Earlier today, I received the press release shown in it's entirety below. What really caught my eye is the assertion that "75% (of Canadians) say that they won’t be taking a summer vacation at all, will be staying near home, or will be vacationing within their own province in 2010." Can this be right? Are things this bad? We know that Canadians are over their heads in debt, but no country in the developed world is in better shape than Canada. Maybe it's the housing market. People have decided to invest in their homes above all else (in many instances to avoid the dreaded HST coming in July). International markets are not doing much better for us, Vancouver Games notwithstanding. February saw spikes in visitations from many European countries, but nothing dramatic - and the US was still down compared to February 2009. Overall trips to Canada by Non-Residents were down. The hope is to see a gradual increase in visits from international tourists as the summer rolls along. A hope that's threatened now by Europe's debt crisis. Macro-economically speaking Mexico's doing better than many countries in the UK, mostly because, like Canada, Mexico did not have any exposure to speak of to the sub-prime mortgage problem that started in the US. The issue with Mexico is still a cumbersome visitor visa process that we hope will improve in the coming months. And this brings us to Canada:
The domestic market will be most important to the industry this year. The CTC's LocalsKnow campaign is in full swing and this new non-traditional partnership with Lays/Pepsi should help. My family and I will be in Muskoka in July enjoying one of our favourite spots in the world.
Canadians looking to spend their summer vacations
Close To Home this year
More than half of Canadians believe they can’t afford a summer vacation
TORONTO, ON – May 6, 2010 – Although there are positive indicators that the economy is improving, Canadians are still very mindful of how they spend their money, particularly as it relates to non-essential items, such as vacations. According to a new study, commissioned by Frito Lay Canada, over half of Canadians believe they can’t afford a summer vacation this year, and an overwhelming 75% say that they won’t be taking a summer vacation at all, will be staying near home, or will be vacationing within their own province in 2010. The Lay’s® brand wants to enable happiness for consumers this summer by helping them to discover and enjoy the affordable diversions Canada has to offer by launching Lay’s® Chip Trips, a new program that allows Canadians to save on thousands of local trips, simply by purchasing their favourite potato chips!
From national hotels and car rentals, to local golf courses, zoos and amusement parks, Lay’s® Chip Trips has partnered with more than 400 Canadian attractions and businesses to offer more than 5,000 individual Chip Trips to Canadians.
“The Lay’s brand is part of every summer barbeque, and in every community across the country,” said Tony Matta, vice president of marketing for Frito Lay Canada. “We want to give back to our consumers by launching Lay’s Chip Trips, which will help our consumers rediscover Canada this summer. We’re thrilled to offer what we believe to be unprecedented value to Canadians through this national program.”
Specially-marked bags of Lay’s® potato chips are available now through early August nationwide. By simply signing up for a Lay’s® Chip Trips account at lays.ca, Canadians can bank points by entering the unique PIN on the back of the bag. These points can then be redeemed for thousands of different discounts at local attractions offered at www.lays.ca:
o Points from one 235 g bag can be redeemed for up to $20 in savings at various local attractions†
o Points from five 235 g bags can be redeemed for a Buy 1, Get 50% off second night at Marriott Hotels of Canada
o Points from two 235g bags can be redeemed for a year of savings at over a hundred of Canada’s most beautiful golf courses!
† Actual savings depend on offer redeemed. For details on offers and Terms and Conditions, visit www.lays.ca.
Lay’s® Chip Trips gives Canadians big discounts on thousands of local attractions including restaurants, festivals, amusement parks, museums, zoos and other top Canadian tourist spots through an easy and engaging loyalty program.
Lay’s has also joined forces with the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), to help show Canadians how simple and fun a local staycation can be.
"In 2009, our LOCALS KNOW campaign changed over 1.3 million Canadians' travel plans in favour of staying in Canada and exploring their own country,” says Gisele Danis, executive director strategic marketing, Canada Program at the Canadian Tourism Commission. “With our partnership with Lay's Chip Trips, we are optimistic that even more Canadians will be inspired to seek out exotic and unexpected travel experiences in Canada this summer."
“We expect Lay’s Chip Trips to be the biggest Canadian consumer engagement campaign of 2010, truly something that has never been done before,” said Matta. “With hundreds of local partners, we’ll be able to reach people in every community across Canada.”
The Lay’s® Chip Trips program packaging will be on-shelf from April 2010 until early August 2010. Vouchers can be redeemed at most partners up to December 31, 2010. Consumers can log on to www.lays.ca to create a personal account and search for the discounts that appeal to them.
