EXPERT PANEL SAYS CANADA ON THE RISE

Posted on 05/17/2016 | About Canada

Travel to Canada is back in favour again with tourists according to the most recent arrival statistics and a panel of industry experts. That was the sentiment expressed by many on the panel of industry experts at the 11th Annual Leisure Travel Summit held last week in Toronto and hosted by Best Western Hotels and Resorts. Why the change?

There were many erudite observations, some surprising and some expected, by the panel of experts which included: Brian Payea, head of industry relations for TripAdvisor; David Goldstein, president and CEO of Destination Canada (formerly Canadian Tourism Commission); Charlotte Bell, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC); Tony Pollard, president, Hotel Association of Canada (HAC); and Dorothy Dowling, senior VP and chief marketing officer for Best Western Hotels & Resorts. WELCOME BACK AMERICA I was very interested in hearing their views on the inbound and outbound travel between Canada and the United States. As readers of this column know I had been critical when the formerly named Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) now Destination Canada drastically reduced the marketing budget and resources allocated to the US market. You don’t give up on the visitor market that supplies approximately 80 percent of your international visitors. It seemed every destination including Canada was at that time on the Brazil, India, and China emerging markets bandwagon. Was it wrong to market to those countries? N,o but don’t forget about your loyal and biggest market, the United States.

Last year Destination Canada shifted its focus and with David Goldstein the new president and CEO at the helm changes were expected. It’s back to the US equipped with a $30 million, three-year budget under the auspices of a Connecting America campaign. It is apparently paying dividends. Statistics Canada showed there was a 10.2% increase in visitor arrivals from the US to Canada for January 2016 over the same period last year. He expects that to continue. “We have a far more aligned message,” Goldstein says. In past marketing campaigns images of Canada included wide open spaces, mountains, lakes and beautiful scenery. That’s all well and good, but Goldstein says Americans’ perception of Canada was the country was too far away, in the middle of nowhere and lacked urban sophistication.

Goldstein added the low dollar, the new campaign and the fact that many US hotels have raised their room rates have helped increase arrivals from the United States. He pointed out Destination Canada has very specific targets – 20 million visitors spending $20 billion by the year 2020. THE NEW TRAVELLER During the panel discussion there were interesting views on how the traveller has changed and how important it is for the travel industry to understand the new traveller’s behavior and travel patterns.

Pollard of the Hotel Association of Canada says there is a growing trend to mix pleasure with business on a trip. In 2016, Pollard said 49% of corporate hotel guests added a leisure component to their business trip, an increase from 40% in 2015. This makes sense as more couples and families are finding it more difficult to schedule a vacation together at the same time but also because of diverse interests. Hotels have caught onto this trend with many offering children’s and teen programmes in what used to be predominately business oriented hotels. How travellers obtain their travel information is also important. Suppliers and travel agents should take notice. “You need to be mobile friendly– you must be wherever the traveller wants you to be,” Payea of TripAdvisor explains. He added that in their research that 50% of the traffic on TripAdvisor is now through mobile phones. Suppliers must have a mobile presence and make it accessible to travellers.

Payea also told attendees that, “Millennials are more interested in things to do,” and it’s not the actual destination in most cases which motivates their decision where to go. It’s what they can experience and do in that destination. Goldstein agrees and said that through their research a traveller doesn’t necessarily decide to go to Montreal – the traveller is going for a specific reason such as the Jazz Festival or perhaps the Pride Parade in Toronto. More visitors are coming for a specific event or experience. Goldstein made a surprising comment during the discussion - one I have rarely heard from a CEO of a tourism board. He said that the VFR (Visiting Friends & Relatives) market is becoming an FIT customer. In my past life when representing many different tourism boards the VFR market was considered low yield expenditure wise and not worthy of any marketing efforts by executives and the industry. I always begged to differ – they may or may not stay with friends or relatives but they are going out shopping, dining, and spending money on tours and attractions. Goldstein recognizes this and many travel agents should look at this market as a real opportunity to generate business.

FRUSTRATIONS & HOPE There were no surprises when the panel discussed travellers’ frustrations – long security and customs and immigration line-ups at airports, too many fees and taxes, the ridiculously high airfares to travel within and out of Canada and industry suppliers not being mobile friendly. Most of the panel however agreed that travel for summer 2016 will be up though there will be some areas that may be see a decrease like Alberta due to the media coverage around the Fort McMurray fires. “We are doing exceedingly well in most major markets,” said Pollard of the Hotel Association of Canada. TripAdvisor’s Payea indicated statistics show that one-third of their users plan to spend more on their summer vacation this year. For agents and suppliers in the travel industry to be successful it comes down to a simple tactic as Best Western’s Dowling succinctly puts it. “The ones who embrace the customer will be the winner.”