MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
Spring has officially arrived and with it, a sense of optimism around the busy summer tourist season ahead. Plans now get put into action and new staff are hired to meet the influx of customers who will come into our region with their own hopes and plans for a remarkable, memorable experience in the Kootenay Rockies. We hope all of you are going to have a great season and we are working hard to do our part to get the word out about this great corner of British Columbia.
One of the positive signs indicated in the Globe and Mail recently, was a report that stated “Our eroding Canadian dollar has sapped the purchasing power of Canadians so much that the once booming cross-border shopping industry has been forced into decline. Statistics Canada on March 19th showed a 6% seasonally adjusted monthly drop to same-day car trips to the US in January.” Further to this, “Cross border car trips are down a little more than 14% from a year ago, one of the steeper declines in the past decade.” To put this in terms that really hit home, that meant that in January Canadians took 350,000 fewer one-day trips south of the border than they did the same time last year. And the flip side to that is that our US friends increased their automobile trips to Canada in January 2015 by 55,159 (7.7%) over January 2014.*Statistics Canada
This is small growth but growth nonetheless from our biggest and closest international market and is encouraging. The Canadian Tourism Commission is planning a re-entry into the United States with their provincial partners this year. Interestingly their research has shown that the US outbound travel is heading back up to its 2007 peak of 64 million. In 2013, the figure was 62 million. More importantly, research shows that 15 million of those outbound travellers are planning a trip to Canada, although not yet committing. Overall this is very positive news for the Canadian tourism industry from a market that has been less than positive in recent years.
For those of you who participated in the Destination BC Consultation sessions on the new Co-operative Marketing Programs last November, Destination BC has now posted all of the feedback collected in all of the communities throughout the province through this link: DBC CONSULTATION SESSIONS. You may wish to refresh your memory on feedback that was collected at the session you attended and/or see whether other communities had similar feedback.
Currently the only region participating in marketing initiatives under the new Cooperative Application-Based program is Vancouver, Coast and Mountains, as their regional office will be officially closed March 31, 2015. The guidelines for the Application-Based program are being reviewed by the Tourism Marketing Sub-Committee on Leveraging and Cost-Sharing and should be finalized by early summer. We will keep you informed as further developments with this program become available.
Once again, our goal is to keep you informed and updated. Please do not hesitate to contact any one of our team with questions you may have on any of our current program areas or to provide us with news or updates about your tourism business.
Happy Spring and Easter to all of you!
Kathy Cooper, CEO
A NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE: KOOTENAY APP & KOOTENAYROCKIES.COM
We’ve updated KootenayRockies.com and the Kootenay APP to the newest responsive design and we think you’ll be excited about the changes we have made. The regional sites give your business the best exposure and provides visitors with a complete inventory of the region’s tourism products. KootenayRockies.com has 100 visits per day and we have over 14,000 downloads of the KOOTENAY APP. The regional sites display complete travel information. The content is a comprehensive inventory of everything to see and do in the region. The features include Near Me & Search options, Special Offers, Festivals & Events, Blogs, your Business Photos & Logos, your Links for Email, Web, Trip Advisor, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest & Instagram. Plus Road Reports, Ferry Schedules, Mapping & Driving Directions, Webcams, Drive Itineraries, Videos & Audio Clips.
SIGN UP TODAY for a COMPLETE ONLINE PACKAGE and receive an additional bonus of your product brochure displayed on KOOTENAYBROCHURES.CA.
SAVE THE DATE!
Kootenay Rockies Tourism is pleased to invite all of its valued stakeholders and partners to the beautiful mountain city of REVELSTOKE on October 6-7, 2015.
The AGM & Tourism Industry Conference is a fantastic opportunity to learn, share and connect with the regional tourism industry. Join us at the REGENT HOTEL to learn about regional and provincial industry developments & plans, to engage with guest speakers and to network with fellow tourism colleagues.
A detailed agenda, information on registration and speakers list will be available soon! We are actively seeking sponsors for this event, contact Emilie@KootenayRockies.com if you are interested in becoming a sponsor. (More details will be provided in April.)
THE 2015 GOLF SEASON HAS BEGUN!
With wonderful warm temperatures in our valleys, a few of the Kootenay Rockies golf courses have been open for play since early March, including Christina Lake, Birchbank, Creston and Windermere Valley. Four more courses are opening today – Balfour, The Ridge at Copper Point, Riverside at Fairmont and the Radium Resort course. All of the golf course open dates are available to view: KR GOLF COURSES. There are over 25 championship golf courses in the region plus 19 courses with 9-hole layouts.
New for this season: The “JET, STAY AND GOLF” getaway package is available at FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS RESORT. The resort is offering golfers from the Calgary area a hassle-free golf vacation that includes their return flight Calgary/Fairmont with INTEGRA AIR, ground transportation in the valley, accommodation, golf rounds at Mountainside & Riverside golf courses, hot springs relaxation and some meals. With two departure dates (April 24 and May 29) to the Columbia Valley, the package (starting at $699.00 per person) will be a great start to the upcoming golf season.
PARTNER FEATURE
Green and Deeply Rooted in the Community
GLACIER HOUSE RESORT, located just outside of Revelstoke, was recently awarded a GREEN TOURISM CERTIFICATION – Bronze level, a well deserved recognition of the Resort’s commitment towards environmental sustainability.
Glacier House Resort (GHR) has undertaken a complete review of its operations, practices and policies in order to reduce its impact on the environment. The Resort began the process by appointing a Sustainability Coordinator to work with Green Tourism Canada and develop an action plan. Major changes included reducing consumption, encouraging guest participation, and changes in purchasing and waste management. Examples of the accomplishments so far include installation of energy efficient lighting, replacing traditional cleaning products with no chlorine, phosphate free cleaning products, purchasing food grown locally, purchasing linens from ethical and sustainable sources and purchasing in bulk. Another bold initiative consists in offering incentives to guests to contribute to the green mission. “A $10 coupon for guests to use in our bar or dining room for each night guests do not use maid service.”
The Resort’s commitment to sustainability actually goes beyond the reduction of its environmental impact, and encompasses better practices in terms of human resources, guest experience and connection to the community of Revelstoke. Hiring locally, shopping locally, featuring local arts, banking locally and being involved in local charity organizations is also part of GHR’s mission. “We are also in early stages of planning a fund raising event with the Revelstoke Cycling Association in the spring”, says Rachel Kenward, Manager of Marketing & Events.
Sharing the word on green practices and social responsibility with employees, partners in business and guests is also something the Resort is working towards. “We are working with the North Columbia Environmental Society and hoping to inform and inspire other local businesses to work towards going green!” adds Kenward.
A complete list of the Resort’s achievements and goals towards sustainability can be found HERE.
Congratulations to the owner Daniel Kellie & the entire team at Glacier House Resort!
Glacier House Resort is now one of the 29 certified operators in BC and one of the 70 in Canada. Additional tourism businesses in our region who have also received Green Certification include:
CEDAR HOUSE RESTAURANT AND CHALETS – GOLD
ENDLESS RAFTING ADVENTURES – BRONZE
EXCITING NEW VISUAL PROMOTION AT THE CANADIAN ROCKIES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Kootenay Rockies Tourism has just installed new regional signage at the CANADIAN ROCKIES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (YXC). Designed to showcase some of the great activities and adventure opportunities in the region, the new vinyl display is on the glass windows both inside and outside the departures lounge. The visitor is directed to the KOOTENAY APP and KootenayRockies.com to find out more detailed information about our region. Check it out next time you are at the airport!
And if you are flying through the WEST KOOTENAY REGIONAL AIRPORT (YXG) check out the new billboard installation next to the baggage arrival area.
Along with the two kiosk displays at the ferry landings in Crawford Bay and Balfour, we have four key consumer-intercept points showcasing the Kootenay APP and its value as a travel tool while in the Kootenay Rockies region.
WHAT IS YOUR “ENGAGEMENT RATE” ON FACEBOOK?
Page “Likes” are not the only way to review your ROI on Facebook. And if you have been monitoring Likes recently you may have noticed a drop since March 12, 2015. Facebook is deleting old, fake accounts.
Your Likes do not define your engagement on Facebook. Engagement is the number of people talking with and about you and your business. Facebook calculates this by including your page Likes, post Likes, comments, shares, tags, wall posts and event RSVPs.
It is very easy to calculate your Engagement Rate (ER). Click on ‘Insights’, scroll down to ‘Pages to Watch’ and check out your ‘Engagement This Week’. Divide Engagement This Week by the Total Number of Likes. KOOTENAY ROCKIES Facebook engagement varies between 35% – 50% average per week which is well above the industry average of 2%.
WORKING WITH THE NEW SUPER, NATURAL BRITISH COLUMBIA BRAND
Kootenay Rockies Tourism has been working closely with Destinat
ion BC to showcase the new SUPER, NATURAL BRITISH COLUMBIA brand in the Tourism Partners program marketing projects. We have received great feedback from Destination BC on meeting the new brand standards of logo placement and imagery. Some recent project samples include the Van Dop Arts & Culture guide (intro cover featured left), Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine and the Calgary Bride.
Kootenay Rockies Tourism, along with the 4 other RDMOs in the province, have been attending the new SNBC Brand workshops and webinar training for the new imagery guidelines and iconic photo selections. In the near future, Destination BC will also be delivering these workshops in the communities in our region. Stay tuned!
UPCOMING MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES
~ 2015 InRoads Lethbridge Herald Guide (April 1 deadline)
~ 2015 Spokesman Review Summer Plus! Guide (April 3 deadline)
~ 2015 Spokesman Review Golf Guide (May 1 deadline)
