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Update on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative from COTA

BACKGROUND: WHTI results from legislation signed off by President Bush in December of 2004, part of which requires that all persons entering the US, subsequent to December 31, 2007 produce a valid passport or other secure document (as sanctioned by the US government). WHTI is to be implemented in two phases: one for persons entering by sea or air by December 31, 2006 and another for persons entering by land by December 31, 2007.

“Other secure documentation” is forecasted to include the NEXUS Card. The NEXUS program allows pre-cleared “trusted travelers” to cross using a card containing biometric indicators (fingerprint, iris print, etc) using special express lanes and electronic checking. This has been compared to the Interac card used by banks, in that it allows the customer to use automated tellers instead of standing in line to visit a human teller.

COTA is supportive of this approach in that it addresses two key issues for travelers crossing the border: speed and hassle. An obvious convenient for frequent travelers, it tends to reduce the volume of visitors who have to present some form of documentation to a border crossing guard, reducing the line-ups at border crossings.

From the point of view of the respective border agencies, it also addresses security issues. At this point the program is under-subscribed due to the fact that it is expensive and preclearance
interview locations are not easily accessible. It is also cumbersome due to the fact that there is a separate card for each mode of travel and each jurisdiction.

The potential of the program builds upon some very good work done by agencies on both sides of the border in cooperation. For example, harmonizing data bases between agencies on either side is a momentous achievement.

UPDATE: On March 30, 2006, President Bush, Prime Minister Steven Harper and President Vicente Fox are meeting to discuss a number of issues, including the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. One of the specific efforts this addresses is implementing border facilitation strategies to improve capacity and legitimate people and cargo flows.

In a newspaper interview, carried in the National Post on Wednesday, President Bush indicated the willingness of the US to develop a “scanning device” or card that enables the flow of people who make a daily routine of crossing the border, while allowing the US to know who coming into the country.

When asked if this could be done through an enhanced driver’s license, Bush indicated that they were working on this. However, the problem they face is that the driver’s license isn’t “necessarily a secure document”, and easy to forge.

Two recent polls, one undertaken by the Borders for Economic Security Trade and Tourism (BESTT) Coalition and another jointly commissioned by Tourism Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria and Tourism BC offer some important insights into how this initiative is being perceived by the traveling public.

The BESST poll indicated that approximately one-third of Americans who live near the border are less likely to cross the border if they need a passport. As predicted by COTA, border crossing convenience and costs top the list of concerns for people living in cities close to the border. BESST has confirmed its fears that requiring a passport will directly affect spontaneous travel and regional economies.

The Tourism BC poll addressed existing and potential clients in neighbouring Washington State. While 46% of these potential visitors currently hold a passport, 54% do not. The good news is that 63% of those who do not hold a passport intend to obtain one in the future. Many of them intend to obtain a passport by the end of 2006. Of the 37% who do not plan to obtain a passport, a proportion (83%) isn’t getting one as these respondents don’t intend to travel outside of the US.

This is backed by recent figures released by Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell in its 2006 National Leisure Travel Monitor™. Only one in five Americans plan to take a trip outside of the US this summer. Of that 20% of American travelers, only 14% are planning to come to Canada.

The impending change is already having an impact on visits from the Washington market. It would seem that although there is a high degree of awareness that this requirement is coming: 32% of potential visitors believe that a passport is currently needed. In the future, 32% of potential visitors stated that they would be less likely to travel to Canada as a result of the WHTI. A small but important group – 18-24 year-olds– are more likely to believe that a passport is required, and are less likely to obtain a passport if they don’t already have one. The convention market is particularly
vulnerable. Convention planners, believing that delegates may balk at the cost and hassle of obtaining passports may decide to take a pass on a Canadian location. Evidence of this is already beginning to trickle in.

The proposed solutions do not address an essential issue that continues to plague the BC/US border: extended line-ups and wait times. The introduction of the passport requirement is predicted by the Conference Board of Canada to cost Canadian tourism about $1.7 billion by 2008. Updates on this important issue will continue to be posted on this site as the issue continues to evolve.

Spring looks bright in our region!

Tourism British Columbia's accommodation survey projects an average 5.4% increase in room revenues for Mar 1 - May 31. That is very encouraging, given the current uncertainty of the U.S. market, and its willingness to cross the border.

TBC's research department is more than willing to provide greater detail for the region, as it currently does for Richmond. It would be very helpful for us to monitor trends in the four areas of the region (Greater Vancouver, Sea to Sky Country, Mighty Fraser Country and the Sunshine Coast). If any hotel is interested in exploring how this would work, please call Kevan at 604-638-6930, or kevan@vcmbc.com.

Congratulations to our ATBC Partners!

Congratulations are in order for our ATBC winners, Sasquatch Tours, Liliget Feasthouse, Takaya Tours, and Xa:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre!

Shawna Deagle attended the Aboriginal Tourism of British Columbia’s awards dinner on Saturday, March 25, 2006. It was a terrific evening and a well attended event. Several bands provided entertainment while educating the audience about the particular songs and dances performed. The awards recognized the hard work of everyone throughout the province and many of the winners are based in Vancouver, Coast & Mountains.

A representative of the Minister announced an interim grant of $150,000 to ATBC so that they can implement their ATBC blueprint strategy which was released last December. You can find a copy of this strategy at www.atbc.bc.ca, which outlines the three year plan to include coordinating media familiarization tours, publishing a cultural experiences guide, updating tourism training guides and expanding the Aboriginal tourism website. This plan is the first of its kind in the Canada.

And the awards went to:

Sasquatch Tours - Cultural Authenticity Award
Liliget Feasthouse - Excellence in Customer Service
Takaya Tours - Strength in Marketing
Xa:ytem Longhouse Interpretive Centre - Power of Education

Check out the new look at Hell’s Gate!

Wow, what an entryway! The Proscenium itself is approximately 6 standard tons. It has 3 major pieces with the two side pieces being built with 3km of steel and is hand sculpted with fiberglass-reinforced-concrete. The sculpting, painting and tinting all match the indigenous rock in the area. The sign face & tram are sculpted with Dan's CNC Router from Precision Board imported from California.

And who is the creator of the Hell’s Gate Proscenium? Dan Sawatsky's company is called "Sawatsky's Imagination Corporation". Here is what he has to say about the Hell’s Gate project: "The new gateway at Hell's Gate is indeed the proscenium which separates the real world from a world of wonder and magic. It is a stage upon which guests will leave the every day world and enter a world class experience. It is (and will continue to be) expressed with the wonder of the awesome forces which created Hell's Gate as well as the things we will create to show the attraction to its very best advantage."

What a great way to start the season!

Do you need to update a tired brochure?

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region and Teldon Print Media have negotiated a special pricing and service package for brochures, rackcards, flyers, presentation folders and other promotional items. As a Tourism Partner with Vancouver, Coast & Mountains, you are entitled to take advantage of these savings!

This program will allow you access to a superior, high quality product as well as speedy turnaround times from weekly print runs.

Watch your mail for more information and please feel free to contact Teldon Print Media's customer service at 1-866-478-2445 if you have questions!

Community Tourism Foundations® Report

The communities of Langley, Squamish, Bowen Island, Sunshine Coast, Harrison, Kent & Agassiz and White Rock have all completed the first initial meeting with Tourism BC as part of the Community Tourism Foundations program. The meeting were well attended and attendees in all communities included tourism stakeholders, municipal council members, mayors, representatives for the local Chamber of Commerce and additional organizations throughout the community.

The next steps for all the communities will be outlined in reports from Tourism BC. From there each community will sign a Memorandum of Understanding which will include commitments from Tourism BC and the working group of the community. After this is complete the work begins towards the development of a sustainable tourism marketing plan.

Click here for insight into how communities can benefit from the program in a press release issued by Squamish.

In addition to the communities that have completed the programming West Vancouver, New Westminster and Burnaby are awaiting acceptance into the program, which will be accepting additional communities as of April 1, 2006.

On the marketing side…

The Regional Circle Farm Tour is in the beginning stages. Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows and Kent/Aggasiz have partnered together to produce a regional brochure, website, tradeshow banner and print ads as part of this campaign. This program will also include attendance at trade shows, ads in various magazines and a wide distribution of the brochure.

Abbotsford had completed another successful program - Arts, Heritage & Culture which was launched with a new website, brochure and print ads. The next campaign with focus around Abbotsford’s Historic Downtown.

Chilliwack is in the process of developing a tv commercial, along with print ads for the “Great Outside” campaign.

Port Moody will be producing a campaign for “See You This Weekend” and will include packages of things to do in the area along with overnight stays at local Bed & Breakfasts.

Surrey has attended the Vancouver Golf Show along with producing a golf brochure and webpage as part of the “Golf Surrey” campaign.

Mission will be focusing on an Arts, Culture & Heritage marketing campaign along with developing their Circle Farm Tour brochure.

Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows will be developing a marketing campaign for their Dine Out, 101 Days of Summer and the Circle Farm Tour.

Other communities that will be accessing the Community Tourism Foundations marketing program include Pemberton and Powell River.

If you have any questions about the Community Tourism Foundations program please contact Shawna Deagle, Director, Community Relations at shawna@vcmbc.com or 604-484-5360.

.TRAVEL Registry is Open!

By now many of you have probably heard or read something about .travel, and perhaps have even begun to see it in use on the internet (see www.vcmbc.travel). As only genuine travel & tourism companies will be able to register a .travel domain name, it will serve as an easy identifier for consumers doing travel-related Internet searches. Ultimately consumers using search engines to research travel will be directed to websites within the .travel domain first, which will make it much easier for them to identify genuine tourism businesses. Currently in Beta testing, www.Directory.travel is an on-line directory of every .travel registrant, and will allow users to search over 1400 categories covering all facets of tourism and travel, including destinations. Content in the .travel directory is currently presented in ten languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Japanese,Korean, Mandarin and Malay.

“The .travel Registry is now open and all the world’s travel-related businesses are being invited to claim their space on the Internet,” said Ron Andruff, president of Tralliance Corporation, the .travel Registry responsible for administering the .travel domain.

In order to protect the integrity of .travel, all applicants must go through an “authentication” review process. Tralliance Corporation has authorized a number of travel industry associations, including the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, to act as an authentication agent on its behalf.

An early supporter of the .travel concept, the Canadian Tourism Commission has worked to protect the integrity of the domain for consumers by ensuring the protection of all Canadian place names and is encouraging all Canadian travel destinations to secure their rightful names in the .travel Internet space.

Communities in the region who haven’t yet registered for their preferred names should apply immediately. Effective April 30, 2006 place names that have not been registered will be released and private operators could have the right to register your destination name under .travel.

Currently all travel & tourism businesses are welcome to apply for their .travel domain name. Authentication is easy. All you do is go to the .travel Authentication Website (www.travel.travel), select “Get Authenticated”, and then choose, from a list of Association Authentication Providers, an association of which you are a member, and fill out a simple information form. Everything is done online. Your information will then be reviewed by one of .travel’s authentication partners, who will confirm the accuracy of your information. With that confirmation the .travel Registry will complete your authentication and generate a list of .travel domain names that you are eligible to apply for in the future.

Concurrent with the launch of .travel, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) has announced an innovative new marketing communications strategy in support of the Canada Keep Exploring brand campaign. The new initiative will result in the creation of the nationally-focused travel portal, www.Canada.travel, which will debut for consumers in the second quarter of ’06.

For more information on all things .travel, please visit www.travel.travel.

Visual Media Update

Vcmbc.com - Site Statistics for Jan 1 - Mar 31, 2006

www.VCMBC.com, the offical website of Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism Region is packed full of valuable information to lure potential visitors to choose our region for their next vacation or getaway. From destination information and where to stay & play, to details about taxes, currency and passports, www.VCMBC.com can answer just about any question. Below is a snapshot of how many visitors used the site from January to March, what they were looking at and where they're coming from.

If you have more questions, or wish to enhance your presence on www.VCMBC.com, please feel free to contact Mary Ann at 604-638-6927 or by e-mail at maryann@vcmbc.com.

Unique Visitors - 191,991 (increase of approx 49% over Jan - Mar 2005)
Page Views - 467,389

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

Most requested Editorial Pages
1. Home Page
2. Accommodation
3. Attractions & Sightseeing
4. Sunshine Coast
5. Outdoor Experiences

Most requested Partner Pages
1. River Rock Casino
2. Malaspina Coach Lines
3. WestJet Airlines
4. Delta Vancouver Airport Hotel
5. Luxury Adventure Vacation BC - A Fine Travel Company

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

Top Search Terms
1. (other)
2. River Rock Casino
3. Malaspina Coach Lines
4. VIA Rail Canada
5. Cascades Casino

Staff & Board Profiles

Alexa Tammerle was born in Northern Italy, a region on the border to Austria where 70 % of the population speak German as their first and Italian as their second language. Alexa is one of them.

Alexa got her degree in Tourism Management from the Free University of Bolzano/Italy in September 2005. In this trilingual university (Italian, German and English), students are required to head abroad in their 5th semester. To gain international experience and improve her English, Alexa decided to come to Canada. Kevan Ridgway was happy to adopt her as an intern student at Vancouver, Coast & Mountains. Her duties included assisting with the publication of the annual travel guide, managing a co-operative advertising project, updating data on the website and coordinating familiarization tours for media and tour operators. After her 20-week-internship, Alexa was sad to leave and hoped to return soon. “Soon” turned out to happen rather fast! Alexa was offered an opportunity to come back to Vancouver, Coast & Mountains on a one year contract beginning June 2005, and the staff at VCM were thrilled to have Alexa return.

At Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Alexa is in charge of planning all the meetings, the upcoming Regional Tourism Leaders Forum (June 21/22) and other events. Furthermore, she co-ordinates familiarization tours for media and tour operators throughout the region as well as she works together with Jennifer on different research projects for media. You might say tourism is in her Italian blood, as Alexa grew up in a small town where tourism is the population’s primary income. Her mum runs a small Hotel/B&B where she helps out when she is at home.

In her free time Alexa likes to be with her friends, go out for a drink or two and meet new people. Alexa enjoys snowboarding, playing soccer (like all Italians do) and travelling. She is also interested in art and learning new languages (she speaks Spanish as well!). Alexa will be leaving us at the end of June, but before she returns to Italy, she will be travelling through Canada and some cities in the States. What will she do afterwards? This is yet to be known, but we hope she always keeps a bit of Vancouver, Coast & Mountains with her!