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

GoMedia Canada in Toronto - where is the CTC going? Musings on Canadian Tourism

I did not attend all of Go Media Canada's sessions or meetings. After all, the event is focused on international (traditional) media. But that is changing. This year Go Media reached out to important bloggers and influencers like Kim Mance of Go Galavanting and founder of TBEX. And furthermore Go Media also had the open marketplace for local media (to which I was invited). I must clarify that while Canada en Español could be considered "local media," my digital media properties have always been designed to inform and entertain foreign audiences. 90% + of Canada en Español's online visitors live outside of Canada.

I only attended three things at Go Media, the Tourism Toronto reception at the magnificent Royal Conservatory of Music (great job Andrew and Company), the Go Media Open Marketplace for local media, and the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership's Taste of Ontario at the Distillery District (Boiler Room Restaurant) - good party (where I had a great conversation with Mexican media folks). As many other events that TIAC organizes or manager, I must say that my experience was very good. At the open marketplace I did have an opportunity to speak to a few media relations professionals from destinations I have never been too and that I would like to cover in the future. I spoke to Jillian of Travel Manitoba about Churchill and the Hudson's Bay; spoke to Jenny and Anastasia of the new Jasper Tourism organization; had a brief chat with Amber from Tourism Vancouver (not that I need to visit there, I know Van quite well, but it was nice to say hello); and Miles and Ellen of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association. This last destination - Thompson Okanagan is an area that I am sure will be of much interest to my audiences. I think it will be one of the hottest destination in Canada in the very near future (and it's not doing badly at all at the moment).

I also had a very good chat with Elyse Mailhot, Travel Media Relations Manager at the CTC. It was interesting to hear about the change in direction the CTC is taking, moving away from advertising and focusing more on social media, not necessarily as a creator of content and initiator of conversations, but rather as an enabler and facilitator. This direction is partly the result of having to deal with insufficient funding going forward that precludes the organization from investments in advertising. Some people might think that advertising does not work any longer. That's not true. What doesn't work any longer is bad, lazy, complacent cookie-cutter advertising. Advertising today is merging with entertainment, infotainment, gaming and other tools. And most importantly, advertising today must be honest. The days of "there's a sucker born everyday" are gone.

I am a big supporter of a strong CTC, and I hope that the Tourism Association of Canada does a better job of lobbying the government to support a strong, well funded Canadian Tourism Commission - for one thing we should impose a Travel Promotion Fee on international visitors like many other countries do (including the US), with which we can fund the CTC. Having said that, I also propose stronger ties between the private tourism sector and the CTC. One of the issues I have with the CTC is that because of its bureaucratic nature it is sometimes too slow to act and because of its governmental ties it is risk averse when it comes to advertising and communications. As Kim Mance said at Canada-e-Connect 2010 in Montreal last January when I asked her "what should Canada do to raise its profile in the US (and in the world for that matter)?" "Make more noise."

Jaime Horwitz Rodriguez

Past Chair Canada-e-Connect eTourism Stratgy

Cactus Rock New Media Ltd.

The Canadá en Español Network

The CTC pulling back on account of cutbacks and stimulus funding drying out.

If you are a member of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, you must have received an email from its president, David Goldstein, on July 19 regarding the restructuring of the Canadian Tourism Commission. The email basically describes what the CTC announced on July 16 (although I could not find a release or an article about it on the CTC's website). The main points about the CTC's restructuring in David's email are the following:

• Ceasing to invest in direct-to-consumer advertising in the United States, and ceding the way to other Canadian destinations which are already invested in this area.
• Centralization of resources to ensure the affordability of CTC’s international operations. This includes using the London office as the regional hub for the traditional markets of U.K., France, Germany and Australia, and supplementing in-market efforts with the assistance of General Sales Agents.
• Making use of resources at the CTC Vancouver Headquarters as the regional office for new and emerging tourism markets (Korea, China, India and Brazil), as well as for markets in transition (Japan and Mexico).

Basically the CTC will not partner in consumer advertising in the US with the provinces, territories and cities and it will need to do more (or try to stay the course) with less regarding our international markets - it is not clear to me whether the CTC will be closing its offices in Japan and Mexico.

David's message goes on to remind us that "According to the UNWTO, Canada dropped from 7th to 15th in terms of international tourist arrivals between 2002 and 2009. TIAC believes that Canada is losing competitive ground in the global tourism marketplace. If Canada is to compete in the global tourism market, and make the most of the opportunities in one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, we will need a strong marketing voice."

Given these changes, What do you think the result will be in the next couple of years? We will probably see a continuing decline from US visitors (considering that America's economy is still weak). But this decline might not be across the board. I expect to see more inter-provincial and inter and intra city partnerships targeting the US, e.g. Ontario/Quebec, Toronto/Montreal, BC/Alberta, all Atlantic provinces together, Vancouver and Whistler, Calgary and the Rockies, etc. I think that the right partnerships with the right creative campaigns will be able to see very positive results. Nevertheless, the loss of the CTC's support will have an impact and it will be missed.

As for international markets, it remains to be seen how the CTC will manage its core territories with less resources. The private sector will have to step up to the plate and find ways to market Canada despite the lack of tax payers support. The US did it for years, although it is ironic that last year it passed its Travel Promotion Act S. 1023, that when implemented (not sure if this has been done or will be in the near future), it will generate over one hundred million dollars for tourism promotion. I have advocated for a similar measure in Canada since I heard of the American TPA. Canada, as many other countries already do, should implement a $10 to $15 tourism promotion fee on international tourists and use all the proceeds to fund the Canadian Tourism Commission in a consistent and predictable manner.

Jaime

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.

The impact of tourist visas on the Mexican inbound market to Canada and marketing to emerging markets.

On this morning's edition of the Globe and Mail, respected columnist and opinion leader, Jeffrey Simpson writes: "It's no wonder Mexicans feel aggrieved. How long does it take to get a visa? One part of the Canadian government website in Mexico recommends applying 30 days in advance; another part suggests six weeks." SIX WEEKS! Do we think that Canada is such a compelling must-see destination that we expect travelers to set aside 4 to 6 weeks just to get a visitor's visa? And that's just the time. I have stories from Mexican friends, relatives and clients about the visa application process that read like a surreal, magic-realism tale. But they're not funny to the operators or the travelers who should have received visas, but didn't (hiring a Canadian immigration lawyer to argue on behalf of the traveler or tour operator, is not worth the cost to any of the parties in these cases, so a visa rejection stands and there's no recourse to fight it).

Simpson: "Want a tourist visa? Here's a sampling of what's required over and above the usual passport and photo: a signed letter from your employer granting a leave of absence and specifying your salary (In French or English only, as Spanish will not be accepted!); original bank documents showing your financial history over the past six months; recent pay slips (a business owner must submit proof of the past three years' income tax statements); evidence of assets in Mexico; evidence of precious travel (previous passports)." These requirements appear to be a legacy of permanent residency applications (I would know because I came to Canada as a legal resident and went through all the paperwork). A tourist should not have to go through all these hoops to visit a destination. Americans, who have been issuing visitors visas to Mexicans for decades have a very efficient system to do so (in Spanish). Why not emulate them? Why not accept American Visas as proof of tourist worthiness?

The economic impact of Canada's visa imposition on Mexican tourism to Canada has been devastating for those Canadian (and Mexican) businesses that serve the inbound Mexican tourism market. Mr. Simpson goes over some calculations to get an idea of the impact in dollars. However, longer term, the numbers are harder to calculate, but are certainly up there. ("And how does one measure the drubbing that Canada's reputation has taken in Mexico, especially when senior Mexican officials, including judges, have been refused visas!")

Mr. Simpson quotes Prime Minister Harper referring to the issue of the visa at the top of his article: "This is not the fault of the Mexican government...This is a problem with Canadian refugee law, which encourages bogus claims." If this is so, then logic would dictate that it is the Canadian Government's fault that many Canadian tourism businesses, including mine, are suffering badly because of this decision. The prorogation of Parliament doesn't help, but I am not holding my breath in regards to refugee system reform. Being a sovereign country, Canada could determine what nationals can apply for refugee status and what nationals could not (a similar model to the British system) thereby blocking Mexican refugee claims and allowing the hundreds of thousands of law abiding Mexican travelers that wish to vacation in Canada (or used to want to anyhow) to come here as before. But I am not naive (rhetoric notwithstanding, Mexico is not really that important to Canada). Refugee System reform will not happen anytime soon, if at all, so, in my case, I am looking at other sources of income or another area of endeavour (not sure Canada's Economic Action Plan covers my case).

The way things are going I wouldn't be surprised if the Canadian Tourism Commission downsized in Mexico or closed down its office altogether in a year or two.

One thing to keep in mind as Canada markets our country as a tourism destination in emerging markets (developing countries) is that all these potential visitors in India, Brazil, China, will require visitors visas to enter the country. How many visas can the Canadian Government process in each of these countries in any given year? The answer to that question gives you the maximum number of tourists per year you could expect from any of those markets.

Mr. Simpson's article in the Globe and Mail: While Mexicans fume, our reputation and revenues take a hit

Jaime Horwitz Rodriguez MBA

www.cactusrock.com

Canada-e-Connect 2010 went viral and international. Musings #CEC2010 Post #2 Twitter

Last year at Canada-e-Connect 2009 in Toronto, I had a conversation with Ted Souder of Google (head of Industry Travel Mid West - named "25 most extraordinary minds in sales and marketing" by HSMAI in 2006). This conversation took place on stage during the luncheon as a keynote presentation. At that time, I asked the audience whether anyone was using Twitter. This was January 2009. Only one or two people in the audience of more than 200 raised their hands. Many hadn't even heard of Twitter (Ted, of course, not only had heard, but was using it already), so I proceeded to do one tweet live from the stage about interviewing Ted Souder of Google at CeC2009.

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12 months is an eternity in digital time. At Canada-e-Connect 2010, pretty much everyone knew about Twitter and the majority of attendees (I think) have Twitter accounts. But not all. In fact, about a dozen people started tweeting for the first time at Canada-e-Connect. The fact that #CEC2010 became a trending topic in Canada during the conference bodes well for Canadian Tourism. It should very much be an example of the kind of exposure and "word-of-mouth-on-steroids," to use PhoCusWright's Philip Wolf's phrase, that social media can provide for an event or a destination. I know that Montreal, CEC2010's host city, is very happy about all the mentions that it too received from hosting the event.

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While Twitter, just as any other element of Social Media or of the marketing mix, is not the end all and be all, I think it is clear that it has become an extremely important tool (if used well) for tourism. What better example to confirm this than Ken Lambert's statement. Ken is VP of Sales and Marketing for Delta Hotels and Resorts, and a great panelist at CEC2010's Hoteliers 2.0 session. Ken said (I'm paraphrasing here) that "Twitter is very important for us and it's growing tremendously. For us Twitter is more important than Facebook."

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Digital Marketer and Strategist

Chair Canada-e-Connect 2009

Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect 2010

Member of TIAC since 1999

Canada-e-Connect to feature two Marketing magazine award-winners

This just in from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada:

Canada-e-Connect to feature two Marketing magazine award-winners: Sid Lee and Canadian Tourism Commission to provide prize-worthy insight at CEC

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Marketing, Canada’s leading advertising and media magazine, named two organizations with significant connections to Canadian tourism as recipients of its highly-coveted and prestigious National Marketing Awards.

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In its highly-anticipated and influential awards issue released earlier this week, the magazine selected Montréal-based agency Sid Lee as the Marketing Agency of the Year, while the Canadian Tourism Commission was named as the Marketer of the Year.

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And because TIAC aims to showcase the best of the tourism industry at the Canada-e-Connect conference, it stands to reason that both of these award-winners were already scheduled to appear at the 2010 edition of Canada’s premier e-tourism event this January in Montréal.

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“Sid Lee is known for pulling, pushing and simply playing with the industry's traditional definitions of creativity,” wrote Marketing’s Jeremy Lloyd. "Though many agencies are trying to work their way deeper into client operations to do more than straightforward advertising, Sid Lee has never been afraid to shun advertising in favour of retail design, product creation or, as it recommended to Tourisme Montreal, drop all traditional advertising to focus on online and social media outreach."

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Bertrand Cesvet joined Sid Lee in 1997 and led its transformation from a fledgling graphic design shop into one of Canada’s most dynamic creative services agencies. Cesvet will give Canada-e-Connect’s opening keynote presentation on January 27, 2010 at 10:00, and will share some of the ideas and concepts he developed for the book Conversational Capital which he co-authored with his Sid Lee colleagues Tony Babinski and Eric Alper.

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The Canadian Tourism Commission was also acknowledged for its efforts in online and social media. "In the past few years, a lot of marketers have experimented with social media and user-generated content in their marketing. But in our opinion, few have done it so well as the CTC," said Rebecca Harris, co-managing editor of Marketing.

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In particular, the magazine profiled the CTC’s successful Locals Know campaign, which showcased little-known yet enticing destinations across Canada and encouraged travellers to report back to share their memorable experiences. “What impressed us the most was CTC's groundbreaking social media strategy, which included videos showcasing travellers' real experiences,” Harris wrote.

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The CTC’s Lesly Braby will detail her organization’s social media experience in a plenary session, Thursday January 28 at 16:15 during Canada-e-Connect 2010. Lesly will describe how the CTC creates and distributes content on social media channels, what challenges they have encountered, and what they have learned along the way.

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For more information on Marketing's 2009 awards, please click here.

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Join us at Canada-e-Connect 2010 Register at www.canadaeconnect.com

www.tiac.travel

Psycographic segmentation in Canadian Tourism

Canadian DMOs as I suppose DMOs everywhere are spending a lot of money researching consumer and travel behaviour, their demographics and psycographics, their online habits and many other attributes. The Canadian Tourism Commission, for example, devised a segmentation tool called the Explorer Quotient that classifies people as traveller types. The EQ is basically a psycographics and lifestyle segmentation tool. There are other tools and ways of segmenting consumers, all of which may be valid and helpful. However, psycographic segmentation has its limitation and cannot be considered the be all and end all of marketing. One of the issues with this kind of segmentation is that people are constantly changing, their circumstances change, their different life stages force them to change. You can surmise this by examining your own life and that of people close to you. For example, my EQ is Free Spirit, one of the highest yielding tourist types. But I am also a Cultural History Buff and a Rejuvenator. I don't have the resources to prove this, but my sense is that most travellers may be one or another type depending on the circumstances, the mood and their financial resources. While I prefer to travel as a Free Spirit (luxury accomodations, the best of the best), I can't always afford it. I might sacrifice luxury for a cultural experience, which I've done on many occasions, and I every year my family and I try to take a Rejuvenating vacation. When I took the EQ questionnaire a few years ago, it turned out I was a Free Spirit. I often get marketed to as a Free Spirit even though I may feel like a Cultural History Buff or a No Hassle Traveler (which I definitely am as well).

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In conclusion, while segmentation tools are very important, one must keep in mind that people are not as easy to classify as plants. In the era of instant direct communication one-to-one, one-to-many it is critical to listen to travelers and be ready to respond with the right message at the right time so whenever a traveler expresses Free Spirit desires or No Hassle Traveler needs, you'll be ready to address their wishes with the right offer.

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Happy travels,

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Jaime

Ontario Tourism Summit at the Caesars Windsor

Delegates having a good time at the Cosmos bar after a day of interesting sessions about "the Road Ahead" at the Ontario Tourism Marketing Summit 2009 in Windsor. (more posts coming)
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Jaime Horwitz
Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference 2010
CanadAmigos Social Networking Site
Cactus Rock New Media Ltd.

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

Canada top of mind among Mexican travellers, but less competitive.

"The spirit is willing, but the wallet may be weaker. That’s the message from the latest Global Tourism Watch report for Mexico, released by the Research department of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC). Canada boosted its performance on a number of unaided indicators in 2008, making it the No. 1 destination brand in Mexico in those criteria: destination awareness, advertising awareness and destination consideration." CTC

The Canadian Tourism Commission conducted the survey for its latest report on Mexico in 2008 so the effects of the Global Recession, the H1N1 scare, and mostly Canada's visa imposition do not show in the results. What I have observed in the last several months via my network of websites, my tour operator client in Mexico and the continuing growth of the CanadAmigos Social Networking site where I have direct contact with a large number of people is that Canada is still a desirable destination for Mexicans, albeit a more expensive one. One of the byproducts of the visa imposition to Mexicans is that their travel to Canada went up in cost anywhere from 5% to 10% or more (short term visits like a long weekend escape may not be worth their while now). This has to do with the cost of obtaining a tourist visa (temporary resident). A single entry visa costs CAD $75 per person (multiple entry visas cost $150 per person). If a couple buys a package that cost them $1,100 per person before the visa, they now have to pay 6.8% more for the same package (not counting any courier costs, etc.) While many people were able to switch dates for their trips to Canada the first week after the imposition (July 15th), I know that many changed their plans and chose to go to the States instead. At the present time, Canada has become less competitive in Mexico vis a vis the US and other destinations like Spain and South America.

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Jaime

Forbes 10 best Travel Campaigns

Forbes.com has published a list of what they consider the 10 best Travel campaigns (not necessarily new). Canada's current Locals Know campaign came in at number 8. Congratulations to the CTC and Canadians who are uploading their favourite spots to the LocalsKnow.ca website. Here's the list:

1 - Las Vegas "What Happens here, stays here" (since 2003)
2 - Incredible India (2009)
3 - New Zeland - 100% Pure (since 1999)
4 - Australia - Paul Hogan's ads (1984-1990)
5 - Jamaica - "Once you go, you know" (since 2004)
6 - Pure Michigan - since 2006
7 - Alaska - "B4UDIE" 2005
8 - Canada - Locals Know 2009
9 - Oregon "150 Challenge" 2009
10 - Virginia - "Virgina is for Lovers" since 1969

Read the story Travel Campaigns Aim To Get People To Hit The Road in Forbes.com

Happy travelling.

Jaime

CTC launches LocalsKnow.ca and SecretDici.ca to help Canadians promote our country

The Canadian Tourism Commission has launched LocalsKnow.ca and SecretDici.ca asking Canadians to upload pictures of their favourite spots (because locals know where the best spots are, of course), that perhaps are not as well known as iconic Canadian attractions . The sites look very good with Canada Brand colours and layout and the pictures are quite good, for the most part (the CTC approves the photos before they're posted). Being very new, there aren't many spots up yet. As of this writing the English site had a bit less than 80 spots and the French version only 15 (all CTC uploads), but I think once the public gets a hold of it, it should be a hit. But it's not all roses. There are some issues with the site that a little tweaking can fix. You have to register to be able to upload photos, but once you register, there's no "sign in" link on the site. When you go to upload a new spot, then you sign in (or register, if you're new to the site). For every spot you upload, you get an entry to a contest to win one million Aeroplan miles - that's a lot of flying. But again, every time you upload a photo you have to re-enter your name and Aeroplan number. Not a big deal, but it'd be better if you only had to do it once. And finally, you can't seem to go back to your spots if you want to edit something. I was uploading one and before I could finish the description, I don't know what key I must have pressed in haste, but I think the photo was submitted (again, because I don't have an account like setup I can't go over the photos I uploaded - maybe this will be a future iteration of the site - to turn it into a full social media website a la Concierge.com)

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If you live in Canada, go to the site of your choice, LocalsKnow.ca or SecretDici.ca and show us your favourite spot.

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Jaime

Shout out of thanks to TIAC and Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism the Hon. Diane Ablonczy

I have been a member of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada since 1999. I originally joined the association in order to meet people in the industry; to talk to them about the potential of the Mexican and other Hispanic markets for Canadian Tourism and; to hopefully generate business for my Spanish language sites. But I soon learned that being a member provided me with much more than the opportunity to network with tourism leaders. I've learned a lot by attending TIAC's events over the years and I've made some good friends. Ever since I went to my first TIAC conference, which are now caled TIAC's Leadership Summits, I kept hearing about the need for more Federal Government support for the industry; about more funding for the national marketing organization, the Canadian Tourism Commission; about making government aware and understanding of Canada's tourism industry's contribution to our economy; about the need for a National Tourism Industry Strategy. So, as a member of this industry that I love, I am very pleased (more like happy) that the current Government of Canada has finally heard us, especially in the current economic environment (see media release from TIAC below: $800 Million...)

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Much of the credit has to go to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada under the leadership of Randy Williams, of course, but also and especially to our Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism the Hon. Diane Ablonczy, whom I had the privilege to meet last November (photo above). I believe this government is the first one to have created a Minsitry for Tourism and this deserves our gratitude as well. Ms. Ablonczy has demonstrated an undeniable commitment to the Canadian Tourism industry. Her curiosity and willingness to , learn about the issues that affect our industry are commendable. Her determination in putting our needs at the budget table are very much appreciated. I also understand that she supports having a National Tourism Strategy, and if her achievements to date are any indication, I do believe we'll finally have one in the next few years (or sooner)

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At the risk of sounding too much like a politician (which I am definitely not), as the owner of a Small Business and as a member of the Canadian Tourism Industry, I want to express my thanks to Ms. Ablonczy and to everyone at TIAC: Merci beaucoup, Thank you and Muchas Gracias. A strong and vibrant tourism sector in Canada can not only be benefitial to my business, but also to me and my family as a Canadians.
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Jaime Horwitz MBA
Cactus Rock New Media Ltd.
the Canadá en Español Network
www.canadaenespanol.ca
CanadAmigos Social Network

Tourism Industry Applauds $800 Million in Tourism and Travel Investments Announced in Budget 2009

I am very happy to post the following press release from Kevin Desjardins, Director, Communications for the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. It is a good day for tourism in Canada, given the challenges we face this year.-
Ottawa, January 27, 2009 - The Tourism Industry Association of Canada welcomed the announcement in today's federal budget of a number of key funding initiatives worth more than $800 million to help support the competitiveness of Canada's tourism and travel sector.
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"The government's new investments in Canada's tourism sector announced in today's federal budget will provide stimulus to the industry in these challenging economic times, and will help address several longstanding competitiveness issues facing our industry," said TIAC President and CEO Randy Williams.

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Among the funding initiatives for the tourism sector announced in the federal budget were:

• $40 million over two years to the Canadian Tourism Commission ($20 million for domestic marketing and $20 million for emerging markets)
• $100 million for marquee festivals and events over two years
• $150 million for Canada's national parks system over two years ($75 million for visitor facilities and $75 million for national historic sites)
• $25 million to create new hiking trails across the country
• $407 million for improvements to passenger rail service in the Montreal to Toronto corridor operated by VIA Rail

Additional funding of projects which will assist in the development of vital tourism infrastructure

• $24 million over two years for cruise ship tourism
• $60 million over two years for local and community cultural and heritage institutions (i.e. theatres and museums)
• $140 million over five years for Northern Economic Development, a substantial portion of which will be directed towards tourism projects

"These investments will help to improve product animation - or the way we deliver experiences - of some of Canada's most important tourism destinations, and will provide both international and domestic travellers with even more compelling and urgent reasons to visit Canada," continued Williams. "Moreover, the additional marketing dollars allocated to the CTC will allow the country's national destination marketing organization to promote these new and improved tourism products to potential visitors from traditional and emerging economies of the world."

TIAC has always regarded government as an essential shareholder in Canada's tourism industry, and the investments announced today clearly demonstrate that the government understands the sector's profound effect on the economy at large; an important export industry employing Canadians in every community. TIAC, on behalf of its members across the country, is pleased to see that the government has addressed many of the issues which were raised by the industry in the Association's June 2008 report, The Report on Canada's Tourism Competitiveness.

On the day of this important announcement, TIAC would like to wholeheartedly salute the work of the Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, the Hon. Diane Ablonczy in helping to secure this funding. Ms. Ablonczy has been an attentive and conscientious advocate for the tourism sector at the cabinet table over the past two years. TIAC also acknowledges the efforts of Industry Minister Tony Clement and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who have both demonstrated a knowledge of and commitment to Canada's tourism sector. The global tourism industry is intensely competitive, with more and more countries inviting increasingly discerning travellers to visit and spend their foreign currency in their communities.

A brief word of thanks to Canada-e-Connect 2009's sponsors

You don't really know how important sponsors are to a conference until you are partly responsible for it. As Chair of Canada-e-Connect 2009, I want to send a thank you shout out to all sponsors of Canada-e-Connect 2009, in no particular order: The Canadian Tourism Commission (and Government of Canada), Google, Deloitte, FCV Technologies, Parks Canada, Tourism Toronto (thanks Joel), Via Rail Canada, Banff Lake Louise (thanks Julie), InterContinental Toronto Centre, JackRabbit, Publicite Media Plus, Niagara Falls Tourism, Tourisme Montreal (thanks Carmen), TripAdvisor (Thanks Jim), QuickMobile, Weber Shandwick, Ottawa Tourism (thanks Karen), Tourism New Brunswick (thanks Carol), Baxter Travel Media, Quebec City Tourism, Tourism Yukon.

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A special thanks to a small group of last minute sponsors (thank you Errol). SETTLERS BEACH VILLA HOTEL , COURTESY CAR RENTALS and the BARBADOS TOURISM AUTHORITY. These organizations came up with a special prize that we gave away at the end of Canada-e-Connect. The prize consisted of a 7 night stay at the Settlers Beach Villa Hotel, a Car for the week courtesy of Courtesy Car Rentals, and a pair of airline tickets to Barbados courtesy of the Barbados Tourism Authority. While Canada-e-Connect is a Canadian event, and we recognize that, to quote Jerry McGuire, "We live in a world of fierce competitors," we also recognize the international brotherhood and sisterhood in the global tourism industry. In that spirit we were all rather pleased to welcome these Barbados organizations as sponsors of Canada-e-Connect 2009. Merci beaucoup. By the way, the winner of the trip was Mike Berezowski from WorldWeb.com based in Calgary, bon voyage.

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Merci bien,

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Chair Advisory Committee Canada-e-Connect 2009

Canada-e-Connect in Review - Connexions-e-Canada

As Chair of the Advisory Committee, I had well over one thousand emails related to Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy 2009 by the time the conference started last Wednesday evening with a networking cocktail reception sponsored by TripAdvisor. I did not keep count of phone calls and conference calls but there were many. But all the time and effort put into this edition of the conference was worth it, if comments I've received already about the conference are any indication (e.g. many "it was a great conference !!" comments).

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While the conference is still fresh in my mind, I thought of writing a brief overview of my impressions of it.

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Given the economic atmosphere we are living in these days, it was rather gratifying to see a decent turn out for the conference (over 200 attendees).

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Not only did we have a good turn out but the quality of attendees was also very good, meaning, we had emarketers and decision makers from all areas of Canada attend plus representatives from many very innovative digital marketing companies.

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I think the big theme or motif, to borrow a term from the music world, was the area of social media and content independent of delivery channel (see Dr Ian Fenwick's video at the end of this post).

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For me there were many highlights during the conference. Most of our speakers were excellent particularly the keynote and luncheon speakers who provided some anchoring, some focus on the strategic nature of the conference:

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1. Dr. Ian Fenwick, an experienced consultant and academic in business provided an objective overview of the state of Marketing and Digital Marketing as well as where it may be going in the future with a clear, articulate and sometimes humorous presentation which included examples from around the world (see video). I strongly recommend his book DigiMarketing.

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2. Diane Clarkson, a brilliant analyst from Forrester research, brought home the issue of custiomer service, of making sure that we make our customers, guests, feel valued in this era of Travel and Tourism 2.0 when complaints or compliments can and are posted to the web in seconds. Her clear and engaging presentation was definitely on the money.

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3. Joe Buhler of Buhlerworks and analyst for PhoCusWright reminded DMO's about staying current, about looking ahead and try to lead as oppose to follow when it comes to innovation in the digital space. He made the point that many a time DMO's are reactive to what's going on in the space and therefore are always at risk of playing catch-up. For example, as DMO's are now incorporating (or some of them are at any rate) social media capabilities to their strategies, the eTravel private sector is already somewhere else providing new innovations in trip planning as the market of consumers/and travelers moves from "finding the best deal" to "finding the perfect travel experience" (e.g. Kayak vs NileGuide; Expedia vs. TravelMuse.)

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4. Rob Hughes from Brewster talked about VacationsCanadaTV, a great example of innovative canadian tourism digital marketing grounded in solid strategic insight.

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5. Greg Klassen VP Marketing for the Canadian Tourism Commission gave an impressive presentation of what the CTC is doing in the space, where it is going and how it will leverage the Olympics for the benefit of the entire country. He showed us examples of CTC initiatives like the Influencer Program for the Mexican Market, which I really liked. By the way, Walid Salem, Executive Director of eMarketing for the CTC, who was one of our panellists and moderators made very good points in the sessions he participated. It bears mentioning that Walid and his team are working on great inititatives that will help canadian DMO's and businesses take advantage of the immense work the CTC is doing behind the scenes. He encouraged everyone (as I do now here) to visit the CTC's Corporate site and take a look at the Canada Brand kit.
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5. Ted Souder of Google (head of Industry Travel Mid West). Ted is a vey engaging man (named "25 most extraordinary minds in sales and marketing" by HSMAI in 2006). I was fortunate to meet him the night before his presentation when a group of us were having a drink at the InterContinental Toronto Centre's bar. His presentation was not only fun but very informative. He talked about the 6 megatrends that influence Google, from Moore's law to the long tail to the wisdom of the crowds. Definitely a highlight of the conference and something to think about going forward.

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5. Terry O'Reilly. Terry is a legend in Canadian marketing who will be officially inducted into the Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends this coming week. He is the founder of Pirate Radio and TV and creator of the CBC program the Age of Persuasion. Terry's presentation, I think, was a great way to end the conference. His topic, "Ideas Move Mountains," reminded everyone that it does not matter what vehicle or technology is used to market a product, a service or a destination if your idea is weak. Terry provided us with numerous examples of BIG (not necessarily expensive) IDEAS in marketing and digital marketing.

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As for concurrent sessions and panel presentations, the conference covered the major aspects of eTourism strategy from eMarketing (don't target, engage), to Mobile Strategies and Social Media. There was a palpable strong interest in blogging, forums, twitter and social media, but many speakers, including Ted Souder, kept bringing up the fact that mobile marketing and communications will continue to grow and that mobile will not only be ubitquitous in the future but it may become the number one way for consumers to use the Web. As for Social Media (panel in which I presented http://www.canadamigos.com/ as an example of niche social media marketing), it was clear that most panellists agreed that tourism businesses must have a social media strategy (IHG is doing a great job at this) if they want to remain relevant and competitive. This does not mean that you must go out and launch a social networking site, but you must join and participate in the conversation via the most appropriate social media platforms for your organization.

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I do want to make a special mention of Tourisme Montreal. Emmanuelle Legault and Carmen Ciotola gave impressive presentations about Tourisme Montreal's strategy in digital marketing and distribution. Prior to seeing these presentations, my favourite Canadian DMO vis a vis digital marketing was HelloBC (under William Bakker's direction), but now, it is Montreal. I look forward to following Tourisme Montreal's progress this year and beyond and encourage all in our industry to do the same.

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Overall, and given the current economic climate, I am very pleased with the success of Canada-e-Connect 2009. I did not go over each and every panellist/speakers' participation on this post for brevity's sake, but I will blog about all of them as time goes by (thank you all). I look forward to future Canada-e-Connect conferences. Stay in touch and connect by joining the Canada-e-Connect 2009 Facebook page and the Canada-e-Connect 2009 LinkedIn Group. Visit the Canada-e-Connect 2009 website if you want more info on the speakers bios.

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Visit the Tourism Industry Association of Canada website to keep up to date on industry initiatives and the most important canadian tourism industry events throughout the year.

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Dr. Ian Fenwick, speaking about Digital as today's standard gauge in marketing.

Jaime Horwitz MBA
Chair Advisory Committee Canada-e-Connect 2009

President Cactus Rock New Media Ltd.

The Canada en Espanol Network

Canadamigos Social Network

Rob Torres, Managing Director of Travel at Google will be at Canada-e-Connect 2009

I'm happy to inform readers of this Canadian Tourism Blog that Rob Torres, Managing Director of Travel at Google will be our luncheon speaker at the second Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference. Mr. Torres' session will take place on Friday, January 23, 2009 (and I can't wait) and it will be an interview format. Here's a brief bio of Rob Torres who was also one of the key presenters at PhoCusWright 2008 this past November in Hollywood. -

As managing director of travel, Rob Torres oversees the day to day strategy for Google’s North American travel advertising business. Rob is responsible for the profitable growth of travel advertiser and agency business. In that capacity, he oversees the strategic planning, sales, operations and business development efforts as Google provides internet, as well as radio and print, marketing solutions to its customers. Rob is based in Google’s Seattle office. Prior to joining Google, Rob was vice president of strategic hotel partnerships at Expedia.com. During his career at Expedia, Rob managed a team that had Global responsibility for 30 strategic accounts, generating gross bookings in excess of $2B. Rob is on the board of HSMAI and ATME and serves on TIA’s eMarketing committee. In 2004, Rob was named to HSMAI’s Top 25 list of Most Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality and Travel Sales and Marketing. He is actively involved in Royal Family Kids Camp, an organization that provides summer camp opportunities for children in foster care. Rob is a frequent speaker at industry events. Rob received a bachelor of science degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and holds an MBA from Georgetown University Business.

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I very much look forward to meeting Rob next January.

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Here's Rob Torres in an interview at PhoCusWright Hollywood 2008:

Email me your questions for Rob. We will select the most interesting and challenging ones for the interview.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA
Chair Advisory Committee Canada-e-Connect 2009

To Register for the conference visit www.canadaeconnect.travel

The battle of the DMO's at Canada-e-Connect 2009 (well not quite)

One of the sessions we'll have at Canada-e-Connect is "CTC/PMOs/DMO’s view of e-Tourism Strategy." Come hear what the leaders of some of Canada's biggest destinations have to say about eTourism strategies. Our panel will include Walid Salem, Executive Director, E-Marketing/ Directeur exécutif, Marketing électronique for the Canadian Tourism Commission, Joel Peters, Senior Vice President Chief Marketing Officer Tourism Toronto (SeeTorontoNow) and Emmanuelle Legault, Directrice, Communications et Publicité Director, Communications and Advertising for Tourism Montreal. I will have the pleasure of moderating this panel and I'm already preparing some good questions (if you have a question for the panel, leave a comment here and we'll keep it in mind). Among the topics we'll cover is an update on these DMO's eStrategies. We'll also discuss whether they see eStrategy and eMarketing as separate from Strategy and Marketing. What threats and opportunities they see vis à vis other destinations' digital initiatives. What challenges do they face when trying to implement a digital project?

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Canada-e-Connect 2009. Registration is open.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Chair Advisory Board, Canada-e-C0nnect 2009

Little bit of news. Brand Canada, BC, Whistler, AGO

Lots of good things happening lately for Canadian Tourism

1. - Congrats to the CTC. Some of the credit for this year's ranking on the Country Brand Index surely must go to the CTC's branding work. According to the new Country Brand Index 2008, Canada is # 2 in the world (those Aussies again!). Keep Exploring!

2.- Congrats to Tourism British Columbia for winning one of one of ten prestigious World Travel Market Global Awards at the World Tourism Market. The award goes to organizations or "companies who have made a remarkable contribution to their region’s travel and tourism industry."

3.- Congrats to Whistler on the upcoming opening of the Peak-to-Peak Gondola, surely the most impressive tourism attraction to open in Canada in the last 10 years.

4.- Congrats to Toronto and Ontario on the Grand Opening of the Frank Gehry redesigned Art Gallery of Ontario.

Bon voyage,
Jaime