Canada should bid for the World Cup of Soccer - Top Ten Reasons

The World Cup of Soccer is the largest single sport event in the world. It is truly the only World Competition in which most nations of the world participate. The globally televised event billions of us enjoy every four years is only the finals, the top 32 of the 280 nations whose Federations are members of FIFA. Canada can and should bid to host a World Cup as soon as possible.

Top ten reasons Why Canada should bid for a World Cup:

1. A very high ROE (Return on Exposure)
2. Canada successfully hosted the U20 World Cup where many of the stars who played in South Africa 2010 got their World Cup start
3. Canada has successfully staged 3 Olympic Games
4. Canada is one of the most successful multi-cultural countries in the world
5. A large number of Canada's ethnic communities are soccer crazy
6. Canada's access to a multi-cultural, multi-lingual work force makes it an ideal country to host the Cup
7. With all the love and respect to our national obsession with Hockey, there are more Canadian kids registered in soccer programs than in hockey programs
8. While there's no way to tell where Canada's economy will be in 2018, 2022 and 2026, currently we have one of the most stable economies in the world (bids for 2018 and 2022 may be closed already, but we could go for 2022 and/or 2026 and/or 2030)
9. Because it's the "Beautiful Game" for a "Beautiful Country"
10. It's the only way in the foreseeable future that Canada's National team can participate in a World Cup (host nation gets automatic pass in the top 32)

Cheers, And Viva España!

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.

-

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.

-

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...

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.

-

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

Spotlight on Wendy Perrin Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference

I can't remember how I found Wendy Perrin on the Web, but I often check her blog the Perrin Post and I also follow her on Twitter. You can learn a lot about what's hot in travel around the world by following and reading Wendy. Wendy is also Condé Nast Traveler’s consumer news editor and writes the magazine’s practical advice column, The Perrin Report. She is one of the most respected travel bloggers I know about and, even though, she does work for a mainstream publication, she has a reputation for honest reporting and opinion. I am very excited to meet her next week in Montreal and share the stage with her and Kim Mance of GoGalavanting and Shannon Hurst Lane of the TravelingMamas.com blog. The travel bloggers session promises to be one of the most interesting parts of the Canada-e-Connect 2010 program.

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect 2010

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

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

-

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

-

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

-

Jaime Horwitz

Co-Chair Canada-e-Connect 2010

A TIAC conference in cooperation with PhoCusWright

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

This just in from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada:

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

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

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

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

-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

www.tiac.travel

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.

-

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.

-

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.

-

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.

-

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).

-

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.

-

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

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

CTC's Go Media, a key event for destinations and media.

The GoMedia Canada marketplace, this year taking place in Whistler, B.C., is the must attend event of the year for destination public relations and media relations professionals who want to put their destinations' attractions in front of key media professionals from Canada and the world. It is also the best event for travel media interested in Canada (this year with special emphasis on the Vancouver - Whistler 2010 Games). Given the state of the global economy and the tourism industry in particular (see for example Travolution's article: Tour operators face uncertain future as balance sheets fail) many organizations may want to forgo the event this year, but they should nevertheless consider attending because travel will recover and those who are able to navigate well this current storm will be in a better position for substantial growth going forward. I have never attended GoMedia Canada, and was planning to attend this year. Unfortunately, according to an email I received from GoMedia they received and "overwhelming number of applications this year" from Canadian Media and so my application was turned down. I wonder how many Spanish language Canadian media are attending though? (probably none). Needless to say, I was very disappointed (read mad). However, given the state of the economy, I will now save the trip and the opportunity costs, which I can now put into a new project.

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

The Canadá en Español Network

www.canadaenespanol.ca

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

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

-

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

-

Merci bien,

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Chair Advisory Committee Canada-e-Connect 2009

Day 2 Canada-e-Connect

The morning sessions on Social Media Marketing and eTourism Strategy and DMO's were very well received and with a full house. Brand Management in the era of 2.0 had very specific examples of how a DMO is tracking what's being said about it in cyberspace, plus some very relevant points. Google's Ted Souder presentation and Q&A session at lunch was certainly a highlight in my opinion. As was Terry O'Reilly's session at the end of the conference remindng everyone that key to all our marketing efforts is the IDEA. Surprise people with BIG IDEAS in your marketing and advertising, whether the vehicle is online, mobile or traditional media.

Jim Brody of TripAdvisor moderates the panel on Brand Management in the era of Web 2.0

Above and below the very impressive brand tracking (conversation tracking) tool developed by Montreal Tourisme Montréal and their supplier Hue Web. It blew my mind (where do they get these wonderful toys?) Simplement Formidable.

Master raconteur, founder Pirate Radio and TV, creator of the radio and podcast show The Age of Persuasion, and Canadian Marketing Legend Terry O'Reilly closing Canada-e-Connect with the very appropriate topic: "Ideas Move Mountains."

Jaime

(more pictures and my overview of the conference coming soon).

Canada-e-Connect 2009 Day 1 in pictures (and video)

Over 200 tourism professionals attended the first day of Canada-e-Connect 2009. Feedback and comments from various attendees has been very positive so far:

More pictures tomorrow.

-

Jaime Horwitz

Canada-e-Connect 2009 begins

Junior suite at the InterContinental Hotel Toronto Centre

After a few months of preparation, hundreds of emails, many conference calls, and several meetings, Canada-e-Connect 2009. I blog from the InterContinental Hotel Toronto Centre where the pre-conference networking reception took place earlier this evening. Several of the speakers and panellists attended like Dr Ian Fenwick, Joe Buhler, Stephen Joyce, Jens Thraenhart, Joel Peters, Carmen Ciotola, Emanuelle Legault, and many more. The conference proper will begin at 8 am tomorrow with a continental breakfast and informal presentations by the companies in the Canada-e-Connect showcase.

Dr Ian Fenwick, co-author of DigiMarketing, the Essential Guide to New Media and Digital Marketing and Jaime Horwitz, Chair Advisory Committee, Canada-e-Connect 2009

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

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

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

-

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

-

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

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

Joe Buhler, DMO and eTravel specialist to speak at Canada-e-Connect

I have known Joe Buhler for a few years and I can verify that he's a highly respected professional in the eTourism space. Joe is a Senior Analyst with PhoCusWright, perhaps the leading tourism research and eTourism conference producer in the world. He is also principal of his own consulting firm Buhlerworks, which provides consulting services for Vision, Strategy & Innovation in travel & tourism web marketing, with a focus on destination marketing organizations (DMO) at the national, regional and local level. Joe Buhler has Global experience in destination marketing, tour operations, retail travel and the airline industry and since the early days in the largest e-commerce vertical - online travel. He has held senior executive positions in Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

-

Joe is a member of the international group of Travel industry bloggers, the T-List and is a sought after speaker at tourism events. Joe will make a fascinating and engaging presentation at Canada-e-Connect on Jan 22 at 3:45 pm. He will speak about The Road Ahead On The Smart Web: The focus is shifting fast in online travel, from the completion of a simple transaction to an integrated planning, researching and buying process. Search, user generated content and social media are all important elements but not enough to deliver a superior, integrated experience for today's savvy and demanding online travelers. There is a need to act now to change the business model to meet the demand for personalization, intelligence and vertical integration of local services on DMO's sites. Joe Buhler will examine where DMOs are in relation to these innovations in e-travel and look at what new relationships are necessary to compete and take full advantage of this trend.
-

There is still time to register for Canada-e-Connect

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

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?

-

Canada-e-Connect 2009. Registration is open.

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Chair Advisory Board, Canada-e-C0nnect 2009

Musings on the PhoCusWright Conference Hollywood 2008

Final thoughts on PhoCusWright 2008 in relation to Canadian Tourism

The PhoCusWright Conference in the US (either in Los Angeles or Orlando – it alternates venue) is perhaps the largest conference of its kind in the world. The focus of PhoCusWright is mostly on the technologies and technologically based services that drive travel around the world. What this means in today’s travel business environment is digital technologies, the Web, Mobile devices, intranets, B2B and B2C, etc. The emphasis for the most part is in the distribution of tourism product around the world. While there were many workshops, panels and presentations only one workshop focused on marketing per se and in my opinion it was more about online advertising than marketing. (lots of data on clicthrus, effectivenes of search vs. display ads, search and display combined, etc.)
-
While the US conference is mostly US centric (there are international PhoCusWright conferences in partnership with other organizations like Travolution in the UK) most of the companies at this year’s event have an international or global perspective. PhoCusWright is overwhelmingly a gathering of private sector organizations in the travel space whose goals are to generate travel sales, be it airline tickets, hotel bookings, activities’ purchases or vacation rentals. In addition many of these companies also play the role of media, i.e. offering content to online visitors and advertising services to tourism organizations. One thing most of these companies have in common is that their services don’t favour one destination over another. Their mandate is to sell travel or advertise tourism businesses regardless of their location. From a Canadian Tourism perspective, the question arises as to how Canadian destinations can take advantage of the myriad of digital channels available to them in order to be top of mind when consumers are making travelling decisions. Another important area for Canadian Tourism businesses is distribution. In addition to the traditional OTA’s like Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz, companies like Adventure Link and Isango.com may be of interest to many Canadian small activity and/or adventure operators who want to extend their reach internationally.
-
Attending The PhoCusWright conference would be valuable to marketing officers and eBusiness managers at Canadian DMO’s PMO’s, CVB’s, etc., in terms of learning about the latest trends in eTourism technology and eTourism companies as well as in terms of establishing relationships with technology companies and eTourism businesses that can be valuable service providers to a destination, whether in the area of eMarketing or eDistribution. While the content of the conference may be very interesting and valuable, that’s not always the case depending on what your organization does. But, what was evident from spending time and observing the proceedings at PhoCusWright and I believe a key reason why so many people attend is the networking and business opportunities available. The list of attendees is very impressive, a veritable who’s who of eTravel and travel technology companies.
-

The PhoCusWright Conference this year launched a new component, the Travel Innovation Summit. A group of 32 eTravel or travel technology companies were vetted by PhoCusWright to make presentations to attendees who then voted to select the top six who then went on to present at the conference's main event. A select group of judges then selected a winner as the PhoCusWright Innovator of the Year, Best of Show. The coveted prize went to IM@ (www.imatnow.com), an innovative mobile advertising service ("IM@ provides interactive, "geo-intelligent", mobile visitors guides for major travel destinations"). Other intersting innovators who participated: RezGo.com, TripTelevision, Yapta, TripIt, eKit, Cadabra, PlanetEye, Triporati, TravelBeen, TravelMuse, Uptake, Worldmate, Wandrian, Nile Guide and others. In addition to these innovators I met other companies that are doing interesting things in the travel space, such as TravelScream, the TravelChannel, wCities, TvTrip and BazaarVoice.

-

Another component of the PCW conference is a series of Sponsored Workshops on various topics of interest to eDistribution, eMarketing, and technology officers in travel. "Industry leaders will present educational and dynamic content, covering a variety of the hottest topics for the travel marketplace" This year there were workshops on Green Travel, Vacation Rentals, Search Data, The NEXTGen traveller, Mobile, and of course the Bloggers Summit presented by the T-List (of which I'm happy to be a member).

-

The main event at PhoCusWright is Center Stage, which took place over a day and a half. Center Stage presents global leaders in the travel technology industry talking and discussing the issues that affect the industry at a macro global level, such as the session about "Retailing, Distribution and Technology in a New Global Marketplace" led by Sam Gilliland, Chairman and CEO, Sabre Holdings Corporation.

-

Overall, one must conclude that PhoCusWright lives up to its implied promise as the premier conference in travel and technology. While not all of the content may be of interest to every registrant, when it comes to travel and technology, the networking, partnership and business opportunities may be unparalleled. The conference also provides a forum for participating companies to launch new services, make announcements or organize meetings with press and bloggers . Furthermore, PhoCusWright supports its conferences, which it purports to constantly improve and differentiate, with a very robust website that allows attendees to schedule appointments and plan ahead. The production and logistics of the conference were almost perfect. PhoCusWright does not spare expenses when it comes to the technology used to enhance the event, whether it's flat television panels, audio transmitters/receivers (had some glitches), sound systems, large screens and wireless access everywhere. (Frommer's sponsored the program schedule via mobile as well as Frommer's mobile guide to LA) Breakfasts and luncheons encouraged networking (although tiny plates at breakfast were a bit difficult to use while carrying your laptop and there was little space to sit down).

-

-

PhoCusWright is not cheap, but it does offer three ticket levels over the four days of the conference (first two days, last two and a half days or the whole three and a half days). Given the uncertain and difficult economic times we are living these days, technology for tourism marketing and distribution is becoming more critical to organizations who are looking to cut costs, save money, compete more effectively in the marketplace and be more accountable to their stakeholders. That must be why there were over 1,000 total registrants at PhoCusWright 2008 (and why, by the way, I believe Canada-e-Connect Toronto 2009 will be sold out.)

-

Jaime Horwitz MBA

Blogger
Member of the T-List

Chair Canada-e-Connect

Canadian Tourism Blog at PhoCusWright Conference in Hollywood next week.

I will be attending the PhoCusWright Bloggers Summit and the PhoCusWright Conference in Hollywood next week. The event takes place from Monday, Nov 17 to Thursday, Nov 20th. I will be covering the sessions and goings on until Wednesday night. Unfortunately, I have to be back in Toronto on Thursday. PhoCusWright is the largest travel industry strategy and technology conference in the world. Sessions include the Travel Innovation Summit which will feature over 30 eTravel innovation companies pitching to the attendees, Canadian company RezGo.com included. PhoCusWright`s signature event, Center Stage takes place Wed and Thurs. This year`s topic Search, Shop, Buy is sure to educate and excite those in attendance. Over 900 registrants will converge in the heart of Hollywood for this conference. While most attendees are from the USA there will be several of us Canucks as well as some participants from the UK, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and India. I am sure it will be very interesting and a lot of fun. Visit this blog next week to read about the conference and follow the play-by-play on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jaimehorwitz

-

regards,

Jaime

International Events North in Ontario

Ontario Travel North of Toronto the Week of Sept. 15, 2008. Three substantial events are taking place this week north, north-east and north-west of Toronto.

The 2008 Georgian College Auto Show on September 19, 20, 21, is showcasing technological advances in the automotive industry and their direct impact on the environment. The slogan for this year (Renew, unite, evolve) also has an environmental or “green” focus.

The second major event is the 2008 International Plowing Match in Teeswater , Bruce County Ontario September 16^th to the 20^th... The focus is to highlight the many aspects of agriculture, rural life and down home hospitality. Experience Canada's largest outdoor agricultural exhibition.

The third main event that attracts visitors from around the world is the change of the fall colours and views of the magnificent hardwood forests of Sugar maple, Striped Maple, Yellow birch, Beech, and Black Cherry trees north of Toronto.

More than 25 fall colour routes and road trips are suggested for your travel north in Ontario.

All of the events have family activities, educational information, and are reasonable in price for an affordable family fall outing. The fall colour displays are in most cases free unless you are paying for a park admissions fee.