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VCM
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In this issue:
Tourism BC Notes on .travel
Sunshine Coast Press Conference
Getting from THEM to YOU:
Tour Operators Defined
Visual Media Update
VCM Regional Tourism Leaders Forum
Board & Staff Profiles
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Tourism BC Notes on .travel
As a valued partner in the
British Columbia tourism industry, Tourism BC is taking the
unusual step to ensure that
you were aware of the opportunity to register for a new ".travel" domain
name for your business. While Tourism BC is not officially connected
with this enterprise, they have been working with the Tourism
Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) to register provincial-level
domains, and believe it could represent an important search tool
for consumers seeking out British Columbia tourism experiences.
PLEASE NOTE: Registration for individual tourism businesses
becomes available on May 1, 2006. Business operators are encouraged
to go to http://travel.travel/ to learn more about .travel.
Tourism BC suggests that interested businesses consider registering
as quickly as possible to avoid potential marketplace confusion.
While TIAC is acting as the verifying agent for Canadian-based
businesses for the registration process, there are many instances
where cyber-squatters have found ways to register domain names
that closely approximate or mirror existing tourism business
identities.
For your information, please find below some general information
about .travel:
What is .travel?
.travel is the Internet top level domain exclusively for businesses,
organizations and individuals in the travel industry. .travel
will register domain names with the extension, ".travel",
for example, "discoveryholidays.travel".
How will .travel be different from other
designations such as ".com"?
Dot-com domain names are registered on a first-come-first-served
basis, with no requirement that registrants meet any registration
criteria. By contrast, eligibility to hold a .travel domain
name requires that the registrant be a verified business or
organization operating in the travel industry. Prior to 2001,
the principal alternatives to the ".com" TLD were
the country code TLDs e.g., .us (USA) .de (Germany); these
country code TLDs are not suitable for many travel-related
businesses which deal in global markets. Moreover, these TLDs
do not apply criteria to ensure the validity of a business
or organization as a precondition to domain name registration.
.travel will be an exclusive space for the travel and tourism
industry on the Internet, with every .travel registrant being
authenticated before it is given a domain name(s).
With a .travel domain, would I keep my .com, (.net or .org)
domain name?
You may want to continue to maintain your current domain name(s)
for a period of time because it is generally useful to have multiple
channels for users to find your web site. The size of your business
will dictate how many .travel and other domain names you will
ultimately want. Technically it is a simple matter to "point" your
current domain addresses to your new .travel name (in the same
manner as physical mail is forwarded from your old address to
your new one). However, over time your customers and contacts
will become familiar with your .travel domain (brand) name. Therefore,
once the transition has been made, your .travel address could
become your single home address.
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Sunshine Coast and
Vancouver, Coast & Mountains
Press Conference in Gibsons
May 13, 2006
Sunshine Coast, AUSTRALIA? Our friends Down
Under might respond with "Bloody Oath!" which loosely
translates to "Yes,
there is!" in Canadian. We welcome John Fitzgerald,
General Manager of Tourism Sunshine Coast in Australia,
to our very own Sunshine Coast at a press conference on May 13
at 10:00 AM in Winegarden Park. John
is in BC to explore joint marketing possibilities with Vancouver,
Coast & Mountains.
With the tourism sector growing leaps and bounds as we move towards
the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, media attention is
on the rise. This story of the two Sunshine Coasts is unique in
markets that we have in common. Both Australia's Sunshine Coast
and the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia share many similarities,
and are a natural fit for a joint venture, with other exciting
possibilities in the works.
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Getting from THEM to YOU: Tour Operators Defined
Tour Operators are an essential partner for
the tourism industry – they
help to put the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Region experiences
into the hands of the potential visitor. Their in-market (the country
they do business in) sales activities and the access to their particular
market provide an effective pipeline to the International consumer.
Just to confuse things, the term Tour Operator can
actually represent 3 different links between the end Consumer (THEM:
the traveler)
and the Supplier (YOU)
1. Receptive Tour Operators (RTO) are “business to business” Canadian-based
Tour Operators who contract products (hotels, attractions, activities
etc.) with Suppliers (You). RTO’s resell these services to
an International Tour Operator or Wholesaler, who then resells
these services to the Consumer (Them: the traveler), sometimes
via a Travel Agent. Traditionally they package individual services
(hotel, attractions, sightseeing tours etc.) into multi-day packages
for individuals (known as F.I.T. or free independent traveler)
or groups, but they also sell stand-alone products and services.
RTO’s can work with hundreds of Tour Operators around the
world, providing services for thousands of traveler’s annually.
Due to their worldwide access and because they resell to Wholesalers
and Tour Operators, they will require a larger commission or net
rate from Suppliers (You) than a Wholesaler or Tour Operator.
A note about Rates:
Typically RTO’s require 25-35% commission off your retail
rate. While it seems like a heavy discount, at the end of the day,
RTO’s are not pocketing that commission from the Supplier
(You) as pure revenue. From that they will pay out 10-20% along
the chain to Tour Operators or Wholesalers who in turn will pay
out 5-10% to Travel Agents. What the Supplier (You) are getting
for that 25-35% is access to the RTO’s world wide sales network
and exposure to potential groups and individual travelers.
2. Tour Wholesalers may contract products (hotels, attractions,
activities etc.) and services (air, motorcoach) from either a Receptive
Tour Operator or direct to Suppliers (You) and then resell these
products and services to other Tour Operators or Travel Agents.
They do not traditionally sell directly to the Consumer (Them:
the traveler).
3. Tour Operators either contract products (hotels, attractions,
activities etc.), motorcoach and air services from a Receptive
Tour Operator or a Tour Wholesaler or they may contract directly
with the Supplier (You). Then they package these products and
resell to the Consumer (Them: the traveler). They market these
products through brochures, websites, advertising and promotions.
They often work through Travel Agents to sell their products
or sell directly to the public.
(with thanks to Kootenay Rockies Tourism)
Click here to see a diagram of The Booking Chain
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Visual Media Update
You may have read in a previous "Visual Media
Update"
that www.VCMBC.com is getting a makeover! Cosmetic enhancements
to the site are happening behind the scenes as I write and I'm
looking forward to big unveiling! When might that be, you ask?
Well, www.VCMBC.com is a very demanding makeover contestant, and
she wants to make sure that everything is exactly right, before
we reveal, so stay tuned and watch for an announcement very soon.
In the meantime, take a look at the site stats for the first 4
months of the year.
Vcmbc.com - Site Statistics for Jan 1 - Apr
30, 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 - 263,441 (increase of approx 49%
over Jan - Mar 2005)
Page Views - 633,950
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. Circle Tours
Most requested Partner Pages
1. River Rock Casino
2. Malaspina Coach Lines
3. Luxury Adventure Vacation BC - A Fine Travel Company
4. Delta
Vancouver Airport Hotel
5. Metropolis at Metrotown
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
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2006 Regional Tourism Leaders
Forum
June 21 & 22, Gibsons
The 2006 Regional Tourism Leaders Forum is being held in Gibsons
on the spectacular Sunshine Coast. This year's program promises
to be even more insightful, educational and fun than in years past.
Confirmed speakers & presentations include: Rod Harris, Tourism
BC; "More Visitors! More Money! More Fun" with Stuart
Ellis-Myers; and "FISH!" with Debbie McKinney. And
more are being added every day!
Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to listen to informative
speakers offering key advice to the growth of your business,
mingle and network
with prominent tourism partners and make your voice heard at
our 34th Annual General Meeting.
For complete details, please visit: www.vcmbc.com/tourismforum
We look forward to seeing you in Gibsons on June 21 & 22!
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Board
Profile - Adrian Gordyn, Vancouver Yacht Charters
Adrian Gordyn is known to go the distance to satisfy his clients.
For him, perfection can be  achieved
in exactly 75 feet. Adrian is both owner of Vancouver Yacht
Charters and captain of the yacht Royal Vancouver,
a newly renovated, two-tiered vessel complete with a full commercial
galley. "We do everything," he said, "from private
meetings and family events to big public events and television
to weddings and business meetings and teambuilding. We do boat
charters for all occasions."
Adrian grew up in and around the great lakes of Ontario. This
was to become the foundation for his life long love of the water.
He went onto study Rrecreation Therapy in Spokane Washington,
specializing in quality of life for challenged individuals.
During the course of his University years, he spent his summers
cruising up and down the rugged west coast, fishing salmon and
herring from Vancouver to Alaska. It was during these summers that
Adrian began to sit his exams and work up the ranks of the Department
of Transportations Marine Licenses to obtain his current position
of Captain.
In 1994, Adrian took on a personal project with fellow friend
and Tsimshian artist Bill Hellin and a selected few skilled tradesmen
to add to the team. A 600-year-old cedar from the Nimpkish Valley
was carved into a 40 foot dug out canoe that was to travel with
the "Tribal Journey", to the 1994 XV Commonwealth Games
in Victoria. 2002 saw new business horizons for Adrian Gordyn
and his wife and business partner Mei - Sze Tam. A dynamic duo
of a
team, they combine strong managerial, business, hospitality and
Marine industry experience between them. Vancouver Yacht Charters
Continues to become one of Vancouver's premium Yacht Charter
companies.
Today Adrian continues to work with Challenged Individuals on
a weekly basis. He is an active Member of the Board of Trade,
Vancouver, Coast & Mountains Tourism, Tourism Vancouver, and Community
Affairs Committee Member for the Spirit 2010, and is on the Board
of Directors for Vancouver, Coast & Mountains. He also volunteers
on the Board of Directors for the Parade of Lights Carol Ship
Committee that happens every year over Christmas.
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Your
feedback is most welcome on any subject – please e-mail kevan@vcmbc.com. |
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