Canada #1 in the Country Brand Index - yet not enough to be a compelling destination

For a 2nd year in a row, Canada tops the rankings of FutureBrand's Country Brand Index. It makes me very proud of Canada and it makes for lots of news headlines. The Canadian Tourism Commission is very happy and will milk the news in every conference this year.  Canada scores high in many reputation indices. The former champion in the United Nations' Human Development Index (several times # 1 in the early 90's), it now stands at number 6 (although the top ten countries are quite close in decimal points). Canada is also at # 6 in the 2010 Anholt-Gfk Roper Nation Brands Index.  Many of our cities rank high as the best cities for quality of life in the Mercer Consulting city rankings. The Economist ranks Vancouver as the best city in the world and Toronto as the 4th best.

I am unabashedly passionate about Canada. In spite of the many challenges we face as a country, in my opinion it is the best country in the world, the post-modern, post-nation state, 21st century country, the world is represented here. But, does all this good fortune translate into tourism growth? No. The evidence shows that it definitely translates into a huge demand for Canadian permanent residence and Canadian citizenship. At best the rankings help keep our tourism levels stable, at worst, the rankings may hurt tourism because they may reinforce the idea that Canada is great to live in, but perhaps not the most interesting or fun place for a vacation thereby instead of being a "we have to go to Canada this year" destination it becomes the "some day we'll go to Canada, it's a nice place" destination. We must note that Canada did not make the top ten in the Country Brand Index Tourism attribute (see http://www.campaignbrief.com/2011/11/futurebrand-releases-results-o.html).

If you work in or follow the Canadian tourism industry, you probably know that it's a $70 Billion industry and that we have faced many challenges to grow visits and revenue for the last 10+ years y (SARS, the War in Iraq, the weak US economy, 9/11 and its consequent security concerns, new foreign destination entering the competition, the visa imposed on Mexicans, the weakness in the EU economies, etc.).  Revenue from foreign visitors - which represents about 20% of all tourism revenue - has remained more or less stagnant in real terms (adjusted for inflation) for the last 10 years. But this is good! Given all the challenges, we would have expected a contraction. The reasons may be varied, but one important element is that for several years now, Canada has been focusing on high-yield visitors, those who stay longer and spend more money. Many of the US day-trippers that used to come in the late 90's and early 2000's are gone. But we have been welcoming more Europeans, Asians (particularly Chinese from mainland China and Chinese from Hong Kong), and Latin Americans. Most of these travelers stay longer than American visitors and spend a lot more on average than our southern neighbours.

Consider these dramatic facts:

Total visits to Canada from non-residents in 2001:  47,146,647!
Total international tourism receipts for 2001 in 2001 dollars: $12.6 Billion


Total visits to Canada from non-residents in 2010:  24,669,133!
Total international tourism receipts for 2010: $18.2 Billion

(sources: Worldbank data and StatsCan Advance Travel Information)

Once adjusted for inflation - more or less - international tourism receipts are pretty much the same, but with almost half the number of visitors!

While these numbers are a testament to the industry's resilience and creativity, it is still concerning that international visits continue a steady decline year over year and that our travel deficit continues to grow - Canadians took 43,200,559 trips abroad in 2001 and 53,619,581 trips in 2010.

Conclusion - we must be do a lot more to persuade Canadians to travel more in Canada and to attract more international tourists (particularly those who do not visas) including lobbying for a lifting of visa restrictions to Mexican visitors.

Don't kid yourself, the G8 and G20 Summits are not for or about tourism

Next week Ontario hosts the G8 and G20 Summits, by all accounts, the most expensive G8 and G20 Summits ever. While I can understand the importance of security for these types of gatherings, one billion dollars plus is outrageous. Maybe it's time for world leaders to start using video conferencing. As an informed citizen, I follow these summits as much as I can. One of my frustrations is that once the meetings are over and the pronouncements, announcements and photo opps are finished the media go on to the next thing, the next crises. It's very difficult to ascertain whether any of the promises made at the summits are kept. Many years ago Canada pledged over five hundred million dollars of aid to Africa. Did we deliver? I don't know.

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Some politicians say that the eyes of the world will be focused on Muskoka and Toronto and that this will benefit tourism. What? It may benefit some tourism businesses (mainly hotels) during the week the summits are held, but if you read or watch media when the G8 and the G20 meet you will see that the coverage is about politics, the economy and the protests, not about the tourism attractions of the host cities. Toronto's downtown core around the Entertainment District is starting to look like a concrete fortress. And don't get me started about the fake lake in Muskoka! Simon Houpts article in the Globe and Mail and CTV, "Will tis really sell Toronto" makes the point abundantly clear. So let's not kid ourselves, the G8 and G20 summits are not the best way to promote destinations.

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On the other hand, the coming Pan American Games in Toronto in 2015 are a great opportunity to showcase Ontario to a market of over 900 million people...

March 2010 - rebound in international inbound tourism to Canada - Vancouver 2010 effect?

The numbers for inbound travel to Canada for March 2010 are in. While the US inbound numbers were soft and still down compared to March 2009, most international markets saw significant improvement. Even the decline of the inbound Mexican market, that has been hurt by the imposition of visas since July 2009, seems to be recovering. See the official StatCan Advance Travel Information Bulletin here.

Europe was up 17.4% compared to March 2009

Asia up 6.3%

Mexico and the Caribbean down 8.2%

South America up 12.7%

Australia, New Zealand and other Oceania up 25.1%

75% of Canadians say that they won’t be taking a summer vacation at all. So Eat Chips and Travel.

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[1], 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.

Spotlight on Bertrand Cesvet and Conversational Capital - Canada-e-Connect 2010

Bertrand Cesvet is brilliant. Yes, a brilliant communicator and AdMan, Cesvet is the chairman and chief strategist of award winning agency Sid Lee. The AdMan term in this day and age is not quite appropriate. The advertising business has been turned on its head by the advent of social media and the power of the consumer. Cesvet understands this better than many in the advertising and communications business. His book Conversational Capital, co-written with Tony Babinki and Eric Alper is a case in point. Cesvet understands that today conversations have more power than ever. We've always known that positive word-of-mouth is the most powerful advertising any product can have. The difference today is that this word-of-mouth can now spread virally to thousands of people (and in some cases hundreds of thousands) very quickly in social media. Enter Conversational Capital. At its simplest, I understand Conversational Capital as the value of the conversations generated by a product, service, artist, or in the case of tourism, a destination or an experience. The hard part is how to create this Conversational Capital. It's very hard. But not impossible. And, contrary to what some people may think in regards to social media, creating word of mouth does not only happen through happy accidents (Banff Squirrel, Knut the Polar Bear), but through careful planning, flexibility (you must be ready to act at a moment's notice) and lots of creativity (Dove). And it may not be inexpensive as some people think when it comes to social media.

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The challenge for tourism marketers is to translate the lessons of the book into action. Tourism is very different than most other products, especially those that are known by their brands. One of the reasons for this is that the relationship with tourism product is normally very fleeting, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. Not much repeat business -except perhaps for tourism products in certain categories, like skiing and beach getaways and business trips that take a traveler to the same city over and over again. While, I don't have hard data, I tend to believe that most vacationers want to go to many places around the world, but will not necessarily go back again and again, given the myriad destinations available. Thus the relationship with a destination is not the same as with other products like a car, a smart phone, an artist who has a new movie or a new album out every so often. Once, you've been to Paris you may want to go to Rome next time.

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So how can you work with the 10 engines of Conversational Capital - Rituals, Initiation, Exclusive Product Offering, Over-Delivery, Myths, Relevant Sensory Oddity, Icons, Tribalism, Endorsement and Continuity - to attract tourists to your destination or attraction? This is the key question, one, that I'm sure Bertrand will address during his keynote presentation at Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference 2010 next January in Montreal. Try not to miss it. Register at www.canadaeconnect.com .

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Jaime Horwitz

Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect 2010

A TIAC conference in cooperation with PhoCusWright

Canadian Tourism is getting hammered. What are you doing about your destination or business?

Because the tourism industry is a very fragmented one and employment is spread over hundreds of thousands of businesses, from large hotels to small burger joints along Ontario's Highway 400, to beds & breakfasts in Cape Breton to soft adventure outfitters in the Yukon and so on, it's an easy industry to ignore. It's not like a big automotive plant closing and laying off 2,000 people at a time which gets the attention of unions, the media and consequently the politicians and society at large. In tourism there are thousands of jobs lost when small kayak rentals operators, small receptive operators, restaurants, and others fold. Many thousands more go unreported as lost jobs because businesses froze hiring this summer and thousands of young people who otherwise would have been employed in the industry were not. The lack of jobs concentration makes it difficult for the media to write stories about the problem. And of course, we could also do better integrating all the voices of tourism across the country (Join the Canadian Tourism Community social networking site).

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Notwithstanding the above, the industry made the front page of today's Globe and Mail. The natonal paper reports that "Cross-border travel hits lowest levels on record. New passport rules prompt 26% drop in same-day trips from U.S. to Canada in June." But that's just part of the story. According to StatCan's International Travel: Advance Information Bulletin for June 2009, just about every market, primary or otherwise, was down in June and most are down significantly for the period Jan to June. And this after what was perhaps the worst May on record as well. If the year continues going this way, 2009 may see half the numbers of tourists Canada had in 1999! While it is undeniable that the last ten years have seen numerous challenges for the Canadian tourism industry, in my opinion, there are other reasons why the numbers of visitors continue to tank, one being the lack of impactful, creative marketing and advertising. The reasons for this are debatable and one reason must be, of course, a lack of sufficient resources, but another, again in my opinion, is the lack of risk taking to make our marketing and advertising break through the clutter. I believe provincial and national tourism marketing is hindered by a playing it safe mentality so as to not create any controversy (I again think of advertising in America's Super Bowl). If I sound frustrated is because I am. I believe Canada can do much better selling itself to the world (and to ourselves). And when marketers like Rod Harris leave a DMO (or are ousted), it gives me less confidence in the powers that be. By any measure of success in marketing, Rod Harris is indisputably is one of the best tourism marketers in the world (but I think even he was limited by the political considerations that sometimes - like it or not - come into play in Canadian Tourism marketing).

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On a final note, I am happy to report that of all our European markets, the ONLY one that is showing growth in the period from January to June 2009 is SPAIN. Gracias amigos españoles , Olé.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Cactus Rock New Media Ltd.

The Canadá en Español Network

www.canadaenespanol.ca

http://twitter.com/jaimehorwitz

Nelly Furtado launches new album entirely in Spanish

This past weekend Nelly Furtado introduced new songs from her upcoming Spanish language album "Mi Plan" at the Hard Rock in Mexico City. Canadian born of Portuguese descent (her parents are Portuguese immigrants who settled in Victoria, BC, Ms. Furtado is a bona fide international star. The fact that she chose to produce an album entirely in Spanish as oppose to Portuguese was probably a business decision given the size of the global Spanish speaking market and a testament to the importance of Spanish in the music world. Could this be an opportunity for Canadian DMO's? Did the CTC or Tourism BC sponsor her presentation in Mexico City? I don't think so, but to me this is a no brainer.

Could a Portuguese album be far behind. I think Nelly should produce an album of Brazilian bossa nova and samba inspired tunes. It would probably be a big hit not only in Brazil, but also in Latin America and Spain. Nelly Furtado's official site.

Jaime Horwitz
www.canadamigos.com

Canadian Tourism. March inbound numbers are in. Who's pulling the rug?

Statistics Canada has published canadian tourism figures for the month of March 2009. It would appear that someone (the tourist) or something (the economy) is pulling the rug right from under our collective feet. With very few exceptions (like China), all markets were down, some way down compared to March 2009. This is a reflection of the full impact of the recession and a call to redouble our collective marketing efforts. Hopefully, the government's stimulus package for Canadian Tourism will be spent wisely and will minimize the bleeding. There have been a few signs in North America that the economoy may start to stabilize in anticipation of renewed growth, but the recovery might not be felt until 2010. Millions of people are still travelling, but fewer are coming to Canada. This is how it looked in March compared to March 08 (first number compares to March last year, second number compares to Jan-March period of last year):

USA -5.9% -5.6% (US visits continue to fall dramatically, down a further 30% since 2006)
UK -34.1% -24.1%
Australia -5.7% -5.9%
France +0.7% -1.6%
Germany -6.9% +3.5%
Spain -25% -9%
Mexico -37.7% -20.7%
Brazil -16.8% +6.3%
China +17.5% +15.8%
Hong Kong -13.1% -11.5%
Japan -23.3% -24.1%
India +3.2% +11.6%

source: International Travel: Advance Information Bulletin March 2009

While the current environment will force most tourism businesses to make tough decisions in order to contain costs, this is not a time to eliminate marketing efforts. On the contrary, we must rededicate ourselves to better and smarter marketing. Competitors around the world are making extra efforts this year to attract the tourists that are still travelling this year (and there are millions of them). Stay the course.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Spring has Sprung and Summer is around the corner. Travel Canada.

Victoria Day Weekend marks the "unofficial" start of the summer season in Canada. Queen Victoria's day comes around right in the middle of Spring when flowers are in full bloom, birds are looking for a partner, and Canadians have a renewed spring in their step. While this is a very challenging year for many Canadians (and my heart goes out to all those who have lost jobs), let's remember that we have seen difficult times before and always have come out stronger. Canadian tourism is being hit hard by the global economic downturn, but we are still one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world and people will continue to come visit us. Let's make this year visitors ambassador's of our tourism brands; from bellboys (and girls) to hotel managers, to airline personnel to tour guides; let's once again prove to our visitors why Canadians have a reputation as being one of or perhaps the friendliest people in the world. :D

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Jaime

Spring is coming. deMexicoaCanada.ca is out of the gate promoting 20 trips from Mexico to Canada

deMéxicoaCanada.ca, the travel product site of the Canadá en Español Network is promoting 20 group and fit trips from Mexico to Canada for the Spring and Summer Season. Abiega Operadora de Viajes is Canadá en Español's client/partner/tour operator in Mexico responsible for fullfilment. Packages this year run the gamut of experiences, from a Fly and Drive in Vancouver Island to Exploring the Rockies to the staple Ontario and Quebec circuits. Trips are concentrated in the four big provinces with a presence in the Mexican market, i.e. British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, which begs the question, where are the rest of the Canadian provinces when it comes to the Mexican market? While the 2009 season may be softer than last year's due to the global economic downturn, Canadá en Español expects decent results based on traffic and inquiry levels to deMexicoaCanada.ca. The Easter Holiday should give more of an indication of what the summer may bring. The Mexican peso has appreciated in the last few weeks which should also help.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Brand management in the era of Tourism 2.0, can you control the message?

Next week attendees to the Canada-e-Connect 2009 eTourism Conference will hear experts talking about brand management (and reputation) in the era of Travel 2.0. Friday, Jan 23 at 3:15 pm we will have a panel on the subject: Web 2.0 era, marketers are increasingly finding it challenging to control their messages. Traveler reviews, which are now widely and instantaneously available, affect how others interact with the brands of tourism businesses, from tour operators to hotels to transportation providers. Prosumers (producer consumers) are creating their own content, which can build or undercut a brand, forcing companies to react more quickly. How does a company you build their brand in this environment? Is it even possible to “protect your brand”? The session promises to engage panellists and attendees in a dialogue about branding, messaging and consumer insight at a time when consumers/travellers have more power than at any other time in history. Companies who can best manage this new reality will be the winners in the Tourism 2.0 world. The current business environment where consumers are active participants in creating brand connotations for themselves and others has (or should) change marketer's approach to branding.

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Our panel will be moderated by Jim Brody, Sales Manager, Destination Marketing (top), Trip Advisor with the participation of Carmen Ciotola, Vice President, Communication and Marketing, Tourisme Montréal, David Alston, VP Marketing, Radian 6 Technologies Inc and Ian McAnerin, Chairman & CEO (right), McAnerin Networks Inc.

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Join us at Canada-e-Connect next week to learn, network and devise eTourism strategy. Register at www.canadaeconnect.com or on site at the InterContinental Hotel Toronto Centre on Front Street beginning Wed Jan 21 at 6pm.
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Jaime Horwitz MBA
Chair Advisory Committee Canada-e-Connect 2009

Canadian Cuisine--Created by Americans??

Canadian Brand Under Attack!!

The story in today's New York Times highlight a food fight between the CTC, and a restaurant group in Bryant's Park http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/nyregion/27bryant.html?ref=nyregion--however the real story for sensitive and and nationalistic Canadians like me ( if true) is the reference to CTC hiring a New York firm to design their new facility and menu--Where is the Canadian content?
The menu they have created is as follows according to the article......which features three-bean chili with bison meat, macaroni and cheese with Canadian cheddar and “maple leaf” cosmos.

How about Canadian Chefs.......were they involved??

Reasons Why Canda Ranks in Top 10

A little Humour with Canada’s New Top Rankings.

It is with interest over the last few months Canada has made the world headlines with “Top 10” positioning. The first and probably the most important for Canadian Tourism is the ranking by Lonely Planet, and most recently the number 2 country brand recognition in the world. This ranking comes from the Country Brand Index by FutureBrand of New York, NY.

The introductory paragraph on the Lonely Planet website, may provide the best laugh and possibly the heart of the Canadian culture, the depth, the passion, the raison d’etre for Canadians. Canada’s image has been captured with the phrase “the handle on a Canadian beer case – big enough to fit your hands, even with mittens on. If you think that’s impressive, consider Canada’s other mondo attributes……” Photo: Ron Taylor, Canada Travel News, Ontario Travel North of Toronto.