February 13, 2008
In this issue:

Travel Industry Regulation to be Addressed
Consumer Shows Should Come with a Disclaimer!
RSS for Dummies
Community News – North Shore Tourism
Capilano College Tourism Survey
Whose that Girl? And the Other Girl?

Travel Industry Regulation to be Addressed

The Solicitor General's office is undertaking a formal review of the Travel Industry Regulation, in response to COTA's (and others') concerns about the onerous regulatory requirements and generally outdated nature of the Regulation. This issue came to COTA's attention in early 2006, when the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority ramped-up its enforcement of the Regulation, surprising many businesses and organizations that did not consider themselves to be "travel agents."   

At this time, we would ask you to ensure that your organization and/or members review the Phase I consultation paper / survey and provide input directly to the Solicitor General's Office.  The consultation paper and instructions can be found at http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/legislation/docs/2008-travel-industry-consultation.pdf.

One note - there is a typo on page 20 of the paper in Section 3.4(b)(ii) - the "maximum" should be $150,000 and not $50,000.   

The Solicitor General's Office will be undertaking a second phase of consultations specifically with regard to "inbound tour operators" in the near future.  We will communicate this to our members once the consultation paper is made available. 

Consumer Shows Should Come with a Disclaimer!

Consumer shows are definitely underway, as VCM is busy representing the region at numerous shows around the US and Canada. As with any travel experience, sometimes you come across the strange, the unusual and the downright silly conversations and travellers. Our recent attendance at the Quartzite RV Show in Arizona has to win top marks for “interesting” experiences, as our marketing partner Debbie McKinney (accompanied by Heidi Korven from Kootenay Rockies Tourism Region) discovered first hand.

WARNING...
This image may contain graphic content unsuitable for some viewers (ie. readers)– viewer (ahem, reader) discretion is advised. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you!!!)

Snowbirds at the Quartzite RV Show

RSS for Dummies

‘RSS Feeds?’ you may ask, well for those of you who don’t know what the acronym means – Really Simple Syndication. ‘Well of course’ you say…but you still don’t quite understand it, or fathom how it can possibly be simple! Like most of us planning and plowing into online marketing strategies, we are discovering a whole new language to incorporate into our marketing plans. The concept of an RSS Feed is to basically provide your ‘content’ (this could be whatever you want people to know about you and your business) to pre-qualified individuals who are looking for information similar to your ‘content’.

Vancouver, Coast and Mountains have recently setup two RSS feeds on www.vcmbc.com. These feeds are providing information to travel media and journalists, and also directly to consumers who are looking for information on our region. By using these feeds, we will be able to by pass all the ‘clutter’ on the internet and find our potential visitors!

The following is an article from Sharon Housley who manages marketing for Notepage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net and FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com.

Benefits to RSS

RSS streamlines communication between publishers and readers. Since RSS has had a popularity surge, webmasters have been experimenting and using RSS feeds to deliver content in new and innovative ways. Typically, RSS feeds contain news headlines and content summaries. The content summaries contain just enough information without overwhelming the reader with superfluous details. If the reader is interested and wants additional information they can click on the item in the feed, accessing the website which contains additional details. RSS readers aggregate multiple feeds, making it easy for individuals to quickly scan information contained within each feed. Feeds are generally themed, allowing users to opt-in to feeds that are of interest.

The big benefit to RSS is that individuals opt-in to content of interest, totally controlling the flow of information that they receive. If the quality of the content in the feed declines, users simply remove the feed from their RSS reader and they will not receive any additional updates from that source. The RSS reader acts as an aggregator, allowing users to view and scan multiple content streams in a timely fashion.

RSS is a great supplemental communication method that does not burden the publisher with maintaining lists or following strict privacy guidelines. RSS feeds are compiled according to the user's choices, removing any burden that is placed on publishers of email newsletters. Publishers no longer need to be concerned with spam, privacy policies, and age guidelines.

Publishers using RSS as a communication vehicle are able to create keyword-rich, themed content, establishing trust, reputation, and ongoing communication with current and prospective customers.

What Kind of Information Can Be Delivered in RSS Feeds?
Blogs Feed
Many blogs are catalogued in an RSS feed, with each blog entry summarized as a feed item. This makes it easy for visitors to scan blog posts for items of interest.

Article Feed
Articles are often placed into feeds to alert readers when new articles and content are available. The feed entry is typically an article summary or introduction. Readers can then ascertain if the article is of interest and read further.

Forum Feed
Many forums now have add-ons that allow participants to receive forum posts via RSS. The RSS feeds often will show the latest discussion topics; if users are interested they simply click to enter the forum to participate in the discussion. As the topic is updated they will see new entries in the RSS feed.

Schedule Feed
Schools, clubs and organizations will often use feeds to communicate meeting times, places and events that might be occurring. The RSS feeds are often used to publicize events, notify the community of schedule changes or meeting agendas.

Discounts / Specials Feed
Retail and online stores have begun using RSS feeds to deliver their latest specials and discounted offers. Some online retailers have taken this a step further, allowing users to create their own feeds based on keywords or phrases. For example, this service will generate a URL that can be entered into a news reader. The feed is updated each time an item is added to Amazon that meets the specified criteria or keywords - Amazon Search Feed - http://www.oxus.net/amazon/

Industry-Specific RSS Feed Uses
Technical professionals in specific industries have also developed RSS feeds as way to market, promote or communicate within their specific industries. In many cases, this has expanded their reach and increased communication with current and prospective customers and clients.

Ultimately, RSS is moulded to meet the communication needs of many sectors. Consider how RSS can benefit your business and supplement your communication needs.
RSS feed creation tool for publishers interested in creating fresh content - FeedForAll - http://www.feedforall.com

About the Author: Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net and FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com .

Community News – North Shore Tourism

An agreement has been reached between the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce and Vancouver’s North Shore Hoteliers Association to create a single North Shore Destination Management Organization (DMO). The January 22 decision followed an extended input process that included tourism industry stakeholders and local governments.

The purpose of the North Shore DMO is to develop marketing programs and initiatives that promote overnight stays and increased occupancy rates on the North Shore; to increase our market share of Metro Vancouver visitors; and to attract, support, and promote attractions and activities that encourage tourists and the travelling public to prefer the North Shore over other overnight destinations. The DMO will represent hotels, attractions, restaurants, retailers, the food and beverage sector, and other providers serving visitors to our region.  It will play an important role in promoting the North Shore as a unique destination.

Capilano College Tourism Survey

Students from the Capilano College Bachelor of Tourism Management Degree Program need your help! For the upcoming Tourism Industry Conference to be held in February, they are participating in the Student Case Competition. The case question this year is: Given the potential commercial, social, and environmental impacts of climate change on the global tourism industry, how can the 2015 target of doubling of revenue be achieved in a sustainable manner?

They would like to invite you to participate in a short survey. A minimum of 200 people will be polled about climate change and sustainability. It will take approximately 5 -7 minutes to complete.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. However, if you feel uncomfortable answering any questions, you can withdraw from the survey at any point.

Your survey responses will be strictly confidential and data from this research will be reported only in the aggregate. Your information will be coded and will remain confidential. If you have questions at any time about the survey or the procedures, you may contact Andreas Tize, student, at 778-786-1380 or Geoffrey Bird, Faculty, at gbird@capcollege.bc.ca .

Click here to access the survey: Start Survey

Thank you very much for your time and support. They hope to present data generated from this survey on Wednesday morning, February 20, the actual time will be determined at 9 am that day. If you are attending the conference, you are welcome to come and watch!

Whose that Girl?  And the Other Girl?

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains has some new faces peeping into our office doors - and they definitely have embraced our organizational culture with gusto! In order to welcome Jane Kirkpatrick and Frances Ratcliffe to the team properly, we decided to divulge some tidbits so that you get to know them too!

Jane joined Vancouver, Coast & Mountains just over a month ago in the newly created role of Community Marketing Specialist. In her new position, she will be using her marketing expertise to aid communities who have completed the Tourism BC Community Tourism Foundations program with their community marketing plans.

Jane has enjoyed the past couple of years earning a living off of maternity leave contracts at Grouse Mountain and most recently with Rocky Mountaineer Vacations (good thing there are lots of women in tourism!) where she had her hand in all aspects of marketing, from advertising to web development and promotions and even the creation of her RMV legacy - “Rocky the Ram.”

In addition to over 4 years in the tourism industry, she has also completed the Tourism Marketing Management Program at BCIT and is busy finishing the last 3 courses of her Bachelor of Business Degree. She is always willing to give assistance if anyone needs help with their supply and demand curves, but she draws the line at stock market advice (of course anything can be said off the record!).

Recently married, Jane enjoys down time with her husband and friends, frequenting the great eating and drinking establishments Vancouver has to offer, and weekend trips to Whistler (she’s still struggling with the “ski” or “board” debate … so far this year, the ski’s have won).

Watch for Jane soon in a community near you … or feel free to send an email to jane@vcmbc.com.

Our second addition to the team is our Media Relations Assistant Extraordinaire, Frances Ratcliffe. She is currently half way through a General Arts Degree and is planning to attend UBC for her degree completion in the fall. Frances is the youngest member of the VCM staff and is still unsure as to how she snagged her office (because she has a better view than anyone else – not to mention private access to the VCM patio!).

Frances is working on all things media related, from researching journalist requests to compiling VCM’s stock load of tracked articles, and she hopes that her time and experiences with VCM will help her achieve her academic goals and aspirations for the future. When she is not counting down the minutes to springtime on the patio (and that private access door), you might find her sipping some Iron Brew (you get points if you know what this is) and talking her way out of embarrassing situations with her dad (double points if you can guess who he is. Here is a hint – you can find his smiley face on the screen at several Vancouver attractions). Frances can be reached at frances@vcmbc.com.