Mar 7, 2011 | Industry, MBTA Initiatives, Partners, Uncategorized
Goal To Have BC Recognized As Top Riding Destination In The World BRITISH COLUMBIA – March 7, 2011 – The Mountain Bike Tourism Association (MBTA) has launched a new website designed to provide information and inspiration for all things mountain biking in British Columbia. “This province is arguably the hub of the mountain biking market for North America in regards to concentration of riders and the incredible amount of trail access we enjoy,” says Martin Littlejohn, Executive Director of MBTA. “There is simply so much inspiring terrain in BC, and within most communities around the province, there are passionate people helping to drive the development and awareness of these riding opportunities from the grassroots up.” The website www.mountainbikingbc.ca makes riding experiences more accessible to visitors exploring British Columbia. The Mountain Biking BC website allows active and committed riding communities across the province to consolidate their information, share it with the global mountain bike world and build awareness for British Columbia as the most diverse biking destination in the world. For its initial launch, Mountain Biking BC features eight riding destinations within the province’s six tourism regions. The MBTA is working with many more communities in the province that could benefit and as new community destinations come on board, more BC riding opportunities will be featured on the site. Currently the site features information for: Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region – Williams Lake Northern British Columbia region – Burns Lake Vancouver, Coast and Mountains region – Powell River, Squamish and Whistler Kootenay Rockies region – Rossland Thompson Okanagan region – Shuswap Vancouver Island region – Sooke Each community partner is in...
Jun 22, 2010 | Industry, Uncategorized
TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire - June 22, 2010) - On behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Mr. Paul Calandra, Member of Parliament for Oak Ridges-Markham, today announced that the Government of Canada will be investing in the creation of the Trail Care Crew. This full-time, professional team of trail experts will travel Canada yearround working on and visiting trails in order to improve outdoor opportunities for all Canadians. “I am proud to announce that the Government of Canada will be contributing $200,000 over three years to the Canadian office of the International Mountain Bicycling Association for the creation of the National Trail Care Crew,” said Mr. Calandra. “The Trail Care Crew will travel across Canada, improving existing trails, building new ones, and leading trail workshops about the importance of proper trail use, design and construction.” “Trails help to protect Canada’s fragile natural treasures while allowing us to safely enjoy them at the same time.” said Minister Prentice. “We are proud to be part of the Trail Care Crew and look forward to seeing the good work they will do on trails across Canada.” Parks Canada and the Trans Canada Trail (TCT) have partnered with the Canadian office of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) to develop the Trail Care Crew program. The Government’s contribution is part of a three way financial commitment from the other organisations involved in the project. The crew works with IMBA Canada-affiliated mountain bike clubs, TCT provincial and territorial organizations, Parks Canada’s national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas and other trail user groups...
May 12, 2010 | Industry, MBTA Initiatives, Partners, Uncategorized
Experience It All With A Season Pass To Five B.C. Bike Parks To Be Awarded June 19 WHISTLER, BC May 12, 2010 – Inspiration for Anthill Film’s latest bike film “Follow Me” was easy to come by; the resorts of Bike Parks BC are the crew and athletes’ backyards. Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Silver Star Bike Park, Sun Peaks Resort, Fernie Alpine Resort and Mount Washington Bike Park showcase an unparalleled diversity of lift-accessed terrain. “One of the things we really wanted to show in ‘Follow Me’ was the variety of the trails and terrain Bike Parks BC has,” says Ian Dunn, Producer and Marketing Director of Anthill Films. “It’s really cool how mountains only a few hours apart can be so different - from views of the Pacific on Mount Washington and the perfectly groomed berms of Silverstar, to the fast and flowy runs on Sun Peaks, the technical descents at Fernie and the non-stop action of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park - each park has it’s own unique feel.” Bike Parks BC’s “Ultimate Summer of Free Ride” will give one rider a summer of access to B.C’s best bike parks with a season pass to Whistler Mountain Bike Park, Silver Star Bike Park, Sun Peaks Resort, Fernie Alpine Resort and Mount Washington Bike Park. The winner will also get two lift tickets, two nights accommodation, two days of bike rentals, and a half day of expert guiding to share with a friend at each resort during the 2010 summer season; not to mention $1,000 so they can create the most epic summer road trip ever. “Riding in...
Apr 15, 2010 | Industry, MBTA Initiatives, Uncategorized
Vancouver, BC, April 15, 2010 - British Columbia is poised to become recognized as the most diverse mountain biking tourism destination in the world. The province already has an enviable reputation for mountain biking with internationally recognized resorts, communities, trails, manufacturers, websites, film makers and pro riders. Over the past year, stakeholders from the mountain bike sector have come together to develop a plan for increasing mountain biking visitation to the province through a collaborative marketing strategy developed through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and the Arts (MTCA)’s Experiences BC® program . The result has been a new coordinated approach bringing communities and commercial operators together to market BC’s mountain biking experiences to the rest of the world. “Now that we have a 3 year plan and a clear vision, the next big challenge will be to gain the required investment from communities around the province that have what it takes to be a mountain biking tourism destination” said Martin Littlejohn, Executive Director of the Western Canada Mountain Bike Tourism Association (MBTA). “We have a very unique opportunity to create a successful mountain bike tourism sector for the province. Many of the resources are already in place, however, there is still work to be done to insure that every visitor’s experience is the best it can be”. The timing is excellent as awareness for BC’s adventure tourism experiences has never been greater thanks to the international exposure that the province received during the 2010 Winter Olympics. There has also been a great deal of progress at the community level in terms of authorization and management of mountain bike trails....
May 27, 2009 | Industry, Uncategorized
Ride Guide’s ultimate road trip through bike parks in BC, will be featured on an upcoming “Ride Guide” episode on OLN on Sunday, May 31, 2009 at 12:30 pm Eastern (9:30 am Pacific). The “Ride Guide” Bike Parks BC Episode, will also premiere on Rush HD (Canada only), also on Sunday, May 31, 2009 at 8:30 pm Eastern (5:30 pm Pacific) and again at 11:30 pm Eastern (8:30 pm Pacific), with a repeat on Saturday, June 6 at 9:00 pm Eastern (6:00 pm Pacific). Ride Guide is broadcast on Rush HD under the title; “Descent”. Rush HD is Canada’s high-octane, no fear, no-limits extreme sports HD Channel, and is distributed throughout Canada on the Rogers and Bell ExpressVu systems. Ride Guide is a mountain travel TV series, where the hosts and guest pros, share their travels of skiing, snowboarding and mountain biking from locations throughout the world. Ride Guide is available throughout Canada on OLN, Rush HD, Men TV, Shaw Video On Demand, and Rogers On Demand. Ride Guide can be seen exclusively in the USA on The Ski Channel. Check out all Ride Guide broadcast schedules at...
May 10, 2009 | Industry, MBTA Initiatives, Partners, Uncategorized
Vancouver, BC, May 10, 2009 – Tourism British Columbia is pleased to announce the development of a new partnership with the Western Canada Mountain Bike Tourism Association (MBTA) aimed at engaging BC’s Mountain Bike sector stakeholders in Tourism British Columbia’s Experiences BC® sector development program. The Experiences BC® program is designed to assist tourism product sectors in the development of an overall sector tourism marketing plan that is province-wide in scope. Tourism BC, working in partnership with a variety of key mountain bike sector stakeholders, including regional & city destination marketing organizations, commercial operators, resort operators, trail groups and government agencies will all work together on several initiatives to create further awareness of British Columbia as a destination of choice for mountain biking. “The MBTA is pleased to see this support from Tourism BC for the mountain biking tourism sector,” said Martin Littlejohn, Director, Western Canada Mountain Bike Tourism Association. “British Columbia has a tremendous opportunity to build onto its reputation for adventure tourism and its long standing mountain biking culture. BC’s diverse landscapes and high standards for trail development have the potential for world-class mountain biking experiences that are unmatched anywhere on the planet.” Initial meetings will be held in each of the province’s six tourism regions. These meetings will be administered by a Tourism BC appointed facilitator and are intended to bring mountain bike and tourism stakeholders together to collect information and explore the fundamental issues involved in building a provincial sector development tourism marketing strategy. From these meetings, representatives from each of BC’s six tourism regions will be identified and invited to participate in a provincial...
