Stephen Pearce

Background

About Stephen Pearce

I’m a strategic marketer with over thirty years’ experience in destination marketing and development in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Vancouver. Creativity, innovation and strategy has characterized my approach to market development and competition. I believe in the power of teams, and the exemplary success that can be achieved by passionate people with a common goal. I've worked with public and private companies across Canada, including 19 years with Tourism Vancouver where I was the Vice President, Marketing, and the Vice President, Strategy, International Markets. Responsibilities included consumer and trade marketing, media and communications, digital marketing, research, and business analytics. My team coordinated campaigns in key markets around the globe, and were responsible for brand development and execution. During my tenure in Vancouver between 2001 and 2019, overnight visitation increased from 8.3 to 11.0 million, revpar from $93.58 to $209.69, annual occupancy from 64% to 80%, and the economic impact attributable to tourism grew from $3.5 billion to $5.1 billion. In 2020, I left the great team at Tourism Vancouver to begin a new chapter and joined GainingEdge as a partner responsible for tourism and leisure development consulting. GainingEdge is a global specialist consulting firm advising the tourism and business events industry and associations since 2004. They have offices in Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur, Paris, The Hague, Johannesburg, Dubai, and Vancouver. I’m active at the national level; having served as the Chair of the Canadian Tourism Commission’s (now Destination Canada) Research Advisory Committee for seven years, and as Chair of the US Advisory Committee. I also have the honour of being the past Chair for the British Columbia chapter of the Canada China Business Council, and the past secretary/treasurer for the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). I have also been a sessional instructor at Brock University in Ontario and Capilano University in Vancouver. An avid traveler, I've lived across Canada, in Germany and in Uganda. I've also led volunteer missions in Tanzania and Kyrgyzstan to develop and grow their tourism economies. My educational background includes an MA in Geography from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA in Marketing from the University of York. Specialties: Strategy, public speaking, research and analysis, market planning, business planning, brand development, communications, negotiation, mentoring, teaching.