High loonie + cuts to CTC + increase cross border allowances for Canadians = tough summer for Canadian Tourism

Finance Minister, the Hon. Jim Flaherty, tabled the Federal Government's budget 2012 and it's not very good for the 600,000+ Canadians that work in the tourism industry (investments in Quebec notwithstanding - more on that in my next post).

1 - according to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada - the CTC will see a small cut to it's budget this year, but a substantial cut of $14.2 million in 2013/2014. The CTC is underfunded as it is, so this does not bode well for Canada's tourism profile internationally. Without sustained and predictable funding, it is very difficult to plan long term for the benefit of the Canadian Tourism Industry.

2 - The Canadian dollar will continue to hover at parity with the US greenback for the foreseeable future and this is not good news for Canadian Tourism. With so many new destinations for travelers to choose from and weak US and European economies, a high dollar puts a lot of pressure on margins and many Canadian tourism businesses just can't compete on price.

3 - The Federal Budget raises duty free limits for cross-border travelers in effect giving the US tourism industry a big gift. Canadians returning from abroad can now spend $200 in a 24 hour period and $800 on a 48 hour trip without paying taxes on their purchases. Put that together with a high loonie and American cross-border marketing and you have a great incentive for Canadians to spend their money across the border, money they will not spend at Canadian tourism destinations.

What to do? Canadian tourism must continue to focus on differentiation and creative marketing. I anticipate a barrage of marketing messages targeting Canadians to encourage them to travel within Canada this year.

Comments? Advice? Rants?

Canadian Tourism 2012

Will 2012 be a growth year for Canadian Tourism? What do you think? Given the global economic uncertainty, the European debt crisis, the ongoing weakness of the US economy plus presidential elections, the UK Olympics, and the high Canadian dollar, where do you see Canada's best prospects to have a good year in 2012? How are you preparing to navigate next year's challenges? What target markets will you focus on? How will your marketing strategy adapt?

Discuss on LinkedIn Canadian Tourism Professionals

Are American Hispanics the new American Reality and the biggest opportunity for Canadian Tourism?

Guy García, a former Time Magazine staff writer and founder executive director and editor of AOL Latino, recently wrote a piece on the Huffington Post blog entitled "Are Hispanics the New American Reality? Claro que Sí! But Will They Get their Own Museum? Quien Sabe."  García focuses on the still growing Hispanic population in the US and the differences and similarities among the various groups of Hispanics, e.g. Mexican or Colombian and American, or Latino, black and Nuyorican - the various ways in which Hispanics describe themselves. Seen as a market, if the Hispanic population in the United States was a country, it would be the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world, after Mexico. The purchasing power of the US Hispanic population hovers around the 1 trillion $ mark.  García comments on a video produced by the Hispanic/American TV company Univision, in which we are told that Hispanic babies account for 25% of all babies born in the US every year, that in many US places Hispanic children account for 50% of all children. The numbers are impressive: Hispanics will account for 95% of the teen population growth through 2020. And so on.  The article addresses the debate happening in America as to whether Latinos should have their own Latino Museum in Washington, DC or not.  But that's a political issue. The reason I invite you to read the article as well as to see the video (embedded at the end of this post) is to consider the potential of this market for Canadian Tourism. A population of 50 million Hispanic Americans who do not need a visa to visit Canada surely must be of interest to you, if you are in the Canadian Tourism industry.  

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While many Hispanic Americans do visit Canada, we don't know how many because StatCan figures do not distinguish between white Americans, Indo Americans, Asian Americans, African Americans or Hispanic Americans, etc.  Intuitively, I think we are not getting as many US Hispanic visitors as we could.  Marketing to US Hispanics requires a specific focus on sub-markets and zeroing in on those that would be more prone to travel to Canada. The US born Hispanic population is, as Mr García rightly points out, "increasingly bilingual and bicultural" and "multicultural and multifaceted...they watch MTV3res and True Blood, they listen to rap, rock and Mexican banda, sometimes in the same song. Recent studies have shown that Latino identity is malleable, contextual and constantly evolving. Younger Latinos in particularly see no contradiction in calling themselves Dominican, American and black, or Caucasian, Hispanic-American and Colombian, or gaysian, blaxican, or any other racial-cultural-sexual amalgam that fits their nationality, genealogy, sexuality and mood."  And then there's also the non-US born Hispanic population which is also very diverse in income, language preference and education. 

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The key to marketing to Hispanics in the US, in addition to segmenting the overall market and zeroing in on your best prospects, is understanding their bi-culturalism. Your message must be tailored accordingly, but two things to remember as a basic starting point: 1) Hispanics love (need) to have fun and 2) family is paramount.  These 2 points are reflected in their travel habits. Being a Hispanic Canadian, I can attest to these points, but don't take my word for it.  One study by the Tourism Center at the University of Minnesota (with data from the 2006 US Census) found that 33% of Hispanic trips include children under 18 and that the majority (77%) of Hispanics report travelling for purposes of leisure.  And from the US Travel Association we have this little tidbit: "The Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. is expected to reach 47.8 million by 2010 or 16 percent of the total population.  By 2050, the Hispanic/Latino population is projected to total 102.6 million, comprising 24 percent of the U.S. population.  In 2007, there were an estimated 16.2 million Hispanic adult leisure travelers who took a combined 50.4 million domestic and outbound trips and spent $58.7 billion on their travels. (Source: Profile of Hispanic/Latino Leisure Travelers, 2008 Edition)."  We now know that in 2011, the US Hispanic population is more like 50 million. Regardless of the exact number, the point I want to emphasize is that Canada is uniquely positioned as a tourism destination to attract a substantial number of Hispanic American travelers simply because we are next door, they don't need a visa to enter Canada, and we have fantastic tourism product for them.

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But don't forget Mexico, the rest of Latin America and Spain...(next blogpost)

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Saludos,

Jaime

www.cactusrock.com 

www.canadamigos.com

Niagara Falls' Fam Trip

It's been a week or so since my Fam trip to Niagara Falls, Ontario. I have been to Canada's playground many times, but I still haven't seen everything there is to see in the area. Not that I want to see everything, but there are lots of attractions I haven't experienced and many places I haven't visited. So it was a real treat to go on this Fam trip hosted by Niagara Falls Tourism and led by Laura Calaguiro, who was a fantastic hostess. If you are a tour operator, receptive or wholesaler contact Laurie, who can in turn put you in touch with the right people at several hotels and attractions in Niagara Falls.

Hotels - visited the Sheraton on the Falls (where I stayed - thank you Jorge and Wendy for your hospitality)), the Marriott Gateway (formerly Sheraton Fallsview), where we had an excellent breakfast.  Sheraton on the Falls is right around Clifton Hills and connected to a huge water park - great choice for families.  The Marriott Gateway is on the Fallsview side - the strip around the impressive Fallsview Casino.

Shoeless Joe's - had a welcome dinner at Shoeless with fellow Fam trip travellers and hosted by Andrea and Laurie of Niagara Falls Tourism. Shoeless is an excellent choice for informal dinners - in a sports bar kind of atmosphere. Food was very good.

Fallsview Casino Resort - the most impressive casino in Southern Ontario.  Not my first time visiting (and not my last). I had been there a few times before (to see shows at the Avalon Theatre), but I hadn't seen the 17 Noir restaurant, which I'm told is an excellent high-end resto (can't attest to that, since I haven't had dinner there yet). The Fallsview is a vegas style casino resort with all the games, tons of slot machines and a nice shopping galleria.

Elements - the restaurant by the Falls operated by Niagara Falls is one of the best spots to have a great meal with a view of the Horseshoe Falls. The food was excellent. Thanks to Jessica from Niagara Parks for having us.

The Fury - Niagara Falls.  The Fury is one of the newest attractions in Niagara Falls. I won't spoil the experience by telling you exactly what it is. Suffice it to say that it's a lot of fun for the whole family. I know I sound like a commercial, but if I hadn't like it, I would not be disrespectful to our Niagara Parks hosts by writing negatively about it, I just simply would not mention it at all. But I liked it! Felt like a kid again. The Fury is a multi senses experience. Another way to experience the great Niagara Falls.

The Bird Kingdom - Another great attraction for the whole family and for bird lovers everywhere. I had been there before when my daughter was younger. But the thing about the Bird Kingdom is that you may see new birds (or reptiles) if you go several months apart. This time the highlight for me was Star, the new talking parrot (I think she's a quaker parrot). She was the cutest thing (see video below). I'm sorry I don't remember the name of our guide, but she was fantastic, the kind of worker you want at any attraction: friendly, knowledgeable and very likable (I will find out her name and edit this post to include it).

The Skylon Tower - Always a great visit if you go on a sunny day. While it's half the height of the CN Tower, it's tall enough to get great views of the Falls, and both Niagara Falls (NY and Ontario).  Thanks to Lee and his staff for a great meal at the restaurant (I was pleasantly surprised at how good the steak was, accompanied by a delicious glass of Ontario red wine).

The Illumination Tower - another highlight of the fam trip. I knew about the illumination tower, but had never been there. It's not open to the public unless you go with an organized tour/group and arrangements have been made for the group to visit. The lights are operated by Peter. He's been doing this for decades and he's the nicest guy you can meet. He has great stories to tell and has welcomed all kinds of celebrities to the tower. An avid hockey fan (and player in his time) he's hosted many hockey greats at the tower.

The Imax Theatre.  Why go see a movie about the Falls in a theatre that's two blocks away from the Falls? It's a really good film and the screen is gigantic. Sound is great and the stories are engaging (the legend of the maiden indigenous woman who went over the falls instead of marrying the man her father wanted her to, the real stories - recreated - of dare devils who went over the Falls, etc.). I was skeptical about the film, but was very pleased with the experience. During some scenes in the film, I kept asking myself "how did they shoot that?" "how did the get so close?" Well, there's a DVD of the film that has a "making of" documentary where I hope to learn how they were able to make this movie. I haven't had time to watch it yet, but I will soon.

The new Niagara Falls ScotiaBank Convention Centre.  We had an unscheduled visit to the new convention centre. Quite impressive. This is a very good addition to Niagara Falls assets and is sure to bring in more visitors to the city.  The facility can accommodate many different events (from home shows, to sales meetings). It also has a multi purpose theatre that can house concerts and theatre productions.

Jackson Triggs winery.  Another highlight of the visit was the tour of the Jackson Triggs facility where thousands of gallons of wine are made.  The facility is housed in a striking modernist building, that was constructed around the massive tanks where the wine is kept. Our hostess Nina gave us a very interesting tour of the place, which also has an area with the more traditional oak barrels doing their patient wine making work. JT also has a beautiful amphitheater outdoors where they have their summer concerts series. Naturally, we had a wine tasting accompanied by excellent local cheeses - and I brought back a couple of excellent wines. 

Unfortunately I could not stay for the entire Fam trip. I missed some great attractions on the Friday. I really wanted to go the SkyWheel and get a view of the area from the top of the wheel. I also missed Niagara Helicopters - very good clients of mine. I love the helicopter ride over the Falls and I missed this one. I wanted to go the Nightmares Fear Factory because Laura said they were going to be especially scary for us. Next time...soon.

All in all, it was a productive (and fun) trip. Thank you to Niagara Falls Tourism and its participating members.

Jaime
www.cactusrock.com
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/jaimehorwitz 

Japan

Japan has been one of Canada's most important overseas inbound tourism markets for years. Millions of Japanese visitors have spent many a holiday in our country. We also have a long history (some of it not flattering at all) with our fellow Japanese Canadians.  Unless you've been completely incommunicado for the past several days, you undoubtedly know what happened last week when a 9.0 Earthquake hit that country. Please help in any way you can. 

Make a donation http://www.redcross.ca or text Asia or redcross to 30333 to donate $5

Le Germain Maple Leaf Square Hotel - luxury and hockey

I was fortunate to be invited to the Grand Opening open house at the new Le Germain Hotel at Maple Leaf Square in Toronto. First impressions: modern elegance.

Full review coming,

Jaime

Canada-e-Connect 2011 Spotlight on Erica Ehm

Reading Erica Ehm's résumé makes me tired. She's crazy! (in a good way). Erica has been in the public eye in Canada for a couple of decades (and she's still young).

"Erica’s career in television spans two decades. She was co-creator, writer and host of Yummy Mummy, a parenting show for the music video generation. Other shows include Baby and You - Rogers Television, Popstars: The One - Global, Real Life with Erica Ehm - Life Network, Power Play - Discovery Channel, and The Company - TVO. Currently, Erica is the host of the ongoing television specials Live at the Concert Hall broadcast on Bravo. Ehm's talents extend to songwriting. She has won two Junos, three Country Music Awards and three SOCAN Awards. She co-wrote the theme for the film and series Pippi Longstocking. Love Me Even More was the theme song for the film Some Things That Stay." YummyMummyClub.ca

Ms. Ehm is a tireless creative entrepreneur who understands communication. Social Media being all about communication, so it's no surprise that Erica has become one of the best users of Social Media to do business, to communicate with friends and fans and to increase her standing as an influencer in the Canadian marketplace. Her current focus is women with children, the Yummy Mummies (and thereby their DelishDad husbands). We all know that, when it comes to travel decisions, women have the final word (according to various studies women influence between 85% and 90% of all travel decisions). Paraphrasing Woody Allen as he put it in a movie when talking to his son: "Well, no, I am the boss, your mother just makes all the decisions." Erica understands her audience very well and has surrounded herself with like minded, brilliant women. I think her YummyMummy Club was a brilliant idea.

See Erica's blog post about her Banff vacation

Erica Ehm will be one of the distinguished panellists on the "Building a Social Media Department" session at the Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference next week in Toronto. I very much look forward to meeting her in person.

Jaime

What I'm looking forward to at the Canada-e-Connect eTourism Conference 2011

The Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference 2011 is around the corner. This will be the 4th edition of Canada-e-Connect and it promises again to stimulate thought and conversation and to encourage attendees to take a fresh look at their current strategy vis a vis the ongoing digital/social revolution and the tourism sector. These are the sessions I am very much looking forward to:

Geo-location Meets Social: The Business Case

Explore the integration of geo-location applications within social media, from lessons learned to the values and benefits of location-based social networking service in helping clients explore the world around them.

This session will deal with one of the hottest tools in social media marketing today, geo-location services. If you don't use them as a consumer or as a business, at the very least you will have heard of them - e.g. Foursquare, Facebook Places, Google's Places App, Gowalla and others. The session's panelists/presenters are Sarah Best, Social Media Strategist for Chicago Tourism and Andy Elwood, Director Business Development for Gowalla. The moderator will be a good friend of Canada's Tourism Industry, the affable Jim Brody from TripAdvisor. Don't miss this session. In my opinion, Geo-location services will be the biggest thing in social marketing in 2011 (followed by Group Buying services like Groupon, Wagjag, LivingSocial, etc - unfortunately we won't have a session on Group Buying, but there's always CeC 2012).

Online Video: Luncheon & Panel Presentation

Join session moderator Jaime Horwitz as he explores the world of online video applications with an impressive line up of experts who have applied this innovative technology to generate positive results. An opportunity to ask questions on the value and worth of incorporating video into websites; the return on investment and the dos and don’ts.

I'm moderating this session, so naturally, I'm very much looking forward to it. We all know the power of the moving image. However, implementing a video strategy is very daunting to many tourism businesses. It is much easier to start a Facbook page and a Twitter feed than to start a video strategy. First, there's the cost and then there's the knowhow. And most importantly creativity: how to use video and digital video technology to achieve organizational goals. We will address this topic during the session and we will also talk about the latest developments in this space. We have four terrific panelists from 4 different companies working with video and digital technology. Kulin Strimbu, President and CEO of TripTelevison, Abe McCallum CEO Clikthrough, Todd Pasternack, Director Technology Group Pointroll and Bob Kane, TV Producer and Principal Entertainment Travel Consultants and the Creative Alliance Network.

Panel Discussion: Building a Social Media Department

Re-thinking your social media strategy? This panel session will consider some of the administrative realities of running an in-house social media department. Topics will range from human resources issues to establishing practical social media guidelines, as well as other considerations to keep in mind when implementing your strategy.

Ah, social media, the Holy Grail - getting society to do your marketing for you - going viral - everybody's new dream. But someone has to be in charge. Someone has to Tweet. Someone has to update the Facebook page. Someone has to manage the Foursquare specials. Etc. How do you keep up? How do you establish an in-house social media department "without breaking the bank" as Joel Peters (Tourism Toronto) put it? This session will deal with this challenge. The panel couldn't be better. Moderated by Troy Thompson of Travel 2.0 consulting, Ed Lee, Director Social Media DDB Canada, Sean Moffit of Agent Wildfire and Wikibrands fame, and Erica Ehm, Creator/Publisher/Entrepreneur The YummyMummyClub.ca. I am sure this will be one of my favourite session at the conference.

Finally, I am also looking forward to the closing Keynote with Amber MacArthur aka Amber Mac, technology host, journalist, strategist and social media guru author of "Power Friending" a book that has been widely praised by Canadian and international media (my review coming soon on this blog).

Check out the entire Canada-e-Connect 2011 program to see what sessions appeal the most to you. And register if you haven't already. Hope to see you there.

Jaime Horwitz MBA,

Digital Marketer, social Media Strategist, Canadian Tourism enthusiast

My favourite destinations and spots in Canada. Part II, The Cities

When it comes to cities in Canada there aren't many cities to choose from. While Canada is thesecond largest country in the world in square kilometers with almost 10 million sq kms of surface area (you could practically fit all of Europe within Canada), it is a medium to small country in population with only about 34.5 million people living here (less than the 37 million who live in California). Most of us live in urban areas (an urban area is defined - by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada - as an area with a population of at least 1,000 and with no fewer than 400 persons per square kilometre). 35 % to 40% of Canadians live in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. So naturally these are the biggest cities in the country where you will find the most "city life." I personally love these three cities, but for different reasons since the three are quite unique and different from each other.

Vancouver - on a sunny day, Vancouver is without a doubt the most beautiful city in Canada and one of the most beautiful in the world. The combination of mountains, a striking skyline of wonderful architecture and the Pacific Ocean is very hard to beat. Add to that Stanley Park with its 4 million square metres (about 1.5 square miles) and Vancouver stands out as a proxy for the best Canada has to offer, namely incredible nature and diverse, cosmopolitan, cool cities. Ah, but then there's the rain. I don't like rain. Winter in Vancouver is rain, rain and more rain. Vancouverites are so used to it that many of them walk around without umbrellas! Fortunately there is Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver and Whistler an hour and half away for those who prefer their winters with snow. Favourite spots in Van:

• Stanley Park
• Coal Harbour
• Grouse Mountain
• Commercial Drive (Italian espressos)
• Robson Square and Robson Street (touristy though)
• UBC (particularly the Rose Garden overlooking the ocean)
• Wreck beach (if you like nude beaches)
• Burnaby mountain (especially the view from Horizon's restaurant)
• Granville Island and Granville market (touristy, but still very cool)

Restaurants - Joe Forte's near Robso

n St

Note: to learn more about Vancouver from insiders check out the blog www.beyondrobson.com

Montreal - Ah, Montreal. I've always said that if my French had been up to par, I would have settled in Montreal when I immigrated to Canada over 20 years ago. My consolation is that I have more or less visited Montreal at least once a year since. Montreal is my favourite city to visit in Canada (mostly for its atmosphere and in summer). It is a very unique city in the world because it is the only one where North America meets Europe. While it is a multicultural city (between 13% and 15% of its population is foreign born), the fact is that French dominates, as it should. But it is the strange but pleasant feeling that one is in North America, where English is the main language, but somehow, at the same time, it feels like you are also in France or perhaps Belgium (especially in certain areas of the city like Vieux Montreal). Then there is the Culture in the city. Quebeckers are very different from English Canadians (except when it comes to the love and passion for Hockey). They are definitely closer in temperament to Latin people than to Anglos. This is neither better or worse, just different. But for me as a Latin Canadian the attraction is natural (but nope, I didn't marry a Quebeçoise). Montreal has great culinary culture, wonderful cafés and exciting nightlife. Favourite spots in Montreal:

• Ice skating rink in Old Montreal by the Bonsecours market (winter only, of course)
• Plateau Mont-Royal, La Main (Boulevard Saint-Laurent)
• Plateau Mont-Royal, the neighbourhood
• Park Mont-Royal (great place to jog, relax, read, see a great view of the city)
• Old Montreal (very touristy, but a must see, especially in the summer or during the Festival Montreal en Lumiere in the winter)
• Sainte Catherine Street (love its busyness, often crowded, especially on weekends - some parts seem a little seedy, but it gives it character)
• Boulevard McGill College (from Ste Catherine St to McGill University)
• Place des Arts (always great shows at this complex - and I love the architecture of the place - find a spot on the Esplanade and relax)

Restaurants - Alexandre et Fils, Schwartz Delicatessen, Au Pied de Cochon

Note: to learn more about Montreal from cool insiders, check out Tamy Emma Pepin twitter.com/tamyemmapepin or the blog www.midnightpoutine.ca

Toronto - much larger city than Montreal or Vancouver so naturally it will have manymore spots to visit and many more available activities (e.g. sports, concerts, special events). I do live here so I know Toronto much, much better than the two other cities. What I like most about Toronto is that you can find spots where you might feel you are in another part of Canada or the world for that matter. For example, if you go to the Il Bunji restaurant in Little Korea you could easily imagine that you are eating somewhere in Korea. If you to Kensington Market's El Trompo you might think you are somewhere in Mexico. This fact is most tangible during some of Toronto's festivals like Caribana and Salsa on St. Clair. Not that Toronto is always buzzing like say New York City. The Winter is rather quiet, but Spring, Summer and Fall can be fantastic for visitors and residents alike. The most successful film festival in the world from a film goers perspective is the Toronto International Film Festival which takes place every September.

Toronto has more sports and entertainment offerings than probably all other cities and Canada combined. From amateur to pro-sports and from indie artists to global superstars in all genres, you can spend a lot of time and money enjoying Toronto's sports and music scene (Canadian Music Week, North by Northeast, the Bluejays, the Maple leafs, the Raptors, etc). Toronto has a decent Opera Company (COC), the National Ballet, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and a myriad of international visiting artists. Favourite spots in Toronto:

• Harbourfront (anytime)
• Kensington Market (Spring and Summer)
• Eglinton Ave West of Yonge St.
• High Park
• Yorkville Ave and Cumberland Ave in Yorkville (in the Summer)
• The Rogers Centre (formerly The Skydome)
• The ACC (for concerts)
• Massey Hall (great acoustics for music)
• Queen St. from Yonge St to Bathurst
• The Annex neighbourhood
• The Bell Lightbox (cinemas and TIFF headquarters)
• The Atrium at the Brookfield Place (formerly BCE Place) designed by famed architect Santiago Calatrava
• The AGO (redesigned by Frank Ghery)
• Woodbine Beach (Ashbridges Bay) and Sunnyside Beach (summer of course)

Restaurants: Auberge du Pommier (expensive but worth it), Didier's (also French somewhat expensive, but also very much worth it), Joso's (my favourite restaurant in Canada), El Trompo (when I want the taste of Mexico), Via Allegro (not easy to get to without a car, but worth it - excellent Italian cuisine - also somewhat expensive), Il Fornello (at Harbourfront)

Note: to learn more about Toronto check out these blogs - torontoist.com and www.blogto.com

And there you have it, Canada's three largest cities are my favourites, but for different kinds of vacations I also love Quebec City (best with a significant other any time of the year - the most romantic city in Canada, perhaps in North America), Calgary (if I can ever get to visit during the Stampede) and Halifax (love its boardwalk in the summer - great seafood restaurants).

Happy travels. Add your favourite spots in Canada in the comments below, if you wish to share.

Jaime

To start the year: Favourite destinations and spots in Canada (Part I)

I thought that before we get into the business of tourism this new year 2011, I'd give you some of my favourite destinations and cool spots in Canada. I have too many to list in one blog post, so I will list them in separate posts in the coming days.

In no particular order of importance (all these places are great depending on what you might be looking for in a vacation or short getaway). If you haven't visited Canada these recommendations might help you in deciding where to go on your first trip to the Great White North. If you live in Canada, and you are like most Canadians, then you probably haven't seen enough of your country, so make a New Year's resolution that you will visit at least two or three places you've never been to before in your own country.

Whistler, BC - this being winter, I have to include Whistler Blackcomb as one of my favourite destinations in Canada. I've been to Whistler maybe 4 or 5 times in my life (not enough). One of the challenges is that Whistler is not a cheap destination and skiing is not a cheap activity. I love skiing, but there are so many other things to do and places to go that I can't go to Whistler as much as I would like to. Of course, if I lived in Vancouver, I'd go at least once a year. (In the summer visit Lost Lake - if you can find it...it's a local hangout and you can actually swim in it)

Mont-Tremblant, Québec - For those of us in Central/Eastern Canada, Tremblant is our Whistler. I must confess though that I have been to Whistler more times than to MT, and I have never skied in Tremblant. I have visited twice, both times in the summer. Tremblant is great all year round, by the way. The mountains and the lakes are beautiful and you can definitely enjoy the lakes in the summer.

Lake Louise, Alberta - I have been to Lake Louise once. It was during the month of December, but before the Holidays. I loved it. Stayed at the iconic Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Definitely one of the destinations in Canada I really want to go back to and visit in the summer.

Banff, Alberta - Also loved Banff the one time I visited. Quaint little town in the midst of Banff National Park, an awesome place on earth. I have not seen anywhere near what there is to see in Banff so I hope to visit again very soon.

Jasper, Alberta - Another incredibly beautiful place in Canada. Of course, I'm spoiled now because I stayed at the Fairmont Jasper Lodge. It's not very easy to get to Jasper, but it's worth it, if you can afford it (unless of course, you are a camper). Definitely on the list of places to go back to.

Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia - a summer road trip, one of the best places for a driving vacation in Canada. I love Celtic, Scottish, Nova Scotian culture (and food). Maybe I was Scottish in another life. There are many quaint beautiful towns in Cape Breton Island like Cheticamp and Baddeck. The fortress of Louisbourg is amazing (visit in the summer). One of my favourite spots in Cape Breton Island is Meat Cove for its spectacular views. Meat Cove is at the very northern tip of the island in Inverness County.

Muskoka, Ontario - Muskoka is one of my favourite destinations, not only in Canada, but in the world. However, I must explain a little. For me, the way to enjoy Muskoka is in your own cottage, owned or rented. My family and I have rented the same cottage on lake Muldrew near Gravenhurst several times during the summers. It's a place where we enjoy wonderful Canadian nature, but with all the comforts of home. Muldrew Lake is very close to the Muskoka Wharf and not very far from Port Carling, another of our favourite spots in the area. So that's how we do Muskoka, but if you prefer the resort experience, there are many wonderful resorts with all the amenities. My family and I have stayed at the Rocky Crest (great for families), the Delta Sherwood (great for couples) and Deerhurst, but there are many others to choose from like Taboo and the J W Marriott (these last two are higher end and thus more expensive).

All the above destinations are great in winter, except for Cape Breton, so if you have time and money this season don't hesitate to visit.

Next Up: my favourite cities in Canada and my favourite spots in them.

Jaime

www.cactusrock.com

www.canadamigos.com

"Happy Christmas to All and to All a Good Night"

May you have a wonderful Christmas Day (whether you celebrate it or not)

Almost final blog post of the year. Ready for 2011? Start early with Canada-e-Connect and consider the new Canadian Tourism Marketing Summit

The disaster that was 2009 is hopefully a distant memory. While 2010 was not spectacular, we did see some recovery in the Canadian Tourism industry. It is by no means a great state of affairs, but there's cautious optimism that 2011 might be an OK year for Canada. The challenges going forward are many: the weak American economy, the rising loonie (Canadian dollar for those of you who don't know our currency's nickname), the debt crisis in Europe, and the intense competition from a myriad of other destinations.

Do you long for the good all times BYT, BFB, BT (before YouTube, before FaceBook, before Twitter)? The digital revolution has been wreaking havoc in many industries for several years now and it's like a tsunami that keeps on going. Music, advertising, marketing, public relations. Even politics has changed because of the digital revolution. Just a mere 5 years ago you could still compete very effectively with traditional marketing communications (TV, radio, print, static Web) and trade relations (wholesalers, tour operators, airlines, etc). If your destination had big budgets you could make more noise than the others and get decent results. Today, that's not the case.

Destination marketers are having a very hard time keeping up with the consumer and the ongoing changes that the digital world brings about. 5 or 6 years ago the buzz was SEO, optimize your website so that people can find you on search engines - improve your rankings so your website/destination appears on the first page of Google organic results. And just when many destinations were getting right, in came the Social Media storm. Today, a DMO's voice is just one of thousands talking (or not) about a particular destination. Same thing goes for tourism businesses. Even when none of the current digital means of communication existed, admen and adwomen talked about "cutting through the clutter." We had seen a fragmentation of TV audiences with the "500 channel" universe, and that was hard enough. Now the audience is fragmented into millions (even if 500 million of them are on Facebook).

How are you competing in this environment? What is your strategy going forward? In my previous post I encouraged you to attend Canada-e-Connect. I still do, but you may also want to consider attending the new Canadian Tourism Marketing Summit next March. If you need help with tactics and hands on learning, there's Online Revealed also in March. If you plan to attend ITB this year and you are interested in the latest technological developments in tourism, I recommend the PhocusWright @ ITB conference (the theme in 2011 is "Marketplace Chaos: Spotlight on Technology and Innovation). Unfortunately PhocusWright @ ITB takes place at the same time as Online Revealed and the Canadian Tourism Summit, so you will have to choose.

Today more than ever, it is important to keep up with technological and communications developments in the tourism space. The old tourism marketing, advertising and distribution system that lasted for decades has been creatively destroyed in just a few years and changes happen almost on a daily basis. Stay on top or fall behind.

Jaime

www.cactusrock.com

62 days 'till Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference 2011

While there are only 23 days 'till Christmas (Happy Hanukkah, btw, Dec 1 to 9), there are only 62 days until Canada's national etourism strategy conference, Canada-e-Connect, presented by TIAC and PhoCusWright. Register by tomorrow, Friday December 3, to get a shot at a brand new iPad 16G.

This year the CeC has put together another great program. Speakers include Scott Stratten @unmarekting on "Unmarketing" fame, Tara Hunt @missrogue, and Amber MacArthur @ambermac, one of the leading social media experts in Canada and author of Power Friending (my review is coming on this blog soon).

The first Canada-e-Connect conference held in Vancouver was all about "joining the conversation," the second Canada-e-Connect in Toronto in 2009 was about the "Digital Revolution," and how digital technology is the new gauge (see Dr. Ian Fenwick's DigiMarketing), content is personal and content travels and engaging instead of targeting. The third installment of Canada-e-Connect in Montreal was not only about joining the conversation using digital media, but how to go beyond and create conversational capital (see Betrand Cesvet's "Conversational Capital"), conversations that enhance brand equity. What will Canada-e-Connect IV be all about?

We all know how fast technology moves today. At the second Canada-e-Connect in January 2009, while I was interviewing Ted Souder, at the time Head of Travel Central Region at Google Inc., during a luncheon session, I asked if anyone in the audience had a twitter account. Besides me and Ted, only 2 or 3 people tweeted! That was less than 2 years ago! Today we are seeing an explosion in geo-location services and group buying might be the next big thing (Google might be buying Groupon as I write this).

How are you adapting your strategy to take advantage of the ongoing digital revolution? Come to Canada-e-Connect 2011 in Toronto and get ahead of the curve. There will be sessions on geo-location, video as a branding, marketing, communications and sales tool, what's going on in the mobile space, of course social media, branded content and very importantly - measuring it all. And if a session does not cover a particular interest of yours, I am sure you will meet people who can either help you or point you in the right direction. Network with experts in their field.

Canada-e-Connect 2011, February 2 to 4, 2011. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Register early.

Hope to see you at CeC 2011

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Past Chair Canada-e-Connect

member advisory committee

@jaimehorwitz

Todd Lucier on WiFi and Social Media - get with the program people

Todd Lucier is a pioneer in Canadian Tourism - one of the first Canadian tourism professionals who understood the digital revolution and its impact on tourism marketing.

(watch out Rick Mercer)

Price, Proximity and Ease of entry - the drivers of tourism worldwide

A few days ago FutureBrand, the organization that ranks countries' brands, announced that Canada reached the top spot in the Country Brand Index. This prompted some lively discussion on Twitter and on the Canadian Tourism Professionals Group on LinkedIn regarding the value of such rankings in tourism performance. I believe that rankings of this type do not materially affect tourism performance one way or the other. While ranking at the top in the Country Brand Index is something to be proud of, just as being in the top 10 countries on the United Nations' Human Development Index is something to be proud of, the facts don't support the idea that any of these rankings help tourism performance. In general what drives tourism around the world (and domestically) is proximity, price and ease of entry.

Proximity - when you look at tourism on a global scale and see where destinations are actually getting their tourists from, you'll see that most of them travel from countries nearby - No #1 source of international tourists to Mexico is the US followed by Canada. No #1 source of international tourists to the US is Canada, followed by Mexico. No # 1 source for Spain is the UK followed by Germany and France. Most international tourism in Australia is generated by Oceania countries and East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan). China derives the biggest percentage of tourists from neighbouring Asian countries. But we don't have to go global to see this. We have always seen that domestic tourism is also driven by proximity (if you are tourism marketer you have known this for a long time). Most visitors to Muskoka, Ontario are from the Greater Toronto Area. Most visitors to Whistler are from the Greater Vancouver Area. Most visitors to Montreal (outside Quebec) are probably from Toronto, etc., etc.

Price - we can come up with the best and most creative campaigns to attract visitors to our destinations or attractions, whether these campaigns are digital, physical or singing telegrams, but unless the price points are affordable to our guests we will not grow the business (and in some cases won't survive). This is a bit of a cruel truism in business. Not only must the visitor see an attractive benefit per dollar, but he or she must be able to afford it. Currency wise, Canadians are rich at the moment vis a vis the US greenback and the Mexican peso. What do you think will happen this winter when Canadian winter destinations will be competing for Canadians travel plans if an all inclusive week in Mexico, Dominican, Cuba, etc., will cost them a fraction of what it would cost to spend that week in Tremblant or Whistler? We are in for a spike in our travel deficit this winter courtesy of the weakness in the US dollar and higher commodity prices. At the same time, the appreciation of the loonie is making our destinations more expensive than they already were 2 or 3 years ago. Skiers in the US may find that skiing at home will be more affordable than skiing in Canada. European skiers (those left who can afford to travel) will find European slopes much more affordable than Canadian moguls.

Ease of Entry - there are various reasons why most tourism industries around the world are sustained by domestic tourism. The biggest is ease of entry. People can move around their own country with the most ease (and of course there's significant VFR travel domestically). Speaking internationally, we have seen how important this driver of travel is by witnessing how it has affected the flow of US visitors to Canada since 9/11. Another case is the dramatic drop in Mexican visitors when Canada imposed visa restrictions on them last year. But ease on entry not only refers to visa and security issues, it also refers to airlift, airport fees, and other issues. Ease of entry is very much related to proximity and cost. 9/11 notwithstanding, it is still very easy for Canadians to enter the US and for Americans to enter Canada. And it's still very easy for both Americans and Canadians to enter Mexico. In North America, Mexico is a good example of a destination that competes very well with other destinations because of its proximity, its prices and its ease of entry. It is remarkable that with all of Mexico's image and security problems, its tourism industry has not seen a significant drop in American and Canadian tourists in the last 2 years, and according to the Mexican Tourism Ministry (Secretaría de Turismo de México) Canadian visitations have grown 38% since 2008!

In conclusion, look at your destination or tourism business and remind yourself where you get or can get most of your guests/customers. Sharpen your pencil and price your offerings so that they are attractive and affordable to your target community/tribe/market. Regarding Ease of Entry, you may not be able to do much about it, since you are where you are (on the other hand, make sure that the directions and maps on your website are correct - and definitely make sure that your place appears correctly on a Google Maps search).

Jaime Horwitz MBA

The US Market and Canadian Tourism

Tweets from the Tourism Summit:

EventsWest

Great article in today's Vancouver Sun: Canada's tourism slump & what to do about it. http://ow.ly/33SzC#TIACsummit

Pierrebellerose

La Commission canadienne du tourisme se retirera du marché leisure américain pour laisser la place aux joueurs canadiens #Tiacsummit

AkBeattie

#tiacsummit Doug Fyfe sites ongoing concern affecting US tvl to CDA: Economy, Security, X-chng Rate, Competition, Product, Mktg, Consumers

The Canadian Tourism Commission, CTC, announced at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada's Tourism Summit, that it is leaving the US leisure market. Most leaders in the industry already knew this, so it didn't come as a shock to them. Veteran industry insider Doug Fyfe, speaking about the decline of the inbound US market, talked about the various issues that have contributed to that decline, issues that all of us in the industry have known for years, whether it was 9/11, SARS, the economy, security or the exchange rate. The one element Doug touched on that is very important to keep in mind is Competition. In my opinion, it is this issue, more than any others that has affected the US travel market for Canada.

Canada has lost significant market share to other destinations in the last decade. While the US economy has indeed affected travel in that country, the fact is that Americans continue to travel abroad, a fact that may surprise many. According to Forbes Traveler, based on data from the US Department of Commerce's Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, 63.6 million Americans traveled outside the US in 2008. Yes, you might say, but that was 2008, not the disastrous 2009. Well, according to an article in the New York Daily news (that quotes the Forbes Traveler research), up to May 2009 the decline of US outbound travel was only 7.7% below 2008 levels. While significant, it is not what many people would expect. Even a 10% drop in 2009 would indicate that over 55 million Americans traveled abroad last year. While Mexico is still the #1 foreign destination for Americans (negative image notwithstanding), Canada is still strong at #2 (proximity matters) receiving almost 40% of all those travelers in 2009. I personally think that the CTC's abandonment of this market jeopardizes that standing. Yes, the cities and provinces will continue to invest in the US market, but I think that the CTC's support is still important, if not critical. Consistency is also important. The US economy will come back. Will Canada be in Americans minds when it does? I don't think the lack of better results has been for a lack of effort and hard work. What I think is needed is more creative thinking and more risk taking to stand out from the crowd (yes, making it easier for travelers to cross the border and fly into Canada is very important, but only part of the solution).

What I would recommend is to look at the US with fresh eyes and to work on sending the right message not only to Americans, but, very importantly to Canadians, that Canada loves America. Whether we agree or not with their various political views, most of us do like the diverse American people. It was tweeted at the TIAC Summit that with Social Media we can reach passionate communities. True. The hard work lies in discovering and engaging those communities with the right messages about Canada. This does not mean that social media alone would do it, we still need to use traditional methods like paid advertising and most of all, be creative, be creative and be creative.

Jaime

Is your brand a One Night Stand or a Serious Relationship? Part II

Staying with the topic of relationships and tourism destinations or businesses (see previous blogpost), tourism marketers would benefit from strategies that segment their visitors between those who are just looking for a "one night stand" and those who want or could develop a "serious relationship" with their destination, attraction or tourism business. This is easier said than done, but not impossible. At the micro-level, small tourism businesses like lake resorts, B&B's, restaurants and some attractions already have "going steady" relationships with many of their customers. For example, my family has an ongoing relationship with the Gravenhurst, Ontario area. We try to go to the same vacation rental property every year. Every year we go to the same ice-cream parlour at the Muskoka Wharf and the same café in Port Carling. We always shop at the stores in that town - I particularly like Muskoka Bear Wear.

I also have a "serious relationship" with the IHG Hotel Group. I am a Priority Club Ambassador member. Informally, I have made a commitment to stay at IHG hotels wherever I go if at all possible. Priority Club is their loyalty program and Ambassador is a higher level of membership, and implies a bigger commitment from IHG to make these loyal guests happy and treat them in a special way. As long as I perceive a real benefit from this membership, I will remain loyal to the brand. The main reason for this loyalty is that I always know what I'm going to get when I travel and stay at the different IHG brand hotels.

In today's "world of the customer," in the new "era of pull", where the "customers are the message", and brand is the sum of customers' Public tweets, comments, complaints, videos, etc., knowing what kind of relationship your business or destination can aspire to and with whom is critical for long term viability. The number of substitutes for all leisure and entertainment products is growing exponentially. The current global economic reality will force consumers to make tough decisions. "Should we go for a weekend to Montreal or New York or should we buy the new Apple MacBook Air?" We are not just competing with other destinations or attractions. We are competing for consumers' share of wallet with a myriad of products and services. Today more than ever we must strive to make our guests and visitors feel special. We should focus on developing "long term relationships."

When applying Social Media strategy to these two kinds of customers what might be the right approach:

• For your "going steady" customers you should strive to develop an ongoing dialog. These customers should be more open to receiving your newsletters and follow you on Twitter. It is very important that you listen and respond to these customers more than any others. They will be the champions of your brand. Applying what I call PERL to these guests would yield the best results. P for promotion, E for engagement, R for responding and L for listening, not in that particular order, of course, but easy to remember. Furthermore, you should consider a loyalty program of some sort. With the explosion of geolocation services that are easy to use, you should think about a FourSquare, Gowalla, Living Social, WagJag and/or other geolocation and group buying strategy.
• For your potential "one night stands" you would apply more traditional marketing tactics, including digital and traditional advertising, supported by social media elements (and attractive price points). Harness the positive content created by past guests and your brand champions and do everything possible to distribute that content for all to see. Tourism British Columbia is an example of a destination that has striven to do this with their blogs. TBC was one of the first destinations in Canada that offered travelers the opportunity to create blog posts on their official website. When TBC started its blog social media had not taken off yet so readers could not share blogposts via Twitter and FB, but today they can and TBC rightly added "share this" buttons to every post.

In conclusion, I suggest you begin to look at the marketplace with fresh eyes. Take time to figure out how marketing fits with this idea of your "steady" guestfriends vs. your "short term affair" guests and how you can use digital marketing to engage them both. Remember that divorce is a very real threat and that there are many other destinations that could take your "steady" guestfriends away if you don't treat them right. I leave you with another TIAC Tourism Summit tweet from Pierre Bellrose - I believe - about Doug Fyfe's presentation on the US Market:

Pierrebellerose

"Peut importe ce que le Canada essaie sur le marché touristique américain depuis 10 ans, cela ne donne pas de résultats #Tiacsummit" "No matter what Canada has tried to do with the American tourism market, after 10 years we haven't seen results"

Cheers,

Jaime