September 2, 2010

Preparing for a Crisis
Trade News
Regional Share of Visitation, 2008
Congratulations to VCM's "You Gotta Be Here" Contest Winner
Search Marketing, Twitter Style!
Congratulations to Rocky Mountaineer

Preparing for a Crisis

In a recent letter, Roger Dow, President & CEO of the US Travel Association, examines the long-term accomplishments and lessons learned in responding to the Gulf Coast oil spill. For a complete copy of the letter, please click here. Though this crisis was on the other side of the continent from the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains tourism region many of the lessons learned can be applied to the tourism industry here at home. The following 2 paragraphs are excerpted from Mr. Dow’s letter:

Preparing For Future Crises
To assist the Obama Administration and Congress in its effort to protect the Gulf Coast and prepare for future crisis situations, we've developed a Roadmap to Recovery, a 10-point plan for government to help communities in crisis by implementing specific action steps that inform public perceptions, incentivize travel to an affected area and make impacted businesses whole. If implemented, these initiatives can help to prevent billions of dollars in harm to the travel community.

Specific proposals for the federal government include:

• Develop a "one stop shop" online portal where consumers can obtain up-to-the-minute information about which areas are safe and open for travel and business;
• Intervene to provide increased access to capital, low interest loans and tax incentives which allow businesses to remain open and retain employees.

The proposals included in the Roadmap to Recovery will provide assistance during future emergencies by stimulating continued travel to affected regions. Travel and tourism is among the top 10 industries in terms of employment in nearly every state and serves as a powerful economic engine for local communities. Policymakers must do everything they can to ensure travel and tourism gets the support it needs to help spur recovery as quickly as possible in affected communities.

Government Must Focus On Four Key Areas

Regardless of the crisis, government's response needs to be focused on four key areas:

• Minimizing panic;
• Providing accurate and up-to-date information on the impacts of a disaster in order to counter misperceptions;
• Ensuring funds are provided to help businesses retain employees, rebuild damaged property and infrastructure, and mitigate disaster-related losses; and
• Assisting businesses and communities in returning travel to pre-disaster levels.

In the same way the Oxford Economics research demonstrated that the impact of crises on travel and tourism is predictable, the government's priorities should likewise be predictable. The BP spill differed from last year's swine flu panic only in that there was a responsible party readily identifiable with the crisis. Government should always play a key role in minimizing panic and helping communicate accurate information with the aim of diminishing the negative effect on travel and tourism as much as possible while protecting the public safety.

To read the complete letter please click here.

Trade News

Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA) Annual Conference & Marketplace
August 27-30 Sacramento, CA

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains attended the 2010 SYTA Conference this year held in the California capital city of Sacramento. The SYTA Conference is the essential marketplace and networking event for the student and youth travel market. The conference provides VCM with the opportunity to offer regional student and youth travel-related products, network with peers, share best practices, have valuable "face time" with key customers and participate in educational sessions.

During the 3 day conference, Jason Knibbs had the opportunity to highlight regional product to over 50 tour operators through a mix of 6 minute one-to-one appointments and round table discussions. The majority of operators VCM met with specialized in “performance musical tours” for junior and senior high schools throughout the United States. Music Fest Canada taking place in Richmond in May 2011 and the Heritage Music Festival in Vancouver and New Westminster also in May 2011, were the starting point to discussions on performance venues, student-friendly evening activities, accommodations, restaurants and attractions.

Any partner interested in learning more about this market or this conference can contact Jason Knibbs at jason@vcmbc.com.

Upcoming Trade Events

Australian Canada Specialists Fam Tour – Vancouver, Whistler & Sunshine Coast – Sep
The 16th World Route Development Forum 2010 – Vancouver, Sep 19-21
World Travel Market – London, England - Nov 8-11
National Tour Association Marketplace – Montreal, QC– Nov 13-17
Eastern Canada Receptive Sales Calls – Montreal, QC – Nov 16
Alberta Receptive Sales Calls – Calgary, Banff & Edmonton, AB– Nov 24-26
Canada West Marketplace – Edmonton, AB – Nov 30 – Dec 1

Regional Share of Visitation, 2008

The following charts were put together by the research department at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts to show Vancouver, Coast & Mountains’ share of visitation from international visitors, US visitors and Canadian visitors for 2008.

Congratulations to Ian Trombley, winner of VCM’s prize in the ‘You Gotta Be Here’ Summer Contest!

The winners of the ‘You Gotta Be Here’ summer contest were announced August 31, 2010 by Tourism, Culture and the Arts Minister Kevin Krueger.

“ We were impressed by the volume and range of the entries for this contest,” said Krueger. “The entries and photos reflect the genuine pride of British Columbians and their desire to share their favourite places to visit in B.C. with locals and tourists alike.”

The contest, open to all adult residents of B.C., was sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Global BC and Overwaitea Food Group. Six regional trip prizes, with one grand prize, were available for the winner of one of the trip prizes.

The winner of Culinary Delights: A six-day culinary adventure through the rolling valleys, majestic peaks and breathtaking ocean views of the Vancouver, Coast and Mountains Region was Ian Trombley of Hazelton, BC.

The contest was part of a B.C. summer tourism campaign designed to encourage B.C. residents to travel within the province this summer. Residents make up the single-largest group of travellers in the province and represent approximately 47 per cent of all visitor volume in B.C.

Over 6,500 unique entries were received, and many of the photos submitted have been posted on the HelloBC.com Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/HelloBC/67430677682 .

Search Marketing, Twitter-Style!

By Danny Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief of Search Engine Land
Contributed to OPEN Forum on Aug 30, 2010

By now, plenty of businesses get the concept of search marketing: ensuring that customers can find you when they do searches on major search engines like Google or Bing. But you can do search marketing on Twitter, too. You just have to think differently about your approach.

“Regular” Search Marketing

At the major search engines, people are constantly asking for answers. For example, someone searching at Google is basically saying "Hey Google, do you know the answer to..." whatever they're interested in. Google responds by providing a list of possible answers, a list of search results.

How do you get to be one of the answers that Google or Bing provides? If you have a great website, perhaps helped by a little search engine optimization, you might be included in the top results for free. Alternatively, or in addition to free listings, you might also try paid search ads.

Twitter Search Marketing

Like search engines, people are also constantly asking for answers on Twitter. The difference is that they don't expect Twitter itself to provide those answers, in most cases. Instead, they're asking friends and people they know for help. Sometimes, they're also asking specific companies for help, even if that cry for assistance is hidden within a complaint.

The beauty of Twitter is that anyone can "listen in" on the questions that are being asked. This listening, and reaching out with relevant answers, is also search marketing. You're still seeking to be an answer to a question, as with "regular" search marketing. But instead of answering with a web page or a paid ad, you're answering with an honest-to-goodness real response, all contained in 140 characters or less!

Click here for the rest of the article, including some simple tips on how to search Twitter.

Congratulations to Rocky Mountaineer

The BC Chapter of the American Marketing Association (BCAMA) has named Rocky Mountaineer winner of the coveted “Marketer of the Year” award for 2010. Rocky Mountaineer is being recognized for successfully positioning itself as the premium train provider in the world in the midst of a vulnerable economy. “Marketer of the Year” is the BCAMA’s annual award program that recognizes the most outstanding integrated marketing strategy in the province of BC.

Rocky Mountaineer was chosen as the 40th Marketer of the Year for its progressive branding and marketing strategy that maximized sales, inspired innovation and strengthened its core business. “The BCAMA is proud to be honouring Rocky Mountaineer with the 2010 Marketer of the Year Award. This year’s submissions were the most competitive we’ve seen in years. The decision to recognize Rocky Mountaineer was a result of the marketing innovation applied during a challenging economic time. By maintaining their market positioning, branding and promotional strategies, they demonstrated a strong strategic international marketing plan,” says Georgia Dahle, Past President and Chair of the Marketer of the Year Judging Committee. “Instead of reducing their marketing spend, the organization committed to investing in their brand and strengthening their position.”

“We are honoured to be considered for this prestigious award amongst such high caliber nominees and past winners,” says Hubert Wat, Vice President, Marketing of Rocky Mountaineer. “Our sincere thanks to the BCAMA for this wonderful recognition. We are extremely proud of our efforts and what we accomplished in the face of the most difficult economic crisis since the Great Depression. This award is an affirmation of the entire organization’s commitment to delivering on our brand promise and to our ability to not only survive, but successfully thrive and set the strategic foundation for growth in the challenging premium travel industry.

The BCAMA will present the award to Rocky Mountaineer at the 40th Annual Marketer of the Year Gala at Rocky Mountaineer Station on Thursday, October 7, 2010. For event details and ticket information, please visit www.bcama.com