May 8, 2007
In this issue:

The Countdown Continues to VCM’s Regional Tourism Leaders Forum
Marketing Opportunities On-Line: New look, but still the same!
COTA Special Event Notice
Hong Kong – Vancouver Flights: Direct 6 days a Week
Travel Trade Update
Funding Opportunities in Tourism
eMarketing Update
Staff / Board Profile - Bernie Batt - The One Guy You Don’t Want to Meet

The Countdown Continues to Vancouver Coast & Mountains’ Regional Tourism Leaders Forum

If May showers have you eagerly awaiting the warmer months ahead, here’s one more reason to be excited for June: Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region has confirmed the post-conference activities for its upcoming Regional Tourism Leaders Forum (RTLF). RTLF attendees will have the opportunity to network with fellow tourism partners while soaring 8000 feet above sea level at the Pemberton Soaring Centre, horseback riding or jet-boating with the Adventure Ranch, or playing a round of golf at Big Sky Golf & Country Club.

The RTLF will be hosted in beautiful Pemberton on June 20 and 21, 2007, and is a chance for tourism leaders from throughout the region to voice their opinion at the Annual General Meeting and hear informative speakers discuss challenges and opportunities facing the tourism industry. Located just two and a half hours from Vancouver and a spectacular 30-minute drive north of Whistler, Pemberton has earned its reputation as the place where adventure begins.

All tourism partners in the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region will have the opportunity to register for the exciting two-day Regional Tourism Leaders Forum beginning Wednesday, May 9, 2007.

Marketing Opportunities On-Line: New look, but still the same!

You may have noticed in recent email correspondence from VCM that the bulletins for co-operative advertising opportunities look a little different. To minimize any confusion, we thought we’d explain what the changes are and why!

Previously, when you clicked on the web links within co-operative advertising emails from VCM, a two-page PDF document would open, which contained a summary of the program as well as an advertising agreement.

What’s new is that the links take you to a page on our website for each program. This web page contains the summary details for the program, as well as a link to the one-page PDF advertising agreement. The benefits of this new format are:

• All available opportunities are shown in one list, sorted by deadline date
• At any time you can log on to the website and search for advertising opportunities either by geographic market (ie. BC, WA, etc) or by media type (ie. co-operative advertising, consumer shows, etc)

The ‘main menu’ of advertising opportunities can always be found in the same place, by following this link:

http://www.vcmbc.com/page.cfm/5505

Over the next few months the design of the site will be improved further, and opportunities will be even easier to find!

With any questions about finding co-operative advertising opportunities on-line, please contact Kristi Wilson at 604-638-6931 or kristi@vcmbc.com or Rebecca Vossepoel at 604-484-5362 or rebecca@vcmbc.com.

COTA Special Event Notice

COTA Speaker Series Luncheon with the Hon. Colin Hansen, Minister of Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Asia-Pacific Initiative and the Olympics.

Speaker: The Hon. Colin Hansen, Minister of Economic Development, BC
When: Wednesday May 23rd, 2007 between 11:45 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Where: Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Hotel - Room Pinnacle 2, 1128 West Hastings Street, Vancouver

Online Registration: http://www.cotabc.com/register/formscript.php?form=8

Join with COTA in welcoming British Columbia's Minister of Economic Development, the Hon. Colin Hansen, to speak about the economic development issues that will impact on the tourism sector in the future. BC is facing great opportunities arising from the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and solutions such as the Provincial Nominee Program are under way. The Minister will speak and answer questions on all aspects of our economic development vision.

Table of 8 Costs: COTA members $ 480 plus GST ($60 per person plus GST)
Non-COTA members: $ 520 plus GST ($65 per person plus GST)

Council of Tourism Associations of BC ( www.cotabc.com )

Hong Kong – Vancouver Flights: Direct 6 days a Week

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines -- www.oasishongkong.com -- is celebrating its launch of new daily flights six days a week from Vancouver to Hong Kong with a ticket giveaway.

Round trip economyOasis offers the traveller complimentary meals, beverages and inflight entertainment. Providing high quality flight services at great prices all year round, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines enables tourists to travel affordably to this popular destination, to visit families anytime and to explore all the natural wonders that Canada has to offer.

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines now allows guests to enjoy the affordable luxury of businessOasis as they travel to Vancouver. Enjoy complimentary meals, beverages and inflight entertainment while travellers relax in a comfortable sleeper seat with a 50-inch seat pitch. What’s more, if a traveller books a return businessOasis fare for HK$23,880* or above before 15 May 2007, they will receive a free, transferable round trip ticket. Offer good for travel through 27 October 2007.

About Oasis Hong Kong Airlines

Launched in Hong Kong on 26 October 2006, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines is pioneering a fresh approach to provide passengers the best choice in low fare, long distance travel. The airline is committed to making long haul flights accessible to more people.

Travel Trade Update

Interested in the latest information on Vancouver Coast & Mountains' most important markets, how they performed in 2006, and general trends for the next year? Market Updates for the UK, Europe, North America, Korea & Japan are now available on the Partners Extranet of www.vcmbc.com. Click http://www.vcmbc.com/page.cfm/9761 for downloadable pdfs by market.

For more information and questions, contact:

Jason Knibbs, Sales Manager - Tour & Travel
jason@vcmbc.com
604.484.5363

Funding Opportunities in Tourism

With all the tourism opportunities available to communities and businesses, Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region is committed to creating awareness of the tourism industry throughout the region and assisting communities in developing tourism within their communities and businesses. For information on potential funding programs which may be available to assist your business, non profit, community and other organizations, click here. The chart includes the program, summary of the program details and information on where to go for additional information.

eMarketing Update

In 2006 visitors to www.VCMBC.com were greeted with a slick new look that showcased the beautiful scenery of the region. This year, we are continuing to improve the user experience on the site by restructuring the navigation, and adding new features, including virtual guides, “send this page to a friend”, video content and lots more! By improving the navigation and providing more interactive content, users will find it a lot easier to find the information that they’re looking for, they will stay on the site longer, visit more pages and ultimately link to our marketing partner websites.

If you have questions about the site restructuring, please feel free to contact Mary Ann Bell at maryann@vcmbc.com or 604-638-6927.

Vcmbc.com - Site Statistics 2007
With an average of almost 70,000 unique visitors a month, www.vcmbc.com, the official travel website of the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region, provides visitors with the tools they need to plan the vacation of a lifetime, or that perfect weekend getaway. Packed with information about traveling to the region, visitors use the site to choose where to stay, what to see, and what to do in the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region.

All Vancouver, Coast & Mountains advertising campaigns, publications and marketing projects direct inquiries to the website and we encourage all tourism businesses to ensure that they are featured on the site for maximum exposure.

If you have more questions, or wish to enhance your presence on www.VCMBC.com, please feel free to contact Kelly Phillips at 604-484-5112 or by e-mail at kelly@vcmbc.com.

January – April 2007
Unique Visitors – 274, 231 (approx. 5% increase over 2006)

Demographics
1. US
2. Canada
3. China
4. UK
5. Netherlands
6. Australia

Most requested editorial pages
1. Home Page
2. General Information
3. Accommodation
4. Arts, Culture & Atrractions
5. Touring & Getaways

Most requested partner pages
1. River Rock Casino Resort
2. Mount Seymour Resort
3. Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel
4. WestJet Airlines
5. Metropolis at Metrotown

Top Search engine referrals
1. Google
2. Yahoo
3. MSN

Top Search Terms
1. (other)
2. river rock casino richmond
3. mount seymour
4. orca bay
5. delta vancouver airport hotel

Staff / Board Profile
Bernie Batt - The One Guy You Don’t Want to Meet

Hailing from the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains accounting department, Bernie is all about the numbers. He was raised on the west side of Vancouver and remained in Vancouver to finish a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Sauder School of Business at UBC. While in school, Bernie worked at nightclubs in Vancouver and as a property manager for a few residential rental properties.

Bernie is currently the accountant for Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region, while concurrently working towards a CMA as a Certified Management Accountant Candidate. In his free time, Bernie enjoys mixed martial arts and most sports. In the future, Bernie hopes to see the world and aspires to be an entrepreneur.

Itching to hear from Bernie? Become delinquent in payment and he’ll come find you.