Real Talk With Barrett Fisher
Whistler has adapted to everchanging public health orders in order to keep residents, workers and guests safe, while still managing to provide a world-class experience with everlasting memories.
Navigating through the challenges brought upon Whistler is Barrett Fisher, President & CEO of Tourism Whistler. Barrett has taken the time to share some of her experiences dealing with the current state of the industry, career highlights and words of wisdom for the next generation of Women of WORTH.
What would you say are your most memorable and proud career highlights?
In my position as CEO, I have had the good fortune of being involved in many highs, as well as many lows. I believe we learn just as much, or more, from the challenges we overcome, as we do from the successes we achieve.
Certainly, a major highlight for me was contributing to the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. I sat on the Board of Directors of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for 10 years, leading up to, during, and following the Games; but also orchestrated a number of key tourism strategies in Whistler to ensure a successful games. We faced a number of challenges and opportunities from overcoming visitor aversion during the Olympic winter season, to engaging travel trade and meeting planners to embrace the Games; from hosting accredited and non-accredited media during the Games, to providing visitor servicing support throughout the Resort. The Games represented a massive undertaking in a very condensed period of time, so the critical element to our success was coordinated planning and deep collaboration with our resort partners, our regional and national partners, our tourism industry partners, and our VANOC partners. Not only did the Games put Whistler on the international stage from a reputation perspective, but the skills we learned coming out of the Games made us stronger event and conference hosts moving forward.
Another highlight was leading and co-chairing a national study and advocacy effort to remove barriers to travel in Canada. In 2015, Canada was lagging in tourism growth compared to our international counterparts, and we needed to get the government’s attention. We rallied national partners and secured 25 major funders ranging from airports and airlines to hotels and tourism bureaus to participate in a Deloitte-commissioned study identifying the top barriers to competitive tourism. The final report which confirmed the need for greater open-skies air agreements, improved visitor visa processing from international countries, and increased national funding for Destination Canada was utilized to lobby the federal government, and the results were positive, elevating the tourism agenda with government, and increasing investment of both funding and attention into these critical areas of need.
A third highlight would be the Place Branding work Tourism Whistler undertook in 2019, which was a comprehensive engagement with visitors, businesses and residents to better understand what truly makes Whistler special and unique, and what ideal tourism looks like moving forward. As Whistler has continued to grow in awareness levels and visitation, we recognized the importance of understanding, aligning and supporting the needs of all stakeholders. There was consensus that what makes our destination special to visitors and locals alike, is our stunning natural landscape, our vibrant local community, and our unique mountain culture. As we honour, protect and celebrate our destination and community, Tourism Whistler’s role continues to change and evolve in how we support sustainable growth, ensure balanced visitation, and promote responsible visitor behaviors.
Do you have any words of advice for women in our industry interested in senior leadership, or those returning to the industry, who may be discouraged right now?
The tourism industry is suffering from a major labor shortage; this was occurring prior to the pandemic, but has now been exacerbated by the pandemic. We are seeing a large volume of industry resignations from employees leaving or not returning to tourism as a result of multiple factors such as lifestyle changes due to individuals looking for greater work-life balance, mature employees looking at earlier retirements, and workers who have now moved on to other industries after layoffs and job losses during the pandemic. These changes are not just impacting front-line workers, but also professional and management positions.
So my advice would be that there has never been a better time to return to the tourism industry, or to express interest in a senior leadership position. Our industry needs bright, strategic, passionate, thoughtful, creative, and hard-working colleagues and leaders to support the next decade of change management.
How have Tourism Whistler and the Resort of Whistler handled the labor shortage?
As mentioned above, the tourism industry has been experiencing a major labor shortage, and Whistler has been no exception. Our employees are the face of tourism, and our visitor research shows that a positive guest interaction is the most important element in creating memorable vacations.
We have therefore been collaborating with our resort partners, specifically the Whistler Chamber of Commerce and the business community, to provide tools to support employee recruitment, including producing a ‘Live, Work & Play in Whistler’ video and undertaking a national recruitment marketing campaign. Our Chamber has been advocating for improved and streamlined working visas for the speedier return of international employees, and the business community has been increasing the wages of high-demand front-line and service workers to ensure we remain competitive.
Is there one woman who has had a significant impact on your career?
There have been so many amazing women who have impacted my career, on both a small and large scale, as I have been fortunate to be surrounded by a number of strong and remarkable women in business and in government – here in Whistler, within the tourism industry, and on a number of boards and committees I have had the pleasure of serving on.
Interestingly, though, when you ask this question, it is in fact a man who immediately comes to mind, only because this man totally believed in me, and was always there to motivate and support me, and that man was my father. He was a bright, thoughtful, hard working, and generous man, and his belief in life was that anything was possible if you truly wanted it enough, you just had to set your goals, take action, work hard, and go after it.
How is Whistler navigating the ski season with COVID-19?
I am a big downhill skier and cross-country skier, so I am super excited for the upcoming winter season. Skiing is an amazing way to get some fresh air and exercise, to clear your head and leave your stresses behind – especially coming out of the pandemic. We have received a ton of new snow, and both Whistler Blackcomb and Whistler Sports Legacies are open for skiing.
Fortunately, Whistler’s population has very high vaccination levels, in the mid-90 percentile.
Similarly, research shows that our target visitors also have very high vaccination levels. In addition to this, Whistler continues to follow provincial health authority guidelines, ensuring we are supporting all of the necessary orders and protocols. Fortunately, skiing provides visitors with a healthy outdoor activity in the mountains; and then health orders and protocols are supported for indoor locations – from double vaccination requirements in restaurants, to wearing masks on gondolas and chairlifts.
Can you recommend any hidden gems in Whistler?
Whistler is known as an iconic ski, hike and bike destination, but many are not aware of the resort’s cultural side.
The Audain Art Museum and Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre are two world-class arts and culture facilities –the Audain features a stunning permanent art collection from British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, along with visiting international collections; and the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre showcases the rich traditions, art, music, dance, storytelling, crafts, and cuisine from Whistler’s two neighboring First Nations of Squamish and Lil’wat.
Another hidden gem is the Train Wreck – a historical site in the Cheakamus neighborhood where a train crash occurred back in 1956, when a freighter derailed on a portion of track that was under repair. A number of the damaged box cars, which have since become the canvas of local artists, still remain in the forest near the original crash site.
What piece of advice would you give up-and-coming women leaders?
I would say to be more fearless. When we are young, we are often not sure if we are on the right track, or we give deference to others who we think may have more experience or knowledge than we do. Respecting others opinions and learning from others is critically important, but young women also need to have confidence in themselves, and have the courage to ask tough questions, to state an opinion that may differ from the group, or to disagree with a direction if they have reasons to believe it will not lead to the best outcome. I like to call it “loyal opposition” – ensuring you are working collaboratively with the best interests of the group, but also prepared to challenge the status quo, and to strive for a new or better way.
What is the top destination or experience on your BC bucket list?
B.C. has so many wonderful vacation destinations; and I have done many of them, from Victoria and the Islands, to the Okanagan’s lakes and vineyards. This summer we did a wonderful road trip through the Kootenays; I really love the quaint and charming mountain towns throughout Eastern B.C and the Rockies. My B.C. bucket list trip, though, will be to go to Haida Gwaii, as I still have not made it there.
About Barrett Fisher
Barrett Fisher is the President & CEO of Tourism Whistler. She brings to her position 30 years of tourism experience, and is responsible for marketing Whistler to the world, elevating Whistler from a winter regional destination to a year-round international destination.
In addition to heading up the tourism organization of Research; Destination Development; Market Development; Marketing; Travel Media; Communications; and Conference Sales; Fisher’s responsibilities also include overseeing the operations of the Whistler Conference Centre, the Whistler Golf Club, the Whistler Visitor Centre, and Whistler.com Reservations.
Fisher is passionate about strategic planning, change management, and people leadership; and her organization’s most recent focus has been on responsible tourism, destination development, and growth management.
Fisher currently serves on the boards of the Tourism Industry Association of British Columbia, the British Columbia DMO Association (which she chaired for three years), and Whistler Sports Legacies. Prior to these, she served on a number of additional boards, including the Vancouver Organizing Committee of the 2010 Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games, the Pemberton Airport Authority, the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, and the Whistler Arts Council.