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Canadians plan to travel this year

The second annual Canadian Business & Leisure Travel Intentions Study, conducted by the Hotel Association of Canada, has found that 67% of all Canadians plan to travel in 2006, up 10% over 2005, with significant gains in Alberta reflecting that province’s robust economy. In every province except PEI, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, vacationers will be travelling more in their own province. (More than 60% of British Columbians and Quebecers like to vacation in their own province.) Other points highlighted by the GPC Public Affairs survey show:

• Long family vacations are a thing of the past, with 62% of Canadians saying they will take a long weekend holiday in 2006.
• Albertans are the highest users of the internet as a source of travel information.
• The car remains the most popular mode of transportation for leisure travellers at 75% followed by air at 19%, bus at 4% and train at 3%. However, 34% of Atlantic Canadians go by air, 7% of Quebecers take the bus and 5% of Ontarians take the train.
• 50% of all leisure lodging reservations are made by telephone and 29% are made on the internet (up 5% over last year).
• Leisure travellers are looking for friendly service and will pay more for it, as well as lodgings with a restaurant and pool, yet close to attractions.
• Faced with similar trade-offs, business travellers value proximity to their work above anything else, and will pay significantly for it.
• 44% of business reservations are made on the telephone, 26% on the internet and 11% by travel agents. Internet reservations are up 8% over last year in the business market.
• Women travellers value safety and security when they stay at hotels, including such items as numberless keys, a women’s-only floor, and someone from the hotel walking them to parking facilities.

GPC Public Affairs conducted the survey from December 12-20 among 2007 Canadians in order to identify 1500 “likely travellers” with a margin of error of +/- 2.2%. GPC specializes in strategic communications, government relations and opinion research. For more information, contact: Tony Pollard, President, Hotel Association of Canada 613.850.1685.

This article is from the March issue of Tourism Magazine, put out by the Canadian Tourism Commission.

MEDIA REPORT

It has been a hot start to 2006 with travel writers in the region! Typically in previous years, January and February have been slow months with respect to press visits. This year, however, January and February have been smokin’ as Vancouver, Coast & Mountains hosted over 32 media on 5 different press trips. We are looking forward to a busy summer for media and have already begun working on planned press visits for that time.

Every few months, VCM receives reports and copies of articles from Tourism British Columbia’s media department. This past report contained published articles reaching over 11,043,177 readers with an estimated equivalent advertising cost, for a similar amount of coverage, valued to be at least $196,974.71. We are definitely happy about that, and send warm thanks out to our partners for assisting with writers coming our way. For a complete list of recent articles, please click here.

On that note, the next Story Starters bulletin will be sent out in April, requesting your information for the summer Story Starters issues. Keep your eyes open for that, and please email or call Jennifer (604-636-9046 - jennifer@vcmbc.com) if you have any questions about what this is, how you submit, etc. The Story Starters go out to media once each month, and it is a fabulous way to get your unique products some media attention. To view the March issue, please click here and enjoy the read!

Media Shows
Jennifer recently attended the Canadian Travel Partners dinner March 9, 2006 in San Francisco. It was a successful event, despite a few showers (nothing we aren’t used to on the west coast!). Within a week, VCM had already received 6 media inquiries as a direct result of the dinner.

Upcoming media shows:

Canada Media Marketplace	April 3 - 5
Go Media Marketplace	May 22 - 25
CTC Media Dinner - New York	September 21
Society of American Travel Writers (SATW)	October 18 - 23

Advertising Opportunity

The upcoming July/August issue of Bus Tours Magazine will feature an article on the Vancouver, Coast and Mountain Region. The magazine is offering an exceptional opportunity to our marketing partners to place advertising to accompany the article. Bus Tours Magazine has developed a special page to place 1/12-page four color advertising and has reduced its standard rate to $350 for a single insertion, $300 each for three insertions in one year and just $250 each for insertions to appear in all six issues in 12 months. Please click here for more information or call Ken Pearson at 815-946-2341.

Show Reports

Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show (February 24 - 26)
The outdoor photos on the new Vancouver, Coast & Mountains booth drew attention from adventurous Ontarians at the Toronto Outdoor Adventure show. Kristi and Rebecca attended the 3 day show this past month and had many requests for summer outdoor activities and driving tours throughout the region. Interest in travelling to BC is generally high and many have the region in mind for their near future travel plans.

Southern California Golf Show (February 24 - 26)
This is an educated market on golf in British Columbia, with significant numbers having Vancouver and Whistler on their "wish to visit" list. Many stories were told of previous golfing visits, with Furry Creek always leading the "lost balls" category. On a sunny weekend in Long Beach, numbers were on par with previous years and conversion from enquiry to actual visitation should be good.

Passport to Travel (March 9)
Doleen Dean attended this show, targeted towards retired naval officers. Several of VCM’s marketing partners as well as the CTC had a presence at this show, but due to some extreme weather conditions (snow, wind, and rain) attendance was poor. This was Vancouver, Coast & Mountains first time at this show, and our attendance next year is up for review

Addison Travel Agent Shows - Ontario Series (March 6 - 8)
Aimed at the professional travel agent, Addison Travel Trade Shows are an effective way to meet face to face with hundreds of travel agents and promote what's new and what's hot in our Region. The main sales piece used was the Great Getaways Travel Agents Guide with the VC&M Travel Guide provided for those looking to learn more about the Region. Interest in Vancouver, Coast & Mountains product was high, with many agents indicating that they were currently working with clients planning to visit the region.