to solo travellers. We also showcase specialists from all modalities of wellness including nutrition, mental wellness, skin and body health, fitness and spirituality.

Thanks to Rob Wilson and Art Factora for production management with our podcasts.

We are so glad you found us and would love to have you follow us, like us, and share us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.

Wellness Travel BC gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the 204 First Nations in British Columbia and 14 First Nations in Yukon.

Rick Antonson, former CEO of Tourism Vancouver (he retired after 20 years leading this world-class DMO), NY Times Bestselling Author, Global Speaker and visionary joins Cheryl for a robust conversation about the future of tourism.  Rick’s recent Opinion piece featured in newspapers and online highlights the reality of where tourism and hospitality sit today, and yet ever so positively, where it can be only three short years from now.  Citing the work needed to done collaboratively with all levels of government, leading Destination Marketing Organizations, and more, Rick's keen insights are encouraging and thought-provoking.  Slowing down, becoming better guests and better providers of goods and services are h  ealthy considerations for one and all.

Our collective wellness is dependent on it. To learn more about Rick please visit www.rickantonson.com 

For more podcasts, blogs, and inspirational getaways, please visit us at www.greatwellnessgetaways.com.

Send us a text

Support the show

Wellness Travel BC is a collective of unique travel partners that engage wellness travel-seekers to look at, and then book authentic experiences for rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-energizing at beautiful hotels, resorts, retreats and destinations throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Wellness Travel Show features wellness travel experiences for everyone from couples to families to solo travellers. We also showcase specialists from all modalities of wellness including nutrition, mental wellness, skin and body health, fitness and spirituality.

Thanks to Rob Wilson and Art Factora for production management with our podcasts.

We are so glad you found us and would love to have you follow us, like us, and share us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.

Wellness Travel BC gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the 204 First Nations in British Columbia and 14 First Nations in Yukon.

with Kerstin Auer, Director of Marketing and Sales, Echo Valley Ranch & Spa

Think about the last time you turned off your digital ’stuff’ and felt a calm sense of being wash over you. Or when you last leaned against a fence or rock, to simply breathe in deeply, relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. Can’t recall the last time you had the chance to just “be”? Then join us as we speak with Kerstin Auer, Director of Marketing and Sales with Echo Valley Ranch & Spa, located in the rolling hills and valleys outside of Clinton, British Columbia.

Kirstin shares how easy it is to make the switch from digital to real. A wellness holiday at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa is adventure and wellness, naturally. It’s what the Ranch likes to call Real Relaxation. They pretty much guarantee you will feel it the minute you arrive – the intangible luxury of natural surroundings creates an experience unlike any other.

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Support the show

Wellness Travel BC is a collective of unique travel partners that engage wellness travel-seekers to look at, and then book authentic experiences for rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-energizing at beautiful hotels, resorts, retreats and destinations throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Wellness Travel Show features wellness travel experiences for everyone from couples to families to solo travellers. We also showcase specialists from all modalities of wellness including nutrition, mental wellness, skin and body health, fitness and spirituality.

Thanks to Rob Wilson and Art Factora for production management with our podcasts.

We are so glad you found us and would love to have you follow us, like us, and share us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.

Wellness Travel BC gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the 204 First Nations in British Columbia and 14 First Nations in Yukon.

with Eric Towne, Sales & Marketing Director, Harrison Hot Springs Resort

For over 100 years, guests have been visiting Harrison Hot Springs Resort for the healing powers of its five hot mineral pools and the serenity of its natural and man-made gardens, for what generations of Lower Mainlanders – your parents and grandparents – might have called “rest and relaxation”.

Today, this resort and spa on the waterfront of Harrison Lake continues to pull in guests who want to recharge and unplug for a day or two, or more. It’s as simple as unwinding while enveloped in the warmth of the hot springs, letting your mind and body release built-up tensions, or engaging your mind and spirit in outdoor adventures such as golf, fishing, hiking and yes, even a little skiing should you feel inclined. It’s much easier to breathe deeply when you’re relaxed.

Eric Towne, Harrison Hot Springs Resort’s Sales & Marketing Director, shares his insights on why modern travellers continue to love this iconic BC resort and its wellness offerings.

Send us a text

Support the show

Wellness Travel BC is a collective of unique travel partners that engage wellness travel-seekers to look at, and then book authentic experiences for rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and re-energizing at beautiful hotels, resorts, retreats and destinations throughout British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Wellness Travel Show features wellness travel experiences for everyone from couples to families to solo travellers. We also showcase specialists from all modalities of wellness including nutrition, mental wellness, skin and body health, fitness and spirituality.

Thanks to Rob Wilson and Art Factora for production management with our podcasts.

We are so glad you found us and would love to have you follow us, like us, and share us on Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.

Wellness Travel BC gratefully acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the 204 First Nations in British Columbia and 14 First Nations in Yukon.