Revisiting Tourism and Creativity.

Last year I wrote a post about Creativity in tourism as a marketing "secret" which I submitted for the first ever Tips from the T-List , travel industry bloggers book that was distributed at the first Canada-e-Connect eTourism strategy conference. As luck would have it, I was reminded of this topic by a woman who found me through Facebook and said her boss wanted to talk to me about the article. Furthermore, skimming over the myriad of blog post headlines I review every morning (I follow over 75 marketing and eTourism blogs), I came across one by the folks at TrendHunter (Jeremy Gutsche and Bianca Bartz) about the Top 30 Hip Hotels in 2008. It turns out that Hotel # 30 is the 21C Hotel, one of the hotels I spoke about on that article as a great example of creativity in tourism and the place where my new Facebook contact works. Given all these "coincidences," I decided to revisit this fascinating topic of creativity and tourism.

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Creativity, of course, does not necessarily mean artistic flair or skill. Creativity is the capacity to see things in a different light to address challenges and solve problems or present your offerings in a different (differentiation) and original way. We see creativity these days in many restaurants, from the decor to the meals themselves. Restaurants like Didier in Toronto and Laurie Raphael in Quebec City are very creative eateries for example. Cities themselves are either creative cities or they're not. Just ask Richard Florida the now famous thinker and author, Professor of Business and Creativity; Director, Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto. Creative cities attract not only more creative people but also more visitors. Cities' creativity is expressed of course by a robust arts community and striking architecture (that's obvious in cities like London, Paris and Madrid) but is also expressed in a creative labour force in several sectors like finance (London and New York), high-tech (Sillicon Valley) and science (Tokyo, Boston, Seattle, Amsterdam).
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Our map of global innovation clearly shows a world composed of innovative peaks and valleys. The leaders - the tallest spikes - are the metropolitan regions around Tokyo, Seoul, New York, and San Francisco. Boston, Seattle, Austin, Toronto, Vancouver, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, Helsinki, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, and Sydney also stand out. Richard Florida "Who's Your City?" p 25

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What, if any, is the relationship between creative cities and tourism? Is there an opportunity for Canadian Tourism here? Should city destination marketing take Florida's creative cities' work into consideration? The answer to the first question will take some thought. Intuitively we can definitely conclude that there is a strong relationship between creative cities and tourism. Arrivals data would confirm that some of the most creative cities in the world are also the most visited. London, New York, Paris and San Francisco are indisputably some of the most poputlar destinations in the world. Closer to home in Canada Toronto and Vancouver draw a significant portion of all visitors to Canada. The other side of the coin is that the top creative cities are also top generators of travelers since these cities not only concentrate creative knowledge workers but they also concentrate wealth and populations. Destination marketers spend millions of dollars on marketing research that they use to create advertising campaigns. It would be very interesting to know if and how Mr. Florida's work could be applied to destination marketing. Maybe I'll ask him.

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Getting back to the beginning of this post I leave you with a video (remember the long tail of tourism?) Here again is the 21C Museum Hotel, enjoy:

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Bon voyage everybody,

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Jaime Horwitz

www.cactusrock.com

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The Ottawa International Airport will reduce its airline fees. Good for them.

Just announced today - as reported by the Globe and Mail. Ottawa International Airport Authority and its president and CEO, Paul Benoit announced that the Ottawa International Airport Authority is trimming general terminal fees charged to airlines by 5 per cent. While not much in the way of savings, it is nevertheless a great gesture on the part of the airport. It reflects an understanding not only of the airlines' predicament given the soaring cost of fuel but also the concerns of the tourism industry. All Canadian airports should follow suit and the Federal Government should match the reductions with a further 5%. The Canadian tourism industry is facing tremendous challenges going forward and it needs help. Manufacturing is not the only sector being hit by high oil prices and stiff foreign competition.

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Kudos to Mr. Benoit!

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Jaime Horwitz

www.canadaenespanol.ca

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New Ecotourism Magazine launched in Canada

Hawkstone, Ontario…………….June, 2008. The first edition of Ecotourism Magazine Canada is a detailed report on some of Canada’s best practices in today’s expanding ecotourism market place. The compelling articles in the first edition include a look at captivating photographs of what could be the first collective presentations of Canada's ecotourism heroes. The magazine is a dream of Vern Telford, Tourism Management Professor Emeritus at Georgian College in Barrie. Telford has been an ecotourism aficionado before “ecotourism” was coined as a growth market for many international destinations.

In the first edition, Vancouver's mayor, Sammy Sullivan is saluted for his inspiring leadership in developing the TrailRider, a one-wheeled wheelchair that greatly facilitates mobility for paraplegics and quadriplegics and other physically challenged populations access to wilderness, nature and adventure tourism experiences. Similarly, Geoff Green the CEO of Students On Ice Expeditions is recognized for his blending of cultural, scientific and polar explorations into a powerful learning adventure that attracts an international following of students from around the world to his Gatineau-based operation.
Canada's First Nations involvement in ecotourism sets us apart from other world competitors though the work of people like Don Morin who has turned a native encampment outside of Yellowknife into a nature/cultural attraction with a world wide following. His product is a study of the aurora borealis in the arctic sky mixed with an opportunity to share in the history and customs of the local aboriginal people.

Considering this destination's appeal to a worldwide market, Yellowknife becomes an epicenter for ecotourism activity and appreciation. Just south of the point where the tidal waters of the Moose River flow into James Bay lays the island of Moose Factory, an island that is home to First Nations people whose history and cultural heritage is imbedded in the award winning Cree Village Ecolodge. This lodge has become an icon of integrity that reflects the character of an indigenous people whose respect of tradition, the environment and of each other is legendary.

Telford says, “Ecotourism Magazine Canada....it's all about you, nature, culture, sharing and learning.”

Ecotourism Magazine Canada is the result of more than two years of research and is the only magazine in Canada exclusively dedicated to being the voice of ecotourism operators and associate stakeholders in this field.

Telford adds, “A major feature of the magazine is an ongoing research questionnaire that is used to compile current and important operational information on the make-up and functions of the ecotourism industry in Canada. The results of this ongoing research effort will be shared by the industry in the interest of creating awareness and inspiring and educating all the various stakeholders.”

Ecotourism Magazine Canada is sent by mail to not only the Canadian tourism operators providing the ecotourism experiences and products, but also to a large contingent of the travel trade, travel media, governments, associations, suppliers and DMOs who influence travel both domestically and internationally. The magazine is published quarterly and is available on a subscription basis.

Additional information can be found at the Ecotourism Magazine Website or by calling Vern Telford 705-794-9848
Ecotourism-magazine@bell.blackberry.net
http://www.ecotourismmagazinecanada.com/

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April 2008 - a very bad month for Canadian Tourism. US visits down 15.5% (14% year to date, 39% in the last 4 years).

The numbers from StatCan are out for the month of April. According to the International Travel: Advance Information Bulletin US visitations were down 15.5% for the month of April 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. For the period of Jan to April US visits are down 14%. The only dim light in the report was a 1.3% increase in US visits by plane, albeit not enough to neutralize the year to date decrease of 2.7% Same day US visits by automobile were down by a whopping 23%! (visits by bus down 14.7%). Provincial Data is not much better but some provinces and territories are being hit harder than others. The Yukon, for example, saw a 64.2% drop in non-automobile visits in April '08 compared to '07. When it comes to automobile visits all provinces and territories experienced significant declines. The Yukon and Manitoba were the worst performers with 41.7% and 22.4 % declines respectively. In the last 4 years US visits to Canada have declined by 39%!

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Visits by Non US residents were not much better in April 2008 but at least there was no decline. There was a 0.8% increase compared to April '07. YTD (Jan to April) there was a 2.3% increase from Non US visitors to Canada. Mexico was down 10% from April of last year, but that's to be expected because of the Easter effect. If Easter falls in March there will always be a decrease in April and if Easter falls in April there will always be a decrease in March. For the year to date period of Jan to April, however, Mexican visits are up a very healthy 15.5% compared to last year. (only Malaysia shows higher growth albeit with very low absolute numbers). Spain and South America are doing fine with 7.3% and 7.2% growth for the first four months of the year.

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US numbers are so large compared to any other visitor segment (YTD approx 5 M Americans versus 1 M Non-US visitors) that the Tourism Industry Association of Canada is right in saying that the Canadian Tourism Industry is on the verge of a crisis. And they said it before Air Canada announced a cut in seats and massive layoffs. With pundits forecasting oil prices to stay around the $115 to $120 per barrel of oil for at least another year, it is clear that the cost of travel will increase, thereby reducing demand. What can the industry do? What's going to happen if or when oil hits $200 per barrel?

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Individually, businesses need to revisit their business plans, decide on the best target market for the next little while (one to three years) and go after it. Businesses will also need to look at their expenses and try to reduce them to improve their bottom line (apparently the rationale for Air Canada's moves). However, in my opinion, what businesses should not do is compromise on the quality of service they provide. This would only make things worse (especially in the era of Travel 2.0). As an industry (via TIAC and the provincial DMO's) we should redouble lobbying efforts to get governments to pitch in and help. What form this help may take I leave to experts to decide, but one that comes to mind is in the area of airport rents and airfare extras (such as the security tax). Both of these should be reduced. The federal government is raking in additional revenues from oil exploitaton and gas taxes, so it's not like we are asking for help from a cash strapped administration.

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Another way to help would be to increase investments in destination marketing (e.g. on the CTC and provincial DMO's) in order to develop new markets and support inbound markets that are doing well. This, in my opinion also entails making sure that we work on better marketing - take some risks (see my "Dream Campaign" post).

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It looks like the next two years at least will be quite challenging for the Canadian Tourism Industry. It remains to be seen whether the 2010 games will really be of benefit to the industry before and after. But Olympics are statistical outliers (up or down, but outliers nonetheless). I am not aware of a long term plan, but I think we need one going forward for the next 10, 20, 30 years. Any ideas or comments?

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Regards,

Jaime Horwitz MBA

www.cactusrock.com

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Get them while they're young. Targeting Hispanic backpackers and Web 2.0

Yesterday I went to visit my client Richard McCarron of Global Backpackers Village and the Moose Network, two tourism businesses that target and cater young people around the world. Our meeting's purpose was to discuss online marketing options to promote their offerings to Mexican and other Hispanic young travellers. In addition to featuring Global Backpackers Village and the Moose Network on our Toronto en Español website we talked about doing some Tourism 2.0 and social media marketing (e.g. BlogdeCanada.com and Canadamigos.com ). I will write another post on this topic later.
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Young people in Latin America as a market segment are quite different from families or couples. While they are also very family oriented and will not hesitate to travel with their parents and even grand parents, hundreds of thousands of them in Latin America also travel with one or more friends. Many get to know Europe as many other young people do, i.e. backpacking. I for one visited Europe for the first time after high school as young Mexican kid on a semi-camping trip on a bus with a bunch of young people from several countries. That was one of the best vacations I ever took because of the people I met on the trip (i.e. young women). In a region where the median age is under 30 years old - in Mexico the median age is 25.3 years of age (see The Washington Post's Voices of Culture)- there is a huge opportunity for tourism businesses like Global Backpackers and the Moose Network. Furthermore, it is a huge opportunity for the entire Canadian Tourism industry. As Richard mentioned during our conversation, we must get them young. Many of these young people (from all over the world) come to Canada as young backpackers with limited budgets. But when they have a great experience, they remember and once they move to a higher stage in life with more disposable income they return with their partners or with their families. I have met many Mexicans who came to Canada when they were young some as teen agers attending summer camps and later in life as adults they came back on vacation with their families (I know of one gentleman who moved to Canada based on his experience at summer camp).

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Where do you find these young people? As Richard and I talked about, you find them online. (I am of course biased, but independent studies show the facts and young Spaniards and Latin Americans are also avid online users just as their North American counterparts). In 2007 (according to the Mexican Internet Association) 44% of Mexican Web users are between the ages of 20 and 35. Furthermore 55% of all Mexican online users fall between the ages of 12 and 24. Learning how to reach these online users and joining their conversations will be increasingly important in marketing tourism products and services in the very near future. As for Richard, Global Backpackers Village and the Moose Network I will be working with him to reach not only Mexican young travellers but also those in South America and Spain.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA
www.canadaenespanol.ca

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C5 restaurant at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, a disappointment.

I had read about it in various publications. It was on my list of restaurants to check out. This past Father's Day I finally went to the C5 restaurant, part of the Royal Ontario Museum's new Michael Lee-Chin Crystal structure designed by Daniel Libeskind. The restaurant is on the top of the gallery on the fifth floor with a stunning view of Toronto's skyline (looking south).

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C5 is one of the hottest restaurants in Toronto at the moment. Frankly, I was disappointed. The food was alright, nothing extraordinary (see my review for Didier). Service was good and efficient. The space is grand in a sort of cold architecture kind of way. It could easily be adapted as a set for a sci-fi movie. But what we particularly did not like was the seating process. My wife had made reservations a few days in advance so we knew we would get a table. We arrived promptly a few minutes before noon, our reservation time. The hostess asked me to wait in the lobby bar while my wife and daughter went to the ladies' room. When they were back, the hostess guided us to our table. The dining room was almost empty save for a few tables here and there. The hostess took us to a centrally located table, but noticing tables by the window, I asked her if we could sit at one of them. She offered us another table closer to the window but not a window table. I asked why couldn't we get one of those tables to which she replied that they were reserved. I countered by saying that we had also made a reservation and asked her, what will you do for us if we sit at this other table and when we finish our brunch we notice that the window tables are still empty? She then asked us to go back to the reception area while she talked to her manager. I said no, we will wait for you here. A few minutes later she came back and gave us a table by the window. But that was not the end of it. Some time later, the manager stopped by our table and in a very dry manner told us she would need the table by 1:30pm (it was a few minutes past noon). I said yes, no problem. But the whole thing left a bad taste in our mouths.

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Overall we were not impressed with C5 and as far as we are concerned we will not go back nor will we recommend it, neither here nor in my Spanish blogs, nor to any friends or colleagues. C5? C U L8R.

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Jaime
www.torontoenespanol.com

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Planning a summer vacation in Quebec

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My wife and I take turns in deciding where to go on our family's summer vacation. One year I choose, the next year she chooses. This year is my turn so many months ago I decided we would go to Quebec in order to spend a few days in Quebec City celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the founding of that beautiful French Canadian town. Once we decided on the dates I went to work on our itinerary. I decided we would spend the weekend of July 4th in Quebec City in order to enjoy the beginning of the Quebec Summer Festival and the special events from the 400th Anniversary. There will be a Commemorative Show in front of the Place de l'Assemblée-Nationale (Parliament Building) with Samuel Champlain himself (the founder of Quebec City). “Québec plein la rue” series will bring the biggest international street performance companies to Quebec city on that weekend.

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Quebec City is the trip's anchor so-to-speak. I also chose to drive instead of flying this time in order to do the Chemin du Roy, the historical route from Montreal to Quebec City that you pretty much can only see if you drive. It's supposed to be a very picturesque trip visiting towns that go back to the days of New France when the Saint Lawrence river was the main means of communication. We will leave Toronto on July 3d, stop in Montreal for the night (approximately a 6 hour drive), and continue on to the Chemin du Roy on July 4th arriving in Quebec City in the afternoon. On July 7 we leave Quebec City and drive to La Malbaie in the region of Charlevoix where we will stay for two nights and make it our centre of operations to explore the area. On the 8th we will be driving to Tadoussac, one of the oldest villages in Canada - a former fur trading centre from the 17th Century - to catch a whale watching and fjord boat tour. After the tour we will explore Tadoussac and then head back to La Malbaie. On July 9th we will leave Charlevoix and drive back to Montreal or the Montreal area (I haven't decided yet if we stay one night in the Cantons de l'Est - a beautiful area a bit East of Montreal). All in all I will be driving about 2,000 kms on the trip, but we're prepared with a lot of music for the road (including my favourite chanteuse Quebecoise - Isabelle Boulay -to get in the French mood).

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Once I had the dates the next step was booking a hotel in Quebec City (the other stops could wait). When I need to book hotels I use mostly two websites, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts and Expedia. On this occassion I found a modestly priced hotel in the area of Ste Foy in Quebec City called the Gourverneur Hotel. I had heard of the brand because my tour operator client in Mexico sells packages that include Gouverneur hotels. I chose it because we wanted to be away from the old city so that we can have more of a quiet time at night after a day of exploring and celebrating. And also because this hotel has a swimming pool, an amenity hard to find in the old city. My family and I like access to swimming pools (or lakes) in the summer.

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Because of the 400th Anniversary Celebrations, I booked the hotel in Quebec City months ago. But we also need accommodations in the other spots we will visit. For the first night in Montreal I chose one of the Holiday Inn Hotels in the area, the Holiday Inn Select Montreal-Ctr Vle-Dwtn Conv Ctr very close to Old Montreal. I am very familiar with Holiday Inn hotels and all the IHG hotels in Canada because my Canada en Espanol sites are IHG affiliates. Charlevoix was a bit tricky because I am not familiar with the area as I am with Montreal and Quebec City. But I knew I wanted to go to Tadoussac to see the town and go on a whale watching tour. At first I conisdered staying in Tadoussac proper and did a Google search for accommodations. The search took me to BonjourQuebec.com and Tadoussac.com. I found some hotel options in Tadoussac, but I wasn't convinced we should stay there. I remembered that the Fairmonts have a hotel in Charlevoix, the Manoir Richelieu. Having experienced several Fairmont hotels in Canada I liked the idea of staying at the Manoir, but I needed to know how far from Tadoussac the hotel is. So I went to Google Maps, in my opinion one of the best travel planning tools on the Web. I use Google maps on my websites and for my own trips (like my March trip to Berlin and our New Year's trip to New York this year). I went to my Quebec Map and looked for directions from La Malbaie to Tadoussac and found out that Tadoussac is only about one hour and a half from the Manoir. That did it. I called Fairmont and booked the room (I called instead of booking online because I had questions about offers I got in the mail and to make sure the room had an extra bed or pullout sofa for our daughter).

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Now we have accommodations for Montreal, Quebec and La Malbaie. I just need to book one more night for July 9th. As for the rest of the trip I continue to study our route on Google Maps and also the site for the Chemin du Roy. As for other aspects of the trip, I checked out what was going on in Montreal on the 3d and lucked out because it just so happens that the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal is taking place then and I found tickets to one of the concerts - a pair of virtuosi guitar players originally from Mexico but who became famous in Europe - Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero who went from street buskers to jazz stages everywhere. I think I know which whale watching tour I want us to take, the Whales and Fjords - but I hope to talk to my friend Isabelle Longpré at AML Croisierès in Tadoussac for her recommendation before I book one of the tours.

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As for the driving, I know gas is very expensive these days, but not enough to stay home, at least not for us. We'll probably log 2,100 kms on our trip. We'll be using our new car which gives us 100 kms per 10.6 litres of gas. That should be about 222 litres. Assuming $1.45 per litre our gas expense will be around $325 give or take. Not bad, considering the price of airfares.

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ciao and bon voyage,

Jaime

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Toronto a sun and beach destination? Paradigm shift.

After I posted a blog piece about Toronto's beaches and the recent record breaking heatwave, one of my Canadamigos.com Social Network's members from Spain, posted the following comment: "Nice beach! Hay que estar en la red para enterarse de que Toronto es un destino de sol y playa ; Menudo cambio de paradigma!Saludos" (Transl. "One must be online to find out that Toronto is a sun and beach destination. What a paradigm shift! Regards.").

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Out of ten beaches in Toronto, six are Blue Flag beaches. "Blue Flag is a highly respected and recognized international eco-label. Blue Flags are awarded to beaches and marinas that meet strict criteria that cover everything from water quality to environmental programs." Not many people are aware of this. Certainly, international visitors for the most part don't even know about Toronto's beaches. There is an opportunity here to turn clichés upside down. Toronto has it all, even great beaches. I think that this is also the case of Vancouver, which also has some great beaches, particularly, Kits beach.

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Saludos,
Jaime
www.canadamigos.com

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Canada does the right thing. The Government apologizes to Canada's indigenous peoples.

Yesterday was a very emotional day at the Canadian Parliament. I saw it on television and at some point I had to wipe tears off my eyes. I was not born in this country, but it is not a necessary requirement to understand the horror that Canada's residential school system inflicted on indigenous children and their families for decades since the 1850's. Yesterday the Prime Minister of Canada and all federal party leaders apologized publicly and with the presence on the floor of the house of the most prominent native canadian leaders. Here's the Prime Minister's apology:

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"On behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered an historic formal apology today to former students of Indian Residential Schools and sought forgiveness for the students’ suffering and for the damaging impact the schools had on Aboriginal culture, heritage and language. “The treatment of children in Indian Residential Schools is a sad chapter in our history,” Prime Minister Harper said. “Today, we recognize this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country. The Government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the Aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.”Today’s apology reinforces numerous other government initiatives designed to address the tragic legacy of Indian Residential Schools, including the ongoing implementation of the historic Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement which includes: a Common Experience Payment; an Independent Assessment Process; Commemoration Activities; measures to support healing; and the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission.“The Government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to healing and reconciliation,” said Prime Minister Harper. “Years of work by survivors, communities and Aboriginal organizations culminated in an Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. These are the foundations of a new relationship between Aboriginal people and other Canadians, a relationship based on knowledge of our shared history, a respect for each other and a desire to move forward together with a renewed understanding that strong families, strong communities and vibrant cultures and traditions will contribute to a stronger Canada for all of us.”

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Au nom du gouvernement du Canada et de l’ensemble des Canadiens, le Premier ministre Stephen Harper a présenté aujourd’hui des excuses officielles historiques aux anciens élèves des pensionnats indiens et demandé pardon aux élèves pour les souffrances qu’ils ont endurées et les incidences néfastes des pensionnats sur la culture, le patrimoine et la langue autochtones.« Le traitement des enfants dans les pensionnats indiens représente un triste chapitre de notre histoire a déclaré le Premier ministre Harper. Aujourd’hui, nous savons que cette politique d’assimilation était mauvaise, qu’elle a causé énormément de torts et qu’elle n’a pas sa place dans notre pays. Le gouvernement du Canada s’excuse sincèrement et demande pardon aux peuples autochtones du pays pour avoir trahi leur confiance si profondément. »Les excuses présentées aujourd’hui renforcent les nombreuses autres initiatives gouvernementales visant à remédier aux conséquences tragiques des pensionnats indiens, notamment la mise en œuvre continue de la Convention de règlement relative aux pensionnats indiens, une convention historique, qui prévoit un paiement d’expérience commune, un processus d’évaluation indépendant, des activités de commémoration, des mesures favorisant la guérison et la création de la Commission de vérité et de réconciliation des pensionnats indiens.« Le gouvernement admet que l’absence d’excuses a été un obstacle à la guérison et à la réconciliation, a indiqué le Premier ministre Harper. Les efforts déployés pendant de nombreuses années par les survivants, les collectivités et les organisations autochtones ont mené à la conclusion de la Convention de règlement relative aux pensionnats indiens et à la création de la Commission de vérité et de réconciliation. Ces mesures représentent le fondement d’une nouvelle relation entre les Autochtones et les autres Canadiens, une relation axée sur la connaissance de notre histoire commune, le respect mutuel et le désir d’aller de l’avant sachant que des familles saines, des collectivités solides et des cultures et traditions vivantes renforceront le Canada. »

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Canada has a rich aboriginal cultural heritage and there are many aboriginal tour operators in the country that offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Visit Aboriginal Tourism Canada to learn more.

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Regards,

Jaime

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Canadian Tourism. Targeting the real decision makers in Mexico: affluent Women

Women in Mexico are still behind their North American counterparts when it comes to progress in the workplace or politics. Although they have achieved remarkable progress in the last twenty years, the fact is that Mexico is still quite a male dominated society. However, when it comes to the household, women in Mexico are queens. They exert enormous influence in the family or couple's decision making and in many instances they are the key decision maker. One area where women pretty much make the decision is in that of travel. Whether they travel with their partner or with the whole family, women are the key decision makers when it comes to travel. Men may dominate the workplace, but at home they aim to please when it comes to travel. If a Mexican woman does not want to go to a destination you can be sure the trip won't happen.

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Swishy is an up and coming publication from one of the largest travel trade publishers in Mexico, Grupo Boletur. It is the first magazine in Mexico exclusively targeting affluent women travellers. According to their data (it would be easy to find other surveys corroborating this. In my case I just have to look no further than my experience living in Mexico and my relatives and friends there):

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•95% of Mexican women are active decision-makers in the planning of a trip;
•1/3 are the main decision-makers
•80% of women consider vacations as a must have

Barely two years old, the magazine is distributed in Mexico, South America and Miami. It is found in key high end spots, including several hotels, around Mexico with a circulation of 35,000 issues plus special inserts in the Mexican Reforma newspaper. It is also found aboard Aeromexico and LanChile flights.

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I have always been aware that content on the Canadá en Español sites should appeal to women as well as men. Going forward, with particular attention to the Canadamigos Social Network, there will be more content that appeals to this segment of the travelling public. For example, last year I covered Toronto's Fashion Week for my Blog de Canada.com and Toronto en Español. This year I plan to cover Montreal's Fashion week. When I was in Berlin last march attending the PhoCusWright Bloggers Summit at ITB, I ran into Magdalena Saldivar, Director of Sales at Swishy and Grupo Boletur. Since then we have in contact to discuss potential collaboration between Swishy and Canada en Español. In the meantime, this month I placed a full page ad on Swishy to promote the entire network of websites (clic on the images to see a large version). The issue features Toronto as an international fashion centre in an 8 page article.

Saludos,

Jaime Horwitz MBA

www.canadaenespanol.ca

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Canadian Tourism in crisis. Critical times require extraordinary measures. My dream Campaign.

This past Monday I received TIAC's Media release entitled Canada's Tourism Sector on the Brink of Crisis. Among other things, the release mentioned that "Governments have traditionally neglected the industry, and have tended to regard tourism as a source of taxation dollars, burdening business with structural costs and compliance measures which impede its price competitiveness. For example: The continuing insistence on charging airport rents, airport security fees, excise tax on aviation fuel, NAVCAN fees, or the abrupt cancellation of the Visitor Rebate Program and its replacement with the onerous and burdensome Foreign Convention and Tour Incentive Program are illustrative of the problem...Canada’s travel deficit has ballooned to 10.3 billion in 2007 and the latest quarterly numbers for 2008 show a continued deterioration."

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Given the ongoing weakness of the American economy and, more importantly, high fuel prices that are affecting air travel demand, it is clear that we're in for a very challenging year for Canadian Tourism. This brings me to suggest a more agressive marketing approach for Canadian Tourism. This is not the time to cut back, on the contrary. This is the time to increase marketing efforts, particularly in the United States. Economic troubles notwithstanding, it is not like America is all of a sudden a poor country. It is still a $14 Trillion economy and with a population of over 300 million people there are surely many millions who will continue to travel and travel in style. But how can we persuade them to come to Canada if most people outside a few major markets in the US do not know anything about this country?

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Here's my pitch. A television and multimedia campaign in the United States beginning in the winter of 2009. My dream campaign is not timid and would cost several million dollars. The key success factor for the campaign is a television spot during SUPER BOWL XLIII (90,000,000 viewers more or less). This, of course would be the most expensive marketing campaign ever attempted by Canada. A 30 second slot during the Super Bowl will cost close to $3,000,000 USD next year and I propose to show the Ad 1 per quarter during the game. That media buy alone would cost about $12,000,000 (assuming of course that the network accepts the ad since Super Bowl slots are highly competitive). I haven't been involved with TV commercial production in a while, but I would guess that my spot idea would cost as much as $4,000,000 to produce (depending on negotiations with talent, a critical element). So far we've spent about $16,000,000. I would also suggest investing an additional $5,000,000 in multimedia marketing (online and print) following the Super Bowl including distribution in all social media in order to take advantage of the long tail of Internet communications. A new website would need to be launched in order to track results and very importantly offer research and booking capabilities. It would require the cooperation of all major DMO's and their constituents in Canada. I am sure that the industry as a whole has enough money to launch this kind of campaign. I am sure that the budgets of all major DMO's in the country (CTC, provinces and cities) combined could afford it.

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What kind of spot would I want to see? Here's a very rough draft of the spot (very rough - after all, I do have to get back to work).

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WHITE TITLES ON BLACK SCREEN.
Music starts – at first not recognizable – as spot continues it becomes clear it’s a rock/hip-hop rendition of O Canada).

TITLE
Where are you going?

INT. RECORDING STUDIO
Medium shot to Close up of Avril Lavigne

AVRIL LAVIGNE (TO CAMERA)
I’m going to Canada.

EXT. STUDIO BACK LOT.
Close up of Willam Shatner

WILLIAM SHATNER (TO CAMERA)
I’m going to Canada

INT. COULD BE AT A STUDIO OR IN A HOME OR RESTAURANT
Close up of Pamela Anderson

PAMELA ANDERSON (TO CAMERA)
I’m going to Canada.

Quick shots of Canadian destinations and Canadian festivals in all seasons. Lots of action, lots of colour. 5 seconds

EXT. MUSKOKA, ONTARIO
Medium shot of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Cut to: Close up of Ms. Hawn

GOLDIE HAWN (TO CAMERA)
Canada

Camera pulls back to Aerial shot of a luxurious cottage in Muskoka, Ontario. Cut to:

WHITE TITLES ON BLACK SCREEN

TITLE
Where are you going?

EXT. TORONTO. DOWNTOWN ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT
MAN’S BACK. Camera rolls in as man turns around.

MIKE MYERS (TO CAMERA)
Going to Canada, Baby

More Quick shots of Canadian destinations and Canadian festivals in all seasons. Lots of action, lots of colour, cutting back and forth from cities to nature and back.

EXT. MONTREAL OR QUEBEC CITY. DOWNTOWN OLD MONTREAL
CAMERA moves to reveal CELINE DION – pull back to establish Montreal or Quebec City.

CELINE DION (TO CAMERA)
I am going to Canada

EXT. MOVIE LOCATION IN LA.
Close up of Kiefer Sutherland

KIEFER SUTHERLAND (TO CAMERA)
I’m going to Canada


EXT. SOMEHWERE INN TREMBLANT, QUEBEC.
Med. Two shot up of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones

MICHAEL DOUGLAS (TO CAMERA)
Going to Canada

More Quick shots of Canadian destinations and Canadian festivals in all seasons. Lots of action, lots of colour, cutting back and forth from cities to nature and back. Music reaches crescendo. 5 seconds

EXT. VANCOUVER SOMEWHERE.
Shot of a mimic on Robson Street performing to the crowd. Camera gets in close as man turns and we realize id Jim Carey

JIM CAREY (TO CAMERA)
Goin’ to Canada. Somebody stop me!

CUT TO---

FULL SCREEN – CANADA.TRAVEL GRAPHICS.

TITLE
Canada. Keep Exploring

URL: GOINGTOCANADA.COM

THE END

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Cheers and good luck this summer,

Jaime

www.canadaenespanol.ca

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Canada's Tourism Week 2 - 8 June 2008

This week is TOURISM WEEK. Celebrate Canadian Tourism. Canadian Tourism is not only a $70 billion industry in Canada. Canadian Tourism is not only a source of employment for over a million Canadians and an important revenue source for all levels of government. Canadian Tourism contributes to Canada's highly regarded image and reputation around the world. Canadian Tourism fulfills many a visitor's dream. Canadian Tourism makes people from all over the world appreciate the importance of a clean environment and its preservation. Canadian Tourism awes visitors who realize how beautiful this planet can be. Canadian Tourism surprises visitors discovering how much fun they can have in Canada. Canadian Tourism makes people happy. Challenges and tribulations notwhithstanding, be proud if you work in the Canadian Tourism Industry. And this week celebrate! Vive le Canada.

Cheers,

Jaime

(for more information on how you can celebrate Tourism Week, visit TIAC.TRAVEL)

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Didier Restaurant - grand slam, triple crown, hat trick. Fabulous Classic French cuisine in Toronto.

I am not a restaurant critic. Nor would I want to be. I think it would turn me off of food if I had to eat for a living. But I do love an exquisite meal as often as possible and I need to at least be aware of the culinary panorama in Canada in order to inform Hispanic travelers (Blog de Canada, Canadamigos, Canada en Espanol) about restaurant choices in our country.

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This past weekend my family and I took my best friend out for dinner in Toronto. Our first choice was C5 the restaurant at the Crystal Gallery of the Royal Ontario Museum. C5 is sort of the restaurant du jour these days and we weren't able to get a reservation. My wife remembered that we`ve always wanted to dine at Didier's (since we`ve known about it) so we decided to take our friend (from Vancouver) there. What a diner!

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Didier Leroy is one of the most celebrated chefs in Toronto. Originally from France, Didier graduated from the Ecole Hôtelière Médéric, in Paris, where Before coming to Canada he worked at Michelin-starred restaurants. After a few stints at various T.O. restaurants, most notably at The Fifth, Didier finally opened his French Bistro restaurant on Yonge St near St. Clair Avenue.

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Didier specializes in Classic French cuisine and we were not dissappointed at all. On the contrary. It is rare for me to go to any restaurant and be delighted with each and every course of the meal. For starters I had the soup de marché which on this occassion was a fantastic soup of red and yellow peppers and cherry tomatoes (no cream added). After my first spoonful I declared it was the best soup I had ever tasted (still think so). I then followed with a salad, but not just any salad, I had a Crottin de Chavignol Chaud sur Roquette (warmed goat cheese, baby arugula, walnuts and walnut oil vinaigrette). Admittedly rich, but undeniably delicious. For the hat trick I ordered one of Didier's specialties, Tartare de Filet de boeuf Fait Main (hand cut beef tenderloing tartar). For a carnivore this dish is heaven. I hadn`t had steak tartare in years (mostly because it`s very hard to find a restaurant in Canada that will offer it). Three for three. I would have been happy with that. But to break the record, dessert was glorious. I wanted something light, fluffy, not too filling, yet sweet. My wish was granted with a Boul de Neige (snow ball) meringue dessert. Although the service was somewhat slow between courses, overall, it was an unforgettable dinner, worth every penny, we all agreed. Let`s hope Didier is around for a long time.

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bon apetit!

Jaime

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4 Canadian spots recommended by the New York Times this Summer

In its "The 31 Places to Go This Summer" featured article, The New York Times acknowledges that the summer of 2008 "is starting out like a cruel joke, with air travel increasingly a nightmare and with wildly escalating gas prices threatening to make the road trip all but obsolete..." however, "there is no reason to forgo it this year. It will just take a bit of creativity — and perhaps the willingness to stay a little closer to home this time around — to pull it off in 2008."

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4 Canadian destinations made it to the Times recommendations: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Quebec City (400th Anniversary), Montreal (Jazz Festival) and Manitoba (specifically Northern Soul Wilderness Adventures).

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Ironically Toronto is Not among the four spots that the New York Times editors recommend for a vacation this summer. I find it ironic because page 5 of this weekend's travel section is a full page ad for Toronto (seetorontonow.com). Maybe next time.

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Cheers,
Jaime

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