About us

Who is GoBC?

GoBC Arts & Cultural Tourism Inc. is an independent business owned by its founders, Wolfgang and Sibylle Zilker, and located in Victoria, BC

Click here to meet our Team

Mission and Goals

Concerned about BC's reliance on resource exploration and the accompanying cost to the environment, and recognizing the need for an economic alternative for BC communities, Wolfgang and Sibylle Zilkers founded "GoBC Arts and Cultural Tourism, Inc." Their goal is to contribute to the growth of a sustainable tourism industry in BC. GoBC created a comprehensive culture and tourism website focusing on BC's vibrant arts community, along with information about communities and areas, and listings by tour providers and accommodations.
GoBC's continuing growth is intrinsically linked to Wolfgang and Sibylle's commitment to art, culture, and conservation. Profiles by over 1100 talented BC artists and artisans, along with studio tours, performances and festivals create compelling content and put communities on the map. Complete with nearly 800 attractions and accommodations, GoBC is a treasure chest for locals and visitors alike.

Business Model

GoBC's inclusive approach and creative marketing concept creates a mutual benefit to businesses and the arts. Artists post their profiles on GoBC at no cost, thereby creating original and current content. Festivals and cultural event listings are also offered at no cost. Businesses, including tour providers and accommodations, list with GoBC for an annual fee. GoBC does not receive any external funding, and is independent of government.

Marketing

GoBC uses search engine optimization to bring traffic to the website. Information is offered in English and German. The site does not post advertisements. Links to additional online resources ensure that site visitors are shown the best of BC.
GoBC also partners with artists and community groups to attract tourists and out-of-town visitors to events.

Make Your Mark

Join us in supporting the arts and businesses in communities throughout British Columbia. It's simple and direct:

• Share your ideas, get together with your colleagues, and get feedback from your local arts community.
• Make your region or town more attractive. Add information, photos and activities to our free Event Calendar for your area.
• We’ll come to you! We offer live presentations about GoBC benefits. Ask your Chamber of Commerce or city council if they would be interested in a presentation on how businesses listing with GoBC, and supporting arts and culture, can bring tourists to your area.
• We highly appreciate a link to GoBC from your website.
  To apply a link from your website to GoBC just copy and paste the code below
  
  Textlink code for your web site:
  
  <a href="http://www.gobc.ca" target=_blank>British Columbia Travel Guide - GoBC</a>
  
  This is how it will look like: British Columbia Travel Guide - GoBC

We always welcome your feedback and would love to hear from you as we add new features and improvements to GoBC.
Tell us your stories.

Special Thanks to our volunteers from day one

Thank you all for your countless hours and important input into our project. We would especially like to acknowledge two volunteers who helped to get GoBC off the ground, Detlef Friede and Gerlinde Weimer-Stuckmann. Detlef as an artist himself was instrumental to connect to the arts community and Gerlinde with her linguistic expertise supported our mission from the start.