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?

RIP Canada-e-Connect

I had the privilege of serving our Canadian Tourism Industry as a volunteer Chair of the national Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference in 2009 and 2010. I also served in the advisory committee of CeC 2011, superbly chaired by Emmanuelle Legault and Joel Peters.  After every conference we used to have a post-conference meeting to go over what worked and what needed more work and to begin thinking about the following year's conference. Canada-e-Connect was started by the brilliant Jens Thraenhart, former Director of eMarketing for the Canadian Toursim Commission. Jens had a dream to start a world class eTourism event in Canada. And he achieved that dream in November 2007. After Jens moved on to pursue other interests (doing great work in China for many destinations around the world, including Canada, via Dragon Trail), the Tourism Industry Association of Canada took over the conference. While I haven't seen any official announcement (and maybe I missed it),  it is very unfortunate that TIAC has quietly killed the conference without, as much as I know, any industry consultations. On the one hand, I can understand why. TIAC is a lobbying organization, the voice of the industry in Ottawa. TIAC also manages the National Tourism Conference and Rendez-vous Canada, so adding another conference was a stretch and I know it was a lot of work for TIAC's fantastic staff.  So I can understand why TIAC is not doing CeC anymore. But, I wish there had been consultations and perhaps a call for other organizations to take over the conference.  But who knows, perhaps it will come back with another name and a more ambitious agenda (maybe I should look into it - perhaps my friends at Tnooz and Comptoirs du eTourisme will be interested in collaborating in an international eTourism Strategy event within a Canadian context). Many people have confused eTourism Marketing with eTourism Strategy. Any marketing, digital or not, must be grounded in sound strategy. CeC's purpose was to focus on this strategy, to help the industry think strategically. I was not about social media or Facebook or mobile, it was about how to strategize in the new digital era - how to use (or not use) the new tools, channels, technologies, etc., of the digital era to pursue your strategy in order to achieve your organizational's objectives. RIP Canada-e-Connect.

Fall into Fall's Canadian Tourism events and conferences

Fall is a beautiful season in Canada with all the autumn colours and crisp cool air around us. It is also a time when the industry re-evaluates where it is and where it is going. There are several important Canadian Tourism conferences in the Fall. In the past week I have been reminded of two interesting conferences taking place in November (in addition to the national Tourism Summit): HR Forum 2010 (Nov 15 to 17), The BC Tourism Industry Conference (which starts tomorrow) and almost brand new TOTA (Thompson Okanagan) 2010 Tourism Summit (second annual Nov 3 to 5). In this post I will comment on the HR Forum.

The HR Forum is an important conference because it focuses exclusively on human resources issues in the industry. For years we have been hearing about the impending hr crisis in tourism because of the aging of our population and the need for qualified workers (not to mention the critical need for excellence in guest services). This issue has taken a back seat in the last couple of years on account of the global economic downturn. But make no mistake, if Canada is to remain competitive in tourism, the industry has to continually work on solving our human resources challenges. These are some of the sessions the HR Forum will have this year which I think any tourism business in Canada may find very helpful:

Excelling In the Tourism Sector and Learning from the 2010 Olympics - Nancy Greene Raine- Canada’s Female Athlete of the 20th Century, Entrepreneur and Senator

Using Technology for Recruitment & Retention

Foreign Workers – Clarifying the Processes

Diversity and Creating a Cohesive Workplace: Attracting and Retaining Internationally Trained Workers

Performance That Rocks - Jim Knight- Senior Director of Training, Hard Rock International

The Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC)’s 9^th Annual HR Forum will be taking place from November 15 – 17 at the Edmonton Marriott at River Cree Resort in Edmonton. With the theme, “FRESH Ideas: New Opportunities - Developing a Dynamic Workforce."

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Jaime

Canadian Tourism Blog

www.cactusrock.com

Canadian Tourism Summit - "refreshed, renewed, reenergized" Nov 1 to 3

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada will host its annual Tourism Summit conference from November 1 to 3 in Ottawa Gatineau. This will be new President and CEO, David F. Goldstein's first TIAC conference. One small, but notable, change about the conference is that the name has been changed from "Tourism Leadership Summit" to "Tourism Summit." This reflects an effort on TIAC's part to become more inclusive perhaps as the former name implied somewhat of an elitist approach to the event. I do not speak for the association, of course, but it seems to me that the idea is to bring in more tourism stakeholders to the lobbying table. TIAC is a lobbying organization, the official voice of the industry vis a vis government. Interestingly enough, this year's conference includes a session called "The View from Parliament Hill" with the participation of 3 members of Parliament as panelists. Should be an interesting panel, e.g. "what does the Federal Government think of the tourism industry?" "Should there be a Tourism Ministry?" "Should the CTC be closed down?" "Should the CTC be expanded with more support?" "Should Canada impose a fee on overseas visitors like the US and Mexico do?"

In addition to the "View from Parliament Hill" this year's conference includes several, in my view, important sessions, such as "Green Tourism: A National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism," "Cultural Events and Festivals," and "Future of the US Market." These three sessions encapsulate in my view three key success factors for Canadian tourism going forward. First, there will be no tourism industry in the future, if our practices do not include a sustainable tourism strategy. Second, Cultural Events and Festivals are perhaps the biggest engines of urban tourism in Canada - just think Festival International du Jazz de Montreal, Juste Pour Rire, Caribana, The Toronto International Film Festival, the Calgary Stampede and so many other events that attract millions of visitors to their respective destinations. Third. The US Market. Regardless of how low the US inbound market has dropped since 1999, it is still by far the most important foreign market for Canadian Tourism (although not the most important overall - that place belongs to our domestic market). There are many opinions as to how to address the issue of American visitors' decline. I have my own as well. This session will continue the debate and the ongoing efforts to find ways to attract more American tourists to Canada.

If you have never attended Canada's national tourism conference, I do recommend it. Not only will you get valuable information, but you will have a chance to network with the industry's leaders. It's your industry, get involved.

Regards,

Jaime

www.canadamigos.com

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.

Canadian Tourism - Inbound numbers are in. US down 10% compared to Jan 2009

Statistics Canada just published its January 2010 Service Bulletin International Travel: Advance Information (Catalogue # 66-001-P). While it's not surprising, one would hope to see better numbers. Unfortunately, all the work by tourism marketers in Canada leading up to the Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Games did not materialize in substantial increases in inbound tourism. However, given the worst economic environment since the Great Depression, particularly in the United States, I don't want to imagine how bad the numbers would look if Canadian DMO's and the CTC had not worked so hard last year to keep Canada in the minds of as many travelers as possible. This is not to say that I am completely happy with the way Canada markets itself internationally, but not being my gig, there's not much I can do about it.

Having said this, I think Montreal stands out in 2009 for their innovative approach to promoting their destination focusing primarily on digital media. I also like what Banff Lake Louise Tourism is doing in this regard. Their Facebook presence is paying off and they are doing a great job to leverage the new meeting place for the world (Facebook has more than 400 million active users now, and it won't be long before it reaches half a billion members - just this past week it was reported that Facebook was, for the first time, the most visited website in the US passing long time champion, Google).

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Overall including all markets there was a decrease of 9.5% January 2010 compared to January 2009

United States -10.1 %

United Kingdom -4.2

Germany -7.9

China -13.6

Hong Kong -37.6

Australia -14.6

Mexico -52

Brazil -3.9

source: StatCan Service Bulletin International Travel: Advance Information January 2010

France bounced back from Jan 2009 with an increase of 13.4% in Jan 2010. There was also good growth from India with a 17.9% increase Jan 2010 from the same period last year.

Going forward I anticipate a better year than 2009 and I expect to see some traction generated by the Winter Games, but it won't necessarily be a large spike. The biggest challenge facing the Canadian Tourism Industry this year and next will be the high Canadian dollar, which closed today at US $0.99 and it's expected to remain at/or near parity for the rest of 2010 and possibly all of 2011.

Jaime

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

Spotlight of eTourism strategic issues - Canada-e-Connect 2010

Strategy is not just about marketing. Since its inception, the Canada-e-Connect conference has focused not only on strategic marketing, but also on other elements of strategy in the eTourism space. The new digital revolution has implications for many areas of your strategic planning.

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Technological and social advances have fundamentally changed the way in which organizations operate, with spinoff operational implications affecting everything from government relations and law, to human resources and labour relations, as well as marketing and public relations. CeC is pleased to present The new relationship between Travellers and the Tourism Industry This panel session with experts from different backgrounds will consider the most pressing issues and address your concerns.

• Meredith A. Hanrahan, Chief Marketing Officer, Cheapflights Ltd.
• Rob Hyndman, Technology Business Lawyer and Founder,Hyndman | Law;
• Mike Kujawski, Marketing & Social Media Strategist, Center of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing
• Stuart Macdonald, Founder CEO, TripHarbour.ca;
• Joseph Thornley, CEO, Thornley Fallis and 76design and Chair, Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms

This session will take place Thurs, Jan 30th at 1:30 pm.

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect 2010

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

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

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

source: International Travel: Advance Information Bulletin March 2009

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

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Ban the Seal Hunt. Cutting your nose to Spite your Face - The Canadian Seal Hunt and Canadian Tourism.

For the record. I am personally against the Canadian Seal Hunt. The following post reflects my opinion only and not necessarily that of anyone else in the Canadian tourism industry. I do wonder, however, why don't I hear more voices in the industry talking about this issue. What is the industry's position on the Seal Hunt? Join the conversation.

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I find it appalling and very disappointing that Parliament unanimously approved a motion to use the Winter Games to promote seal products. Talk about cutting your nose to spite your face. The way Canadian governments have defended this practice and dying industry for so long reminds me of 6 year olds, who stubbornly cling to an old useless (and potentially dangerous) toy. What they have done with this motion is provide PETA with more ammunition to bash Canada before, during and after the Games. Besides my personal opposition to the Seal Hunt, I care about the tourism industry very much and I care about Canada's image in the world as well. I know my business has been affected (because people let me know every Spring with not very polite emails or blog comments). This "brilliant" idea from Bloc Québécois MP Raynald Blais to use the Games to promote seal products is not only not helpful to the Canadian Tourism industry, but actually harmful. Expect to see PETA activists along the route of the Olympic Torch. Expect to see YouTube videos, Tweets, Blog Posts, publicity stunts and many other PETA tactics that are not limited by political concerns as much of our tourism promotion is.

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The seal products industry is an industry in fast decline. The market for seal products around the world is sinking (and I don't personally know anyone in Canada who would buy anything containing seal products). This is a fact, whatever your position on the seal hunt may be. According to a long article about the Seal Hunt on the CBC website, the expected price for a seal pelt in 2009 is $15 per pelt. This represents a 78% drop from the price in 2006! Any first year business student would tell you, "get out of this business," the ROI is just not there. Currently, even Russia has stopped the practice, "after Prime Minister Vladimir Puttin called the hunt a bloody industry." (Globe and Mail. A6)

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According to the CBC article, the Seal Hunt constitutes only a fraction of Newfoundland and Labrador's $600 million fishery. Only about 1% of the population there derives some income from the Seal Hunt. "The governments argue that's a substantial number for rural communities, and comparable to other industries." That may be so, in percentage terms, but the writing is on the wall. With the EU ban on seal products in place, notwithstanding Canadian politicians protestations, the market for seal products is just going to decline further. The Canadian Tourism Industry is a multi-billion dollar industry which depends, in good measure, on Canada's image internationally. I don't know of any studies or surveys that quantify the loss of revenue in tourism to Canada because of the seal hunt, but I get the feeling that it's not a pittance.

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Instead of throwing temper tantrums and clinging to a dying industry, Canadian politicians and Seal Hunt advocates should calm down and work to find solutions to the problem. It's not the first time that a region has to deal with changing times, changing tastes, diminishing returns and disappearing industries. In past years, there have been ideas put forth by various people regarding how to help the sealers find other occupations. They too must see clearly that the trend is clear and they better find other sources of income. Could there be opportunities in tourism? I understand that navigating the waters off Newfoundland & Labrador in early spring might be difficult, but what about modifying icebreakers and turn them into seal observation vessels for tourists to go see the seals? What about "adotpion?" I'm just brainstorming here. But I would be willing to "adopt" baby seals every year. If the price of a pelt in 2009 is $15, I'd be happy to adopt ten seals and send $150 dollars to a former sealer who would now "symbolically" protect my adopted seals. Make it 20 seals. Something like this could get traction around the world "Adopt a Canadian baby Seal." We could go out and shoot the seals (WITH a CAMERA) in their habitat and post videos on YouTube showing our "adopted" babies. Weather permitting there could be helicopter rides to go see the seals. I am sure that better minds than mind can come up with alternatives to the seal hunt that would benefit former sealer and start new industries in the region. Besides, my personal feelings about the hunt, I agree with Margartet Wente of the Globe and Mail who writes "The truth is that the hunt is a global embarrasment and nothing short of banning it will change that."

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The eyes of the world will be on Canada for the next several months leading up to the Olympics. What do we want them to see?
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Things Change. Times Change. the Seal Hunt must End. Let me know where to send my cheque.
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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Influenza A H1N1 formerly known as Swine flu not as Bad as Thought

From many accounts in Mexico, the US and around the world, it looks like this new type of Influenza is a lot like regular Influenza. While I agree that authorities should remain vigilant (particularly come Fall), perhaps it's time to get back to the buusiness of promoting travel. Let's keep in mind that worldwide there are some 1,000 confirmed cases, mostly mild, but in Canada alone, according to health officials, regular Influenza causes, on average, 4,000 deaths annually.

Spring is here and Summer is coming. Lots of great events in Canada to promote like Luminato, Montreal's Biennale, Cirque du Soleil's Ovo, Toronto's Indy, Osheaga Festival and more.

Bon Voyage,

Jaime


-- Post From My iPhone

Inbound numbers are in and it's not pretty (not too ugly either).

Canadian tourism inbound numbers are out and reflect the extent to which the global recession is affecting us. US visits, not surprisingly continue to slide, even though there was some improvement in February compared to January. However, compared to February 2008, US visits were down a further 4.6% Most international markets showed declines. The UK was down a whopping 20.9% compared to February 2008. Germany is holding well with a 1.6% increase from February last year. China and India, in particular, showed increases. Mexico was down 9.2% compared to February 2008, but Spain was up 7.1%. Comparing February 2009 to February 2009, the overall picture tells a sad story, albeit not totally unexpected: USA - down 4.6%, Europe - down 9%, Asia - down 15.9%, North America, Central America & Caribbean - down 3.5%, South America - up 2.2%, Oceania & Other Ocean islands - up 0.1%.

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Source: Statistics Canada International Travel: Advance Information bulletin

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Jaime

The Conquest bust - Is it right to threaten guests with jail if they don't pay AGAIN? Bad Mexico Bad Dominican Bad!

"Melissa Handley knew she was in real trouble when she discovered the lock on her hotel room had been changed – with all her belongings inside...

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When Handley, who booked her vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with Conquest Vacations, approached staff at the Hotel Grand Oasis, she was told to pay $1,000 (U.S.) or she wouldn't be able to leave the country."

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"Handley is just one of hundreds of former Conquest Vacations customers arriving home from popular vacation destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean armed with stories of hotel staff no longer able to speak English, threats of jail time if thousands of dollars of extra charges went unpaid, and abandonment by Canadian consulate officials." Toronto Star, April 18, 2009

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Oasis Hotels & Resorts issued a statement ""Conquest never paid us. .." Oasis blamed Conquest with some reason. However, this whole thing is a black eye for all tour operators everywhere. Not that I would, I mostly book travel directly with the supplier (hotel, airline, etc), but this may hurt all other tour operators. How can the consumer trust any tour operator in Canada or elsewhere when something like this can happen? I am furious with the hotels in Mexico, the Domincan Republic and any other destination that has threatened Canadian travelers in anyway. It is not the traveler's fault if the hotel has not been paid. There are processes and business practices that the traveler does not even need to know about. It is up to the industry to make sure that these problems are dealt with in an appropriate manner. Yes, Conquest deserves all the criticism going their way. They left people stranded without notice. But the hotels in Mexico and Dominican Republic - I've mostly read about Oasis Hotels & Resorts but there may be others - have behaved in a very unprofessional, unethical and unimaginative manner. The fact is that any hotel or resort that has done this to a guest has damaged their brand immensely.

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I will not forget this brand myself and will never consider it as a possible place to stay. Instead of treating guests like criminals (understanding that in the world of business, organizations go bankrupt and you must consider this when doing business), they should have explained the situation and told guests that they understood Conquest had gone out of business; that they hadn't been and probably would not get paid, but that they understood it wasn't the guests' fault (as they had already paid for their Holiday), and thus they would absorb the cost of the trip. They could have created a PR campaign on the spot - get some video testimonials from happy guests, asked them to write letters or blog posts for them, etc. you get the point. They would have had enormous publicity and would have increased the equity of their brand (as would the destination). They (and local tourism authorities) missed a big opportunity here. What they are getting now is a big stain on their brands and a black eye to their reputation. And the destinations have also suffered in the eyes of many travelers who will now think twice about traveling to destinations where they could be treated in such a manner.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Canadian tourism INBOUND numbers for 2008 are in. Mexico and Spain showed healthy growth.

Statistics Canada published its International Travel: Advance Information bulletin for December 2008 and the Jan-Dec 2008 period. Overall international visits to Canada were down 9.9% compared to a year earlier. No surprise here, US visits were down 12%. Europe was up 2.5% though stalwart United Kingdom was down 6% for the year (a sign of the economic downturn). French inbound tourism was substantially higher (at 12.2%) mostly due perhaps to Quebec's 400th Anniversary year. Asian inbound was down 3.2% mostly because of Japan's continuing decline. The House of the Rising Sun sent 16.4% less tourists in 2008 than in 2007 and is now close to losing its place to Mexico. Mexico, while showing signs of weakness in December (it was down 10.5%) grew 8.1% in 2008. Mexico was only 16,371 visitors away from trumping Japan as the 4th most important overseas market for Canada after the UK, France and Germany. Spain, by the way, held up very well considering the economic issues. Spanish inbound grew by 12.9% in 2008, breaking the 75,000 visitors to Canada mark for the first time. India, by the way a market the CTC has announced it will enter, was up 9.3% for the year.
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Jaime Horwitz MBA
www.canadaenespanol.ca

In the Age of Honesty and Transparency - be upfront with your customers.

My recent visit to Montreal provided me with a few interesting items to blog about both on this blog and my B2C Hispanic blog (www.blogdecanada.com). Here I want to write about the issue of honesty and transparency. I believe, as others do, that we are entering (or have entered) an age of transparency in which companies will have a more difficult time, whether intentionally or unintentionally, bamboozling customers or potential customers.
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When I travel on business I prefer to stay at an InterContinental Hotel. My preference for the brand began with the Presidente InterContinental in Mexico City several years ago. Since then I have stayed at other InterContinental hotels and at many of the IHG properties in Canada and elsewhere. I am a member of their Priority Club at the Ambassador level and, in the spirit of full disclosure, a few years ago my sites became affiliates of IHG (www.hotelesdecanada.ca). Many IHG properties are featured throughout the Canada en Espanol Network.

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So choosing a hotel in Montreal for my recent visit was easy, stay at the InterContinental. I booked online as usual and I checked the site to learn about the hotel. Everything was OK until I showed up to check in and began to realize that the hotel is under renovation - no proper lobby, no restaurant and no business centre. I was obviously dissappointed. The hotel's website has this on the home page "Unveiling its new identity in spring 2009, the InterContinental Montreal will be showcased like never before." I must admit I had not read it, but even if I did, the statement is not specific enough and it does not tell prospective guests that they won't have access to a business centre a lobby or a restaurant (the hotel offers meal services at a restaurant/pub across the hall in a building next door, but it is not very convenient). I believe in providing feedback and I called the manager to express my dissappointment. I wanted to speak to the general manager but I was told he wasn't available and I spoke to a manager on duty who sort of apologized and told me that the only thing he could do for me was to give me a $100 discount on my next stay to which I said that I appreciated the gesture, but that my point was to let the hotel know that in this age of transparency I would appreciate it more if they had informed me in more detail about the renovations and offered me a discounted rate to stay at the hotel because I really do not appreciate a bait and switch experience, especially from brands I consider leaders in their category. And that was that.

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Later on I picked up the letter with the $100 discount, but did not open it right away. When I finally did open it because I was curious as to what it said, I was even more dissappointed with what I saw. The letter was basically a form letter that was written last year as a promotion for guests staying at the hotel during the Holidays. It even had pictures of Holiday ornaments around the text. It did indicate about a $100 discount on a future stay as long as it was before the end of April (while renovations would still be going on). Do you see why I might not have liked this letter? First, the letter was not personalized, which did not make me feel like a very valued customer. Second, the letter was just a leftover from a previous promotion. Third, the so-called discount was only valid during renovation time. I did not say anything further at that moment (was too busy working and finding suitable restaurants OUTSIDE the hotel). Ah, but at check out time...

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At check out I was asked: "How was your stay with us?" Well, other than the room, I said, terrible. It's very interesting to see the person's reaction when they don't hear what they expect to hear. I proceeded to express my views and I was pleased by the understanding shown by the woman who was doing the check out. While she wanted to do more to make me feel valued she was able to take $100 off my bill, which was a better gesture than the form letter. More importantly was her acknowledgement and understanding of my comments that restored my trust in the brand.

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The point in all of this is that I believe that in this day and age businesses must be more open and honest with customers and potential customers. Bait and switch tactics and trying to conceal things that customers will find out about later does not benefit your business in the long run. More often than not, customers will not complain (though many will do so via social media like TripAdvisor). They just won't come back and will not recommend your brand. Be honest and open and offer an incentive or discount for their inconvenience and you will gain their loyalty and understanding.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Fabulous, scrumptious lunch in Montreal with Tourisme Montreal

Yesterday, after a very productive meeting, I had the pleasure of having lunch with my friends from Tourisme Montreal. Carmen Ciotola and Emmanuelle Legault took me to Alexandre et Fils on Rue Peel. Strange that in all my years of visiting Montreal I had never heard of Alexandre's. I was very pleased with the service, which reminded of restaurants of old (with professional Maitre’D and servers). The ambiance and concept are French all throughout. I had a small salade verte to start with, which was fine. But then I had a salmon tartare appetizer and things got more interesting and enjoyable. The tartare was fabulous. For my main course I chose the chef's special of the day, Canard (duck). I don't usually eat duck (hard to find chefs who truly know how to prepare duck, but also I feel a bit like I shouldn't eat duck, like eating a loon, national symbol and too cute, like bunnies). But duck I ate, and it was absolutely scrumptious (my apologies to my beloved Muskoka loons). Perfectly cooked, melted in the mouth.

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All of this brings me to a canadian (or fill in the nationality of your choice) tourism business point. Many people want to know how to get the attention of bloggers. One way is to hire one (or many) to blog about your business; another is to pay for a blog post on a particular blog - not things quite encouraged by some blogging purists - in the age of transparency - but more readily accepted if the blogger discloses the realtionship). More importantly, in my opinion one of three things must be present for bloggers (b - as in blogger - to c) to be interested: Either a very bad experience, an excellent experience or a very creative event. Run of the mill average mediocrity is not really conducive to writing about. As I replied to Carmen and Emmanuelle when they asked me how the duck was, I said "excellent, definitely bloggable." Of course, you might say that Alexandre et Fils got lucky (in the case of my blogs) because someone took me there for lunch. And you would be right. Most bloggers don't make a living blogging. They blog because they are passionate about the medium and want to express themselves. For some lucky ones, blogging may lead to a consulting gigs, a higher profile in their industry, decent advertising revenue or a big buyout; but this is rare. If you want a blogger to blog about your business try and contact him or her and ask what would it take for them to do it. It may be as simple as inviting them for lunch.

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Salut,

Jaime Horwitz MBA

www.blogdecanada.com

www.canadamigos.com

Back to work everyone. Looking forward to 2009 and great things in Canadian Tourism and Digital Marketing

I am back at work and slowly but surely resuming all my activities, including writing on this blog and my Hispanic web properties (www.canadaenespanol.ca). As we all know this will be a very challenging year for all businesses. Tourism businesses will be particularly vulnerable during the recession because travel is one of the first areas where consumers cut back. However, this does not mean that everyone will stop travelling.

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Some consumers will not travel this year but many will, albeit shorter or less expensive trips. According to an American Express Publishing, Harrison Group, survey reported last Octoboer on the Rand Mcnally website, affuent Americans will continue to travel . The survey reported that while spending for personal items from clothing to jewelry is expected to decline further, spending for the family— including travel— is trending up. Another survey, this one by TravelZoo quoted on the UK's HolidayExtras website reported that no less than 95% of more than 6,000 respondents in the UK, France, Spain and Germany plan to take a holiday before the end of June. And just over 35% plan to take two or more breaks in the next six months.

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When it comes to Hispanic inbound numbers to Canada, I have reported on recent figures from StatCan's Advance Travel Information bulletins showing that Mexican, Spanish and SouthAmerican inbound continues to grow. While a softening is expected this year, I am confident that we will continue to see growth from these markets, albeit at lower rate.

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Our challenge as tourism marketers is how to outsmart the competition, how to persuade travellers to choose our destinations, hotels, attractions, etc., for their Holiday and not somwhere else. This will be a year to really explore all that Digital Marketing can offer, to be creative and to be responsive to what consumers are exploring for in the digital space. Don't forget to mark your calendar and register for Canada-e-Connect later this month.

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Cheers,
Jaime
www.canadaenespanol.ca

Meeting The Bloggers at PhoCusWright 2008 Hollywood

The PhoCusWright Conference is one of the premier events in the travel and technology space. Judging by the number (900+) and calibre of registrants, which in the current economic environment is more than remarkable, the conference promises to deliver valuable insights into the state of Web and travel, mobile and travel and more. As part of the conference events, PhoCusWright presents the Bloggers Summit bringing together a strong group of the most influential travel bloggers in the world. Bloggers like Kevin May of Travolution in the UK, Tim Hughes of the Boot in Australia and Claude Benard of Hotelitour in France will be blogging about the various sessions at the conference including Monday's Travel Innovation Summit where more than 30 companies will be presenting their digital travel innovations to an audience of experts and travel execs from around the world; companies like The Society of Leisure Enthusiasts, RezGo.com, YourTour, DealBase, LiveRez.com, PlanetEye.com, TripJane, Triporati and many more.

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Photo back: Tim Hughes, Kevin May, Phil Caines and Stephen Joyce. Front: Jaime Horwitz, Claude Benard, Sean Keener

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Cheers,

Jaime

Dr. Ian Fenwick, co-author of DigiMarketing to speak at Canada-e-Connect 2009 in Toronto.

Canada-e-Connect's Opening Keynote address will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Ian Fenwick, one of the most respected business academics in the world. Ian is a former director of the MBA program at the Schulich School of Business. York University in Toronto. He continues to be Professor of Marketing Emeritus and Senior Scholar at that School. He currently lives and works in Thailand, where he is Advisor and Senior Head of Administrative Programs at Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration. Ian has led executive seminars and taught at universities and businesses pretty much around the world. He has served as a consultant for a wide range of companies including Siam Cement Group, Merck (Thailand), A.C. Nielsen (Thailand), German Standard, JETRO, General Motors Canada, Dupont Canada, Exxon and many others.

Dr. Fenwick, co-author of DigiMarketing: The Essential Guide to New Media and Digital Marketing, will address Canada-e-Connect delegates on the dramatic shift from traditional to digital media. DigiMarketing has been labeled “an introduction, encyclopedia, and action plan all at the same time, a hefty but easy-to-read book that helps makes sense of the emerging digital world” in the Globe and Mail. Norman Pearlstine (former Editor-in-Chief of Time, Inc. and Managing Editor, the Wall Street Journal) has hailed it as “the definitive guide to marketing in the digital age”.

Dr. Fenwick and/or his co-author Kent Wertime, President of Ogilvy One Asia Pacific have presented DigiMarketing at various events (and counting) throughout Asia (e.g. Business Week Middle East Asia Leadership Forum Dubai) and more recenty at Microsoft's World Partner Conference, Houston.

Born in England and also holding Canadian citizenship, Ian has a BA (Hons) First Class (in Economics and Sociology) from Durham University and a Ph.D. from the University of London.

Canada-e-Connect will take place at the InterContinental Hotel on Front St. in downtown Toronto, January 21 to 23, 2009.

Given the current economic environment that is surely to affect travel worldwide, it is imperative to keep up to date with the latest trends in Digital Marketing because digital marketing is the most cost-effective way to promote and sell your tourism offerings whether you are a small Bed & Breakfast, multi-unit hotel chain, airline or a major tourist attraction.

Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to hear from Dr. Fenwick and other interantional e-marketing, e-distribution and social media experts. Register now for Canada-e-Connect 2009!

Visit Canada-e-Connect's website regularly and keep up-to-date with the fantastic speakers as they are confirmed.

See you there.

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