E-News Winter 2007

In this Issue

Winter Experiences Marketing “Think-Tank” Session

November 21st, 2007 2:00 to 4:30pm, Williams Lake

The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association invites interested stakeholders and industry partners to a “Winter Experiences Marketing ‘Think-Tank’ Session”.

The issue before us is “WINTER” and how to best “announce to the world” the region’s rich winter tourism product and experiences available. Coupled with the opportunity that the 2010 Winter Olympics presents us, it is vital that we as a region put our heads together, share stories and ideas, and come up with an “action plan”.

The meeting will be held in Williams Lake on November 21st 2:00 – 4:30pm, location TBA. Please R.S.V.P. your attendance by contacting the CCCTA office by email info@landwithoutlimits.com, or phone 250.392.2226.

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LandWithoutLimits.com Redesigned

We are proud to announce the redesign and launch of LandWithoutLimits.com. Some of the highlights include a vacation planner, simpler navigation and beautiful imagery. The redesign also made the website much more search engine friendly. Check it out for yourself and let us know what you think.

Note: If you find any technical problems with the website or your listing please forward them to webmaster@LandWithoutLimits.

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Marketing Strategies Workshops Follow-up

Williams Lake Oct 23,24th 2007

CCCTA hosted three comprehensive tourism marketing workshops:

  • Working with the Travel Trade
  • Introduction to E-Marketing
  • Adding Travel Media Relations to your Marketing Mix

This was the first time workshops of this type have been offered in the region. Highlights included:

Learn the language and criteria to become proficient in dealing with the Travel Trade.

  • How to Work with Tour Operators (pricing, packaging and building effective relationships)
  • Are You Export Ready?
  • Find out what opportunities are coming up in 2008 with BC 150 Years: Rivermania.

Web Marketing: A 2-Year Plan.

  • Topics included Simple Website Redesign, The Truth About Search Engines, Link Building The Right Way, Google AdWords and much more.

Maximize your promotional efforts and exposure of your tourism business by effective use of travel media.

  • Learn from the panel of experts the basics of media relations.
  • The resources that are available to help you execute a successful communications plan, as well as market and industry trends and highlights.

Presenters:

    Rose Epp, Product Coordinator for JAC Travel Canada, a Receptive Tour Operator based in Vancouver;
    Janice Greenwood-Fraser Travel Media Relations Specialist, Tourism BC;
    Carol Horne, Travel Media Relations, Canadian Tourism Commission;
    Sonya Hwang, Owner, Ki Communications;
    Kevan Ridgeway, CEO Vancouver Coast Mountains;
    David Griffith, Good Company Communications;
    Kim Burgoyne, CEO CCCTA;
    Geoff Moore, Director of Travel Industry Relations, CCCTA;

To receive a copy of the presentations contact the CCCTA office or visit here.

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Lillooet Begins Development Program

Community Tourism Foundations® Tourism BC

More than 18 participants gathered in Lillooet October 25th including CCCTA, Vancouver Coast and Mountains Tourism Region and Tourism BC to begin the process of developing a community tourism strategy. The initial meeting of ‘discovery’ uncovered the key assets and discussed challenges to tourism in the community. Lillooet has enjoyed visitor-ship as a result of it’s location along Hwy 99 but identified opportunities to lengthen visitor stays.

Why do people visit Lillooet? Many arrive on motorcycles taking in the Circle Route from Vancouver. Destination visitors enjoy fishing, scenery, climate, sporting events, First Nations culture, spawning channels, festivals and events (ie: a number of Pow Wows each year), rock-hounding for BC Jade, Gold Rush history (Mile ‘0’ of the Cariboo Waggon Road), historical landmarks such as the Old Suspension Bridge and FRIENDLY PEOPLE. Lillooet is also the Gateway to the Southern Chilcotin.

As the program unfolds it will clarify the community’s vision for tourism and provide a map for future success. Tourism British Columbia is committed to strong tourism economies in BC’s communities – at the end of the process matched funding for marketing will be available to implement the plans.

Regionally, the Community Tourism Foundations® program is currently operating in:

  • Quesnel, Wells, Barkerville
  • Bella Coola
  • West Chilcotin – Anahim Lake, Nimpo Lake, Tatla Lake

For more information on enrolling with the program contact the CCCTA and visit Tourism BC’s corporate website.

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Rivermania BC150 Update

departs Prince George Aug 24th 2008
arrives in Steveston Sep 28th 2008 (BC River’s Day)

Part of BC’s 150th Anniversary celebrations, Rivermania is a symbolic trip down the Fraser River honoring the people and heritage of the mighty river. The event spans the river from Prince George to Steveston creating a “snowball effect” of local festivals and celebrations. River communities will host major local celebrations and festivals spotlighting their unique character. From Prince George to Mission all boats will be powered vessels. At Mission where the river is calmer, the fleet will form a water parade consisting of wide variety of boats with canoes and other non-powered boats leading the procession followed by power rafts, fishing boats, tugboats, etc.

Kevan Ridgeway, CEO Vancouver Coast and Mountains Tourism Region spoke recently at the CCCTA workshops held in Williams Lake about the business opportunities for regional tourism operations during Rivermania. At any one time the event is estimating 150 seats will be available for participants to join the ‘flotilla’. These seats will soon be available for purchase by the overseas travel market via tour operators, and shortly to the general consumer. Final arrangements are being made with the booking agents.

Each segment of the journey includes a ‘stop-over’ in the host community for varying lengths of time. The following stops will be made in the CCC region:

    Quesnel – arrival Aug 26 departure Aug 29
    Williams Lake – arrival Aug 29 departure Sep 1
    Lillooet - arrival Sep 5 departure Sep 7

Operator Opportunity

Add-on packages including accommodation and activities are required for the participants during the ‘stop-over’s’. Operators are encouraged to develop packages either independently or cooperatively ASAP and submit to the CCCTA. Packages must be submitted based on single, double and triple occupancy with tiered net rates (at 20% and 25%) and retail rates. Ideally packages should be submitted in time for Canada’s West Marketplace (Nov 25 – 27, 2008) to allow CCCTA to inform members of the Travel Trade at this event.

Rivermania is sponsored by three regional destination marketing organizations: VCMBC, CCCTA and NBCTA with the support of BC’s Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts.

 

For event information click here. For assistance with package development contact the CCCTA.

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National Tour Association Conference

Kansas City, MO Nov 1-6, 2007

Kim Burgoyne attended NTA 2007 for CCCTA to meet and learn from the US travel market. CCCTA had 20 scheduled appointments and plenty of opportunities to network outside the formal meeting structure. In this age of instant communication, once again it was proven that there’s still no substitute for face-to-face discussion.

Show Wrap-Up

Canada, thanks in no small part to Team Canada’s impressive presence at the show, is very well represented. It is a priority for many US tour operators and a consistent offering in their brochures. I found overall a high level of awareness within the industry toward British Columbia. Of course, Vancouver – Banff / Jasper – Whistler are top-of-mind, but I had no trouble communicating the assets of our region.

Since 9-11 the US travel industry has become much more competitive with highly specialized operators emerging along with a trend for operators to work cooperatively. There are still the ‘giants’ (ie: Tauck, Globus) who sell everything, but increasingly they will work with specialized companies who have unique regional or vertical product information. This is a key opportunity for CCC.

The barriers to travel to Canada are still in place: passports, strong CAN$, GST rebate issues but overall the propensity to use Canada seems to outweigh the challenges. Operators were hungry for new product offerings and unique opportunities. We need to get our information into their hands.

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COTA Conference call for Nominations

9th Annual British Columbia Tourism Awards
Nominate an Outstanding Tourism Business Today

Tourism British Columbia and the Council of Tourism Associations (COTA) are calling for nominations for the 2008 Tourism Industry Awards, which will take place on February 21, 2007 at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver.

Do you know of a tourism business practicing industry excellence? Be sure to nominate them for one of the nine categories:

  • Tourism Industry Leader of the Year, sponsored by Tourism British Columbia
  • Best Tourism Marketing Campaign, sponsored by The Vancouver Sun
  • Environmentally Responsible Tourism, sponsored by British Columbia Magazine
  • Foresight Sustainability Award, sponsored by COTA
  • Tourism Media, sponsored by Delta Hotels
  • SuperHost® Customer Service, sponsored by SuperHost
  • Technology in Tourism, sponsored by Telus
  • Employees First, sponsored by go2 – the resource for people in Tourism
  • Sport Tourism Community Legacy, sponsored by 2010 Legacies Now

Find award nomination forms and criteria on Tourism BC’s corporate website at www.tourismbc.com. Previous nominees may resubmit as appropriate. Please visit the Tourism BC website for further information.

Winners will be selected by a panel of judges and will be honoured at the Ninth Annual British Columbia Tourism Awards held during the BC Tourism Industry Conference in Vancouver. This is one of the most important events of the year for BC’s tourism industry. For more information on the BC Tourism Industry Conference, visit www.bctourismindustryconference.ca.

Deadline for nominations is November 30, 2007.

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