Le Germain Maple Leaf Square Hotel - luxury and hockey

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

Full review coming,

Jaime

Canada-e-Connect 2011 Spotlight on Erica Ehm

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

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

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

See Erica's blog post about her Banff vacation

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

Jaime

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

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

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

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

Restaurants - Joe Forte's near Robso

n St

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jaime

Toronto 2015 reveals its visual brand. Viva Panam, United we Play

Toronto 2015 will be twice the size of Vancouver 2010

The budget for Toronto 2015 is $1.5 billion

10,000 athletes. 48 sports. 50 venues.

Toronto 2015 will be huge. It's anticipated that the Games will attract 250,000 visitors to the Golden Horseshoe. However, Ian Troop said at a Hispanic professionals event that as he sees the work and the planning progress, he thinks that the number of visitors could reach 1 million. I agree.

United We Play, Viva PanAm

Jaime

Toronto International Film Festival 2010

Films watched so far:

Bad Faith (Sweden) - interesting (not like Hollywood) suspense movie - an illogical script, but a different way of telling stories. Not everything in life makes sense.

Stone (US) - Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton - what else can I say. If you like the art of acting, watch this film for a lesson on how it's done (well, you won't know how it's done, but the actors are brilliant). Milla Jovovich is excellent as the female supporting actress

The Illussionist - Sylvain Chomet's follow up to "the Triplets fo Belleville"- a work of art in many levels. The film is a love letter to a bygone era. Ironically (or not) the film was made in 2D animation, the old fashion way. Every frame is a work of art by an animator. The story revolves around a vaudeville magician who sees his world disappearing (just as 2D animation has)...

"Passione" another love letter - this one to the city of Naples, its music and its people. Stunning photography in stunning locations and incredible music - "Passione" lives up to its name. Directed by actor John Turturro (who incidentally is Italian American, but not from Naples, but from Sicily).

TIFF is a remarkable festival in a remarkable city.

Jaime

Looking to get away from Toronto this week or weekend? Away from the G8 and G20 Summits?

This week Toronto's downtown around the Entertainment District and surrounding the Convention Centre is looking like a two ton gorilla with braces. Everyone who can work from home or take vacation days this week will do just that. Many businesses near and around the area will close for a few days including the Rogers Centre (the Blue Jays will play their home games away from home in Philadelphia) and the Mirvish organization's theatres will be dark. All in all not the weekend to enjoy Toronto's usually bustling downtown. I will definitely be nowhere near the core as we get close to the weekend and during the weekends itself. If you live in Toronto or were planning to visit Toronto during the Summits, may I suggest the best alternative: Montreal (of course, there's always New York as well, but NYC may be pricey and there's always the hassle of crossing borders or airport security). Montreal is awesome. The Festival International de Jazz de Montreal starts this coming Friday (check hotel availability before you decide to follow my recommendation).

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If you live in Toronto and have never been to Montreal, what are you waiting for? Montreal is a Canadian city, a North American city, but with one big difference from all other cities in the continent. It has a distinct international feel that is neither European nor North American. It's a hybrid of both. Great ambiance, fantastic restaurants, awesome festivals, quaint neighbourhoods, beautiful parks and even more beautiful people. If you've never seen it, check out Tourisme Montreal's website. Get some insider/local info and secrets from TM's bloggers, especially Tamy and Christophe.

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But just in case you think I only recommend the official tourism board (I just happen to believe that Montreal Tourism is actually doing a great job promoting their destination with a more entrepreneurial and less bureaucratic approach to tourism promotion than many traditional tourism boards) - here are some of my faves in Montreal:

Schwartz's Delicatessen (smoked meat sandwiches)

Old Montreal (not necessarily to eat, but to take a stroll, absorb the ambiance, maybe take a cruise on the St Lawrence

Place des Arts and whatever's going on there

Mont-Royal (one of my favourite places in Canada to go for a jog)

Boulevard Saint Laurent or "La Main" as it's locally known

Also check out this website: Made in Montreal

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Bon voyage,

Jaime

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

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

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

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

James Taylor and Carole King in Toronto

-- Post From My iPhone

l’ACTS annonce les noms des conférenciers confirmés

C’est avec enthousiasme que l’ACTS annonce les noms des conférenciers confirmés qui feront équipe pour présenter un programme des plus substantiels à l’occasion du Congrès des événements sportifs 2010, qui se déroulera à Toronto du 21 au 23 avril. Le congrès est une présentation de la firme Eventgraphics et sera l’hôte de Tourisme Toronto. Le lunch de clôture du congrès mettra à l’affiche Stacey Allaster, présidente et chef de la direction de WTA, qui devra répondre à toutes les questions que lui posera Brenda Irving, du Service des sports de la CBC. Cette présentation – à ne pas manquer! – marquera le point culminant du congrès.

Le mercredi 21 avril, les délégués seront entretenus par :

• Séance pour les intervenants en tourisme sportif de l’Ontario : les Jeux panaméricains 2015 – Un début, non une fin!
• Tourisme sportif 101
• Conférence principale : L’état de l’industrie, de David Whitaker, président et directeur général, Tourisme Toronto
• Programme d’accueil de la C.-B. – Une étude de cas, présentée par Bruce Dewar, directeur général, 2010 Legacies Now
• Problèmes juridiques et événements sportifs, présenté par Benoit Girardin, LBB Consultants
• Médias sociaux et événements sportifs, présenté par Jaime Horwitz, président, Cactus Rock New Media
• Maximiser les possibilités de financement en vertu de la Politique fédérale d’accueil de manifestations sportives internationales, présenté par Benoit Girardin, LBB Consultants
• MEETS (Modèle d’évaluation économique du tourisme sportif), présenté par Tony Fisher, Senior Research Associate, ACTS
• Gabarit de planification du tourisme sportif, présenté par Blair McIntosh, directeur des jeux, Sport Alliance de l’Ontario
• Gabarit de plan d’affaires pour l’accueil d’un événement sportif, présenté par Éric Savard, président, Organisports

Le jeudi 22 avril, jour 2 du Congrès des événements sportifs. À l’affiche :

• Conférencier au petit déjeuner – à communiquer
• Marché des événements sportifs, l’élément phare du Congrès des événements sportifs
• Lunch des Prix PRESTIGE

Au cours de la dernière journée du congrès, le 23 avril, les délégués auront le choix entre un cheminement en marketing sportif et un cheminement en tourisme sportif

Cheminement en marketing sportif, une présentation de Mark Harrison, président, TrojanOne

Le marketing des sports en 2010 – Un regard dix ans en arrière et un regard sur la prochaine décennie

Comme agents de marketing du sport à l’aube d’une nouvelle décennie, nous devons nous efforcer de faire preuve d’innovation tout en œuvrant à l’intérieur de nos ressources en vue d’atteindre nos objectifs. À l’occasion de la célébration du 10e anniversaire de l’Alliance canadienne du tourisme sportif et du Congrès des événements sportifs, le cheminement en marketing sportif en 2010 jettera un regard en arrière vers les plus grands succès remportés en marketing du sport au cours de la dernière décennie, et un regard en avant sur ce qui attend les praticiens du marketing sportif au cours des 10 prochaines années au Canada. Les conférenciers à l’affiche sont : John-Paul Cody Cox, directeur général, Volleyball Canada, Chris Morrissey, chef de la direction, Jeux d’hiver du Canada – Halifax 2011, et Andrea Shaw, vice-présidente – commandites, ventes et marketing, VANOC.

Cheminement en tourisme sportif – à l’affiche :

• Le lancement officiel du Gabarit de dossier de mise en candidature en vue de l’accueil d’une manifestation sportive de l’ACTS, présenté par Bob O’Doherty, directeur général, Championnat du monde de hockey junior 2009
• Panel sur les pratiques d’excellence formé de Dan Stefanson, directeur général, Tourisme Abbotsford et Wayne Long, responsable du développement des événements, Ville de Charlottetown

L’inscription des délégués au Congrès des événements sportifs 2010 est en voie d’atteindre le plus haut niveau de participation de l’histoire de l’événement. Plus de 300 délégués des domaines du tourisme, du développement économique et de l’industrie du sport ont confirmé leur présence au plus important congrès sur le tourisme sportif au Canada! Pour une version complète du programme du Congrès, incluant les notes biographiques des conférenciers, ou pour s’inscrire en ligne, prière de visiter le site Web de l’ACTS à l’adresse www.canadiansporttourism.com.

CSTA Announced Congress Line-Up! Sport Events Congress 2010 Toronto

CSTA is excited to announce its line-up of presenters confirmed to be part of the conference program at Sport Events Congress 2010 taking place in Toronto from April 21-23, 2010 presented by eventgraphics and hosted by Tourism Toronto. The Congress’ closing lunch will feature Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO, WTA in a tell-all interview conducted by Brenda Irving, Host, CBC Sports. This presentation will be the highlight of the Congress and should not be missed!

On Wednesday, April 21st, Congress delegates will be treated to:

• Ontario Sport Tourism Stakeholders Session: Pan Am Games 2015 – A Beginning, Not an End!
• Sport Tourism 101
• State of the Industry Keynote Address by David Whitaker, President & CEO, Tourism Toronto
• Hosting BC Program – A Case Study presented by Bruce Dewar, CEO, 2010 LegaciesNow
• Legal Issues and Sport Events presented by Benoit Girardin, LBB Consultants
• Social Media & Sport Events presented by Jaime Horwitz, President, Cactus Rock New Media
• Maximizing Funding Opportunities Under the Federal Policy for Hosting International Sport Events presented by Benoit Girardin, LBB Consultants
• STEAM (Sport Tourism Economic Assessment Model) presented by Tony Fisher, Senior Research Associate, CSTA
• Sport Tourism Planning Template presented by Blair McIntosh, Director of Games, Sport Alliance of Ontario
• Business Plan Template for Sport Events presented by Eric Savard, President, Organisports

On Thursday, April 22nd, day two of Sport Events Congress will feature:

• Breakfast keynote – speaker to be announced
• Sport Events Exchange, the flagship element of Sport Events Congress
• PRESTIGE Awards Luncheon

On the final day of the Congress, Friday, April 23rd, conference delegates will have the choice of a sport marketing stream or a sport tourism stream:

Sport Marketing Stream presented by Mark Harrison, President, TrojanOne
Sports Marketing in 2010 - Looking Back and Looking Forward Ten

As sport marketers on the brink of a new decade, we strive to be innovators while working within our resources and delivering on our objectives. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the CSTA and Sport Event Congress, Sports Marketing in 2010 will look back at the greatest sport marketing success stories of the past decade, and look forward to what the next 10 years will hold for sport marketers in Canada. Featured presenters include John-Paul Cody Cox, Executive Director, Volleyball Canada, Chris Morrissey, CEO, 2011 Halifax Canada Winter Games and Andrea Shaw, VP Sponsorship Sales and Marketing, VANOC.

Sport Tourism Stream featuring:

• CSTA’s official launch of its Bid Template for Sport Events presented by Bob O’Doherty, General Manager, 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships
• Best Practices Panel featuring Cheryl Finn, Manager Sport Tourism, Tourism London; Dan Stefanson, Executive Director, Tourism Abbotsford; Wayne Long, Events Development Officer, City of Charlottetown.

Registration for Sport Events Congress 2010 is on track to reach its highest attendance level in the history of the event. Over 300 delegates from the tourism, economic development and sport industries are confirmed to attend Canada’s largest sport tourism conference!

For a complete copy of the Congress schedule, including speaker bios, or to register on-line, please visit us at www.canadiansporttourism.com.

Canadian Music Fest, a resounding Success

Canadian Music Fest marked its place as the caliber of musicians and bands involved multiplied,

surpassing all previous years. The Fest expanded with a total of 713 bands filling 58 venues to capacity throughout Toronto, prompting notice that the festival was officially "sold out". Some musical highlights included: Our Lady Peace - Hedley - Constantines - Joel Plaskett - Great Lake Swimmers - Cage the Elephant - IllScarlett - Fucked Up - Dillinger Escape Plan - The Trews - K-OS - Moneen - Daughtry - DJ Champion and his G Strings - Steel Panther - Born Ruffians - Faber Drive - Bedouin Soundclash - Jason Collett - The Rural Alberta Advantage - Marianas Trench - Default - Platinum Blonde - Speech Debelle - Plants and Animals - Jeff Martin - Comeback Kid - Beast - Arkells - Handsome Furs - Dan Mangan - Timber Timbre - Vivian Girls - Electric Six - Woodhands - Maddy Rodriguez and more!

source: CMW news update

Canadian Music Week sets records in Toronto

Canadian Music Week News Update from news@cmw

Unseasonably warm as it was outdoors, the interior heat was cranked to the red zone at Canadian Music Week and Canadian Music Fest this year.

Music industry and enthusiasts from around the globe came, saw and celebrated in record numbers. This year's festival rocked with more attendees, performers, venues, countries represented and media accredited than ever before.

Some highlights include:

Industry Delegates: 1,883

Attending Musicians: 3,565

Canadian Music Fest

Number of bands performing: 713

Number of participating venues: 58

# of Days: 5

Countries Represented: 23

Media Accredited: 654

The well-attended Digital Strategies Conference focused on effectively marketing products and services in the Digital Age and featured keynotes from Bob Garfield, Scott Fox, and Louise Clements. Our new OIART Mentor's Cafe Series, featuring over 50 industry movers and shakers over the course of three days, proved to be extremely popular with face-to-face encounters with the pros amidst our bustling exhibition district. Conference seminars in all streams - Executive Music, Radio Active, Digital Music & Media, and TuneUp - were jam packed with attendees looking to learn from a top-notch line-up of speakers. Burgeoning songwriters and musicians flocked to the Songwriters' Summit to get up close and personal with some of the world's leading songwriters, composers and publishers.

Continuing its international outreach, CMW 2010 presented the Spotlight on India, which provided an insider's look at the world's second fastest-growing economy and hosted an Indian Music Showcase over two nights. The International Marketplace played home to several visiting countries, including Australia, Botswana, China, Russia, Croatia, Italy, Germany, Hong Kong, Scotland, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, England, India, France, Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, and the USA, and hosted one-on-one dedicated matchmaking meetings with India and Australia. Canadian Music Week donated $5000 to Young Artists for Haiti at The Indies, and gave away an Epiphone guitar, courtesy of Gibson, autographed by Indie Awards performers, nominees and presenters in attendance, to lucky winner Mike Dobson who was in the audience sporting a "Young Artists for Haiti" T-shirt.

Jaime

Canadian Music Week in Toronto - awesome!

Canadian Music Week is fast becoming one of my favourite events of the year. Ironically, I first discovered Canadian Music Week because my daughter became seriously interested in breaking into the music business. I attended last year's Canadian Music Week conference for the first time as well as the Canadian Music Fest, the largest new indie music festival in the country. The conference proper is for the music industry, but the MusicFest is open to the public, and it's a tremendous deal. Buy a wristband for $30 and you get access to a large number of showcases. Some showcases accept a limited number of wristband holders and some headliner shows require a ticket, but by and large, you can enjoy a lot of musical acts for a low price during MusicFest. (photo: Copenhagen's "A Friend in London" and Maddy Rodriguez)

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Because of other commitments and deadlines, I was not able to cover as much of CMW and MusicFest as I would have liked (and I am already planning to clear my agenda during next year's event in order to cover more ground). However, I was able to attend several sessions of the conference and some showcases. One of the bands I really like is a band from Copenhagen, of all places, by the name of "A Friend in London." These young guys are loaded with talent and their front man, Tim Schou, has a fantastic voice. Their music is reminiscent of U2 and ColdPlay, but with their own stamp. I think they may go far.

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Canadian Music Week in Toronto - Over 700 artists, how to choose?

I thought choosing films to watch at the Toronto International Film Festival was difficult with so many films at the festival. That seems easy compared to how to choose which showcases to go to at Canadian Music Fest (part of Canadian Music Week). It's a matter of time, in a way. With over 700 artists showcasing at CMF, how do you narrow down your choices? First, I go over the program and try to determine the kind of music that a particular showcase presents, e.g. metal? hip-hop? pop? country? Once I determine the kind of music I want to experience, then I will go to MySpace and listen to probably just one song (if the song grabs me in the first 30 seconds). If I come across a jewel, I will circle that showcase/artist and add it to my schedule. Then there are the hundreds of postcards lying around near the registration area at the Royal York. I may grab one or two of those if the image on the postcard catches my eye. I will then check out the artist on MySpace and follow the steps described above.

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Jaime

Music to invade Toronto this week. Canadian Music Week and Canadian Music Fest 2010

From March 10 to March 14, Toronto will host once again to Canadian Music Week and Canadian Music Fest 2010. Canadian Music week brings together hundreds of bands, independent and not so independent, together with several of the most important leaders in the Canadian and International Music industry. Canadian Music Week includes a conference, a music festival (this year with over 700 bands and artists), an awards section (including the Canadian Radio Music Awards and the Indie Awards) and a film festival.

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I will be blogging about the music scene from CMW in English (here) and in Spanish at my BlogdeCanada.com. And I always will be tweeting at twitter.com/jaimehorwitz

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Canadian Music Week

Canadian Music Fest

Sept 16, 2009 a conversational capital day for Toronto

I like the term "conversational capital." My friend Carmen Ciotola of Tourism Montreal first mentioned it to me when she introduced me to the book by Bertrand Cesvet (with Tony Babinski and Eric Alper. The book is called Conversational Capital, but with a subtitle that reads "How to Create Stuff people love to talk about." Thought the book clearly presents a framework to analyze something (or someone) from a conversational capital perspective, "create stuff people love to talk about" is easier said than done.

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Conversational Capital, according to the book refers to "a series of observations that can help generate and spread positive word-of-mouth." Examples in the book of brands/products/services that have generated enormous amounts of conversational capital are Cirque du Soleil, Apple, adidas, Red Bull, Schwartz's (smoked meat sandwich deli in Montreal). The book offers 8 attributes or engines of conversational capital, most of which must be present in your product, service, brand, artist or tourism attraction in order to create conversational capital. These engines are: Rituals, Initiation, Exclusive Product Offering, Over-delivery, Myths, Icons, Tribalism, Endorsement and Continuity. I won't go into detail about these engines here. Read the book in order to get the entire lesson. I am merely using Cesvet and friends' framework to talk about word-of-mouth (positive or negative) about a tourism destination and how difficult it is for destination tourism marketers to create word of mouth about their destinations, particularly cities.

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In my opinion, a city's tourism board per se cannot really create conversational capital for its destination (Let me interject here and mention that the book's website - ConversationalCapital.com - has a section on conversations where the book's readers can interact and debate about conversational capital - unfortunately every time I clicked on this section the browser freezes and I have to reboot it). A city's conversational capital (except perhaps for Las Vegas, Dubai, NYC and Paris) is created by what happens in the city. The city itself is nothing without its events, its people and its architecture (architecture is something that happens - e.g. the ROM's Crystal Gallery, Gehry's renovation of the AGO, the OCAD building). And this brings me to what happened yesterday, September 16, 2009 in Toronto.

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Three major events where happening at the same time last night in Toronto in and around the entertainment district. I drove into the downtown core to meet my wife because we had tickets to U2's 360 Tour concert at the Skydome (Rogers Centre for some, but for me it's always the Skydome). I heard on the radio what was going on downtown so I made a point to get downtown early. In addition to U2 performing, the Maple Leafs had their opening game at the ACC against the Boston Bruins and the Toronto International Film Festival had its ongoing shows and galas in the downtown core. Needless to say, the area was hopping. Front Street and side streets felt a little like New York City with people and cars everywhere. One could also feel the energy of hockey, music or film fans building with anticipation of their respective events. For tourism and tourism related businesses it was an outlier evening I'm sure. I saw line-ups at small coffee shops like Tim Horton, fast food places and restaurants along Front Street.

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These three events provide more visibility to Toronto than any ad campaign could (unless of course, Toronto places an ad during the Super Bowl). The challenge for Toronto tourism marketers is how to harness and encourage the conversation in order to increase the conversational capital. One Google search for "U2 Toronto 2009" comes back with 1.3 million hits and change. A Twitter search for "U2 Toronto" comes back with pages and pages of related tweets (you have to tolerate many spammers' tweets though - one problem Twitter is wrestling with). A Google news search for "U2 in Toronto" gave up about 62 results, many of major media outlets that covered the concert. Similarly if you search for "Maple Leafs" or "Bruins" you will get many hits. And the Toronto International Film Festival? Well I'll save you the time you could spend on searches about TIFF. TIFF is the single Canadian event (cultural or otherwise) that towers among any other in media coverage. Two years ago a study was mentioned in the Toronto Star revealed that TIFF is by far more covered by the media than Bay Street and it's light years ahead of any other Canadian event ( a Google search for "Toronto International Film Festival" results in over 26 million hits).

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When you look at the three events mentioned in terms of the engines converational capital all three have elements of all or most of the engines. A tourism marketer cannot create this. One of the tourism marketer's many obvjectives (but one at the top of my list) should be to look for those brands, events, personalities or businesses that create conversational capital about their destinations, support them and find ways to be a participant in the conversations and use them in the destination's marketing initiatives.

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Regards (by the way, Bertrand Cesvet will be the opening keynote speaker at next year's Canada-e-Connect conference in Montreal).

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Jaime Horwitz MBA

Via back on track. Toronto civil workers reach an agreement

Via Rail's management and union understanding the impact of a strike in the middle of the summer agreed to go to binding arbitration and resumed serviced yesterday.

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On other good news, The Toronto Star reports that Toronto's civil and outside workers, reached a deal with the city this morning ending the 35 day old strike that turned Toronto the Good into Toronto the stinky.

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Jaime

My 10 essential films of all time.

Bell Lightbox the new heart for the Toronto International Film Festival on track to open in 2010. The $129 building should be ready in time for the 2010 festival. While the Festival is perhaps the most important festival (cultural or otherwise) in Canada, it is not the only thing that the Toronto Film Festival Group does. TIFFG has a breadth of programming and activities that celebrate film including many educational initiatives throughout the year. I recently received an email from TIFFG (Noah Cowan, artistic director) asking me to participate in their Essentials of World Cinema Survey. This survey will be a "key component of our inaugural programming for Bell Lightbox." The survey asks for one's "Ten essential films of world cinema." The following is my list, in no particular order:

Battleship Potemkin (Eisenstein)

Lawrence of Arabia (Lean)

Modern Times (Chaplin)

La Dolce Vita (Fellini)

Citizen Kane (Welles)

The Godfather (Coppola)

Les Quatre cents coups (Truffaut)

Kagemusha (Kurosawa)

Napoleon (Abel Gance)

2001 a Space Odyssey (Kubrick)

Popcorn, anyone? Action!
Jaime Horwitz

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

Focus on Canada-e-Connect the Shift to DigiMarketing

TIAC's and my own focus as Chair of the Advisory Committee now turns to Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference, the Shift to DigiMarketing. This conference designed for decision makers in the industry will cover the vast number of topics surrounding Digital Marketing. We are calling it Digital Marketing a oppose to Online Marketing because it is the digital aspect of communications technology that tourism marketers should understand best. Whether it is the Web, Mobile, Digital Signage (indoor and outdoor), digital TV, or Gaming, all of it is based on digital technology which means content can travel. It means a digital poster can communicate with a mobile device. Dr. Ian Fenwick, co-author of DigiMarketing has been confirmed as our opening Keynote Speaker. Consumers, i.e. travelers can interact with tourism providers via many devices. What are the implications for marketing and tourism product distribution in this constantly evolving environment? Canada-e-Connect 2009 will answer many of the questions from a strategic point of view. Whether you own a small B&B or manage a chain of hotels, you should not miss Canada-e-Connect January 21 to 23 at the InterContinental Hotel in Downtown Toronto. Registration is now open.

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Jaime Horwitz MBA
Chair Canada-e-Connect Advisory Committee