Passport Issue

With all the doom and gloom talk of the impact on tourism, we thought we would share this positive note, courtesy USA Today 1/12/06. A record number of 10.1 million passports were issued by the U.S. in the fiscal year ending September 30 - an increase of 15% over fiscal 2004 - according to the State Department. A spokeswoman estimates that a quarter of U.S. citizens currently have a passport, up from 18% - 20% a decade ago.

OK, it's still a long way to go, but we do have a challenge to find those 10.1 million passport holders and invite them to Super, Natural British Columbia!

2005 Conversion Study confirms our path!

As you may know, Vancouver, Coast & Mountains commissions a conversion study as one of our ongoing research methods of tracking data on consumer visitation to the region.

This bi-annual study of our inquiries by TREC International confirms a high level of conversion to actual visitation at 71.7%. Combined with an average length of stay of 6.3 nights, expenditures of $145.36 per person per night and a party size of 3.0 persons, total visitor expenditures were in excess of $29 million. That translates into a return on investment of public and private sector marketing dollars of $36 for every $1 invested.

This is the 5th study in the past 10 years, and it's reasonable to conclude that our marketing activities produce consistent and improving results year over year. Our Board agreed, therefore, to complete this study only every five years in the future.

The Executive Summary of this report can be found at www.vcmbc.com/page.cfm/9545.

MEDIA UPDATE

VCM Media Relations

Keep your eyes open for our soon-to-happen image gallery! Vancouver, Coast & Mountains is developing an image gallery for media use only, and it should be up and running by the end of February. If you come across media inquiries for images, do not hesitate to send them our way!

The request for Spring Story Starters landed in your inbox’s last week. For free, fabulous media coverage, send in those Story Starters before February 8. If you missed the email, please click on the link to get your copy: SPRING 2006 STORY IDEAS.

Questions about travel media relations? Feel free to contact Jennifer Huitema at Jennifer@vcmbc.com or 604-637-9046 at any time!

In the Media!

Vancouver, Coast & Mountains is always on the lookout for articles and media coverage featuring our region. Here are a few we have discovered recently, and please feel free to send copies to us if you ever come across articles as well. We love to hear that our tourism partners are being featured, and we love to tell the other partners about it too!

www.romearound.com	Travel Tidbits - Rachel Rome	Dec 2005
The Vancouver Sun	Brackendale - The eagles have landed - Cheryl MacKinnon	Dec 2005
The Vancouver Sun	Whistler - Rudolf guides Santa to North Pole Central	Dec 2005
Sunset Magazine	Fresh Catch - Kate Washington	Jan 2006
Sunset Magazine	On the Rise - Kate Washington	Jan 2006
Le Republicain Lorrain	La Colombie Britannique terre - Claude Di Giacomo	Jan 2006
Northwest Travel	Whistler Wonderland - Jeff & Debra Sheadel	Jan/Feb 2006

Upcoming Media Shows

CTC Media Dinner - Seattle	January 29
Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC)	February 17 - 21
CTC Media Dinner - San Francisco	March 7
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

Show Report

Adventures in Travel Expo - Chicago
The windy city proved itself to be a prime location for potential visitors to the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains region. Mary Ann Bell attended the show and spent 3 days trip planning and recommending activities to adventure hungry Chicagoites. Popular requests included multi day kayaking and biking trips, whale watching and activities on the Sunshine Coast. All types of adventure travellers attended, from active families to senior couples who take an annual adventure vacation. Many of those in attendance at the show indicated concrete plans to visit the region either in 2006 or 2007.

Adventures in Travel Expo – New York
As one of a dozen Canada booths in this show, our new Vancouver, Coast & Mountains booth gave us a dominant presence. Kevan Ridgway attended this popular show and felt that overall, the show was a moderate success, including many conversations with people who confirmed their intention to visit this year. Primary activities of interest were kayaking, hiking, diving and travelling by train. We have recommended to the Canadian Tourism Commission staff that these shows would be more cost effective if there was one Canada section in which we had working space instead of a full booth.

Florida RV SuperShow - Tampa
The Florida RV SuperShow is super indeed! 16 acres of RV's for sale and hundreds of exhibitor booths draw potential visitors in across the south-eastern US and from Ontario and Quebec. Mary Ann Bell attended the show and spent the week talking to people who had definite plans to travel in 2006 and 2007, they just needed help selecting their destination! With the draw of Alaska so strong for long-haul RVer's, British Columbia and VCM are perfectly positioned to take advantage of these cross-country trekkers and show them that "all things are possible" in Vancouver, Coast & Mountains. Popular requests included cruise-storage facilities for RV's, alternate highways to the major thoroughfares, soft adventure and natural RV park locations.

Industry Advertising Opportunity

INDUSTRY RATES! Last Call for 50% off The Vancouver Sun Tourism Supplement

Supplement Includes:

Hot Jobs 2006: Career And Education Opportunities in Tourism is publishing in The Vancouver Sun on February 11, 2006. This is your best opportunity to advertise job and career opportunities to a focused industry audience at the best rates. Advertising deadline is fast approaching.

Reach 77% of readers looking for jobs and careers. This annual Vancouver Sun feature will profile B.C.’s hot tourism industry and all it has to offer in employment and education.

Industry rates for the 2006 Tourism Supplement Package are 50% off normal rates and include a profile in The Vancouver Sun, The Province, plus a full online presence on B.C.’s most highly visited website, working.canada.com.

Booking Deadline is Friday February 3, 2006.
For full details please contact Marilyn Beech at 604.605.2843 or mbeech@png.canwest.com.

Vcmbc.com - Site Statistics for 2005

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 in 2005, what they were looking at and where they're coming from. Traffic to the site continues to grow from year to year, and 2006 will bring a fresh new look to the site, which, coupled with intense on-line marketing, will bring even more visitors to the site and increases those partners who have an enhanced presence on the site an even greater chance of exposure.

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 - 539,887 (approx. 30% increase over 2004)
Page Views - 1,450,105

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

Most requested pages
1. Home Page
2. Fishing
3. Sunshine Coast
4. Accommodation
5. Attractions & Sightseeing

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

Top Search Terms
1. (other)
2. River Rock Casino
3. Malaspina Coach Lines
4. Bard On the Beach
5. Westjet Airlines

Stay Tuned for a Change in the eNews!

Starting next week, look forward to a bi-monthly eNews coming your way! To keep things a little shorter, a bit more current, and still a fun read, Vancouver, Coast & Mountains will be sending out eNews every 2 weeks! There will be different features in the monthly issues, so look for these terrific updates on your region every second and fourth week of the month!