June 4, 2009
In this issue:

2009 Regional Tourism Leaders Forum
Happy Tourism Week
Online Bookings - Where do travelers go first?
Upcoming Marketing Opportunities
Update - Community Content Project
Media - The Start to a Hot Summer

Happy Tourism Week!

Tourism Week in Canada is the national celebration that highlights the economic impact and social benefits of Canada’s tourism sector among the media, general public and governments at all levels.

Coordinated by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada and sponsored by Deloitte and Air Canada, Tourism Week provides a focal point for activities organized by provincial and territorial tourism industry associations, provincial and territorial marketing organizations, destination marketing organizations, individual businesses and other partners.

Is your organization doing something to celebrate Tourism Week? Tell TIAC all about it by contacting Kevin Desjardins, Director of Communications at kdesjardins@tiac.travel.

Click here for an information kit with tourism industry facts and a sample media release to promote tourism week.

Online bookings - Where do travelers go first?

Where do travelers go online first when making vacation plans? Are search patterns to select a destination different from those to book an airline ticket or select a hotel/resort? Ypartnership has recently released their 2009 National Travel MONITORSM which reveals the answers to these questions. And, not surprisingly, consumers’ search behavior has changed in recent years as they have become more familiar with search technology, and as the number and type of online travel planning/purchasing sites has grown exponentially.

Travelers visit search engines such as Google, Yahoo or MSN first when considering destination alternatives. The Web sites of a specific countries or destination boards are visited next, followed by online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity. Only 1% of travelers commence their destination search by visiting a blog.

Read the rest of this blog entry here - http://blog.ypartnership.com/?p=285

Ypartnership is a worldwide advertising and public relations agency that specializes in travel, leisure and entertainment-industry clients.

Update - Community Content Project on HelloBC.com

We are thrilled to announce that seven communities have now been completed under the HelloBC.com Community Content Update project .A big thank you to the community representatives who have done a great job organizing familiarization tours and showcasing their communities for the travel writers. Completed communities include New Westminster, Chilliwack, Burnaby, Squamish, Richmond, Langley and Surrey.

There are 13 communities left to tackle and because we want the content on HelloBC updated as soon as possible we’ve hired an additional writer to work on the project. Chris McBeath, who some of you may remember from writing our travel guide editorial a number of years ago, and Lucas Aykroyd will be visiting the rest of the communities over the next few months. Shawna Leung will be contacting community representatives to discuss the opportunity and how it’s completed.

We look forward to working with you and improving your presence on the HelloBC.com.
If you have any questions or feedback on this project, please contact Shawna Leung at shawna@vcmbc.com.

Media - The Start to a Hot Summer!

The Media Relations department is sizzling with a number of requests from North American and international travel writers. Vancouver, Coast & Mountains has a thriving visiting journalist program, but would be hard-pressed to host journalists without the continued support of our partners.

Our media relations program is already red-hot coming into the summer. In April and May Vancouver, Coast & Mountains hosted 12 travel media on various trips throughout the region. Next week alone we have six media visiting the Sunshine Coast and five media travelling the Coast the Mountain Circle route, covering all four of VCM’s regions.

Your assistance in helping us promote the region is truly appreciated. We look forward to bringing more important journalists to the region and working with all of you on future projects. Here’s how you can help promote your organization.

If you pitch it, they will come!
If you need assistance to get your event covered or have your story told to the public, but don’t know how you go about it, we can help. What makes the media want to cover your product or your event? It's all in the marketing. Media will cover anything if it’s hot.

• Is it a first? (First annual, grand opening, milestone etc.).
• Is it the latest trend or spa?
• Is someone famous or important attending or who has visited in the past?
• Was it seen on television or in a film?
• Is it a hidden gem, or off the beaten track?
• Is there something odd or quirky?
• What’s the history? Is there a unique story?

Also…

• Do you have any special promotions to encourage travel in a cooling economy? This could be something like free parking, free internet, a dinner or spa package or a third night free.
• The 2010 countdown has begun. Does your tourism business have a unique 2010 story? Do you have a connection to an athlete? Do you have special promotion for the Vancouver Olympic Games or a pre and post games promotion?

If you have story ideas for any of these hot topics (or any other media-worthy stories) please send your ideas to lisa@vcmbc.com, or submit them online here: http://www.vcmbc.com/page.cfm/9712. Please remember all you need to submit are bullet point ideas or a press release; we will take care of all the writing for you!

As always, if you are interested in hosting travel media, please let us know by contacting lisa@vcmbc.com. Keep those story ideas coming!