Evidence of meeting #5 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was going.
A recording is available from Parliament.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Destination Canada, Canadian Tourism Commission
Thank you, Mr. Arseneault.
I am sure that Mr. Verret is an expert in the situation in New Brunswick.
We have talked about these partnerships before. We have launched stronger and more relevant campaigns, which did not exist before. This was not just about adding the Canada brand. It entailed co-operation with all the provinces and territories, as well as with destination cities such as Moncton or other places across Canada.
Gilles, would you like to add to that?
Gilles Verret Vice President, Strategy and Communications, Destination Canada, Canadian Tourism Commission
Yes, I will talk about the consultations.
Mr. Goldstein said that our consultations with industry and the events in which our partners participate, such as Rendez-vous Canada, enable us to have ongoing dialogue with those folks and to know what is happening on the ground.
Business people and small and medium-sized businesses, which rely on tourism, share their concerns with us on a daily basis. That has been reflected in our ad campaigns and in the technology we use, mainly on digital platforms. We will probably still have traditional advertising in the future, but with digital tools, we can go further and target clients more.
We will be able to promote the events in the provinces, territories and cities, such as the Foire Brayonne in Edmundston, in niche areas such as festivals or culinary events, like the ones in Newfoundland and Labrador, events that make people very proud. The willingness to work together is really there because we are increasingly listening to them; we hear them.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Thank you.
There is a host of visitors from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and so on. Clearly, most visitors come from the United States, since we are neighbours. Having travelled a bit, I know that Europeans come here for a change of scenery. For them, Canada represents open spaces, forests, oceans and great rivers.
Apart from the proximity and the value of the Canadian dollar, is there anything else that attracts Americans to our country? What do they find here that they do not have at home?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Destination Canada, Canadian Tourism Commission
There are dozens of reasons. Some people come here for nature. Others feel like they are in Europe without actually being there.
In terms of digital campaigns, we decided not to have a campaign for all of the United States. Our campaign targets 19 million Americans who live in 12 or 13 American cities. That is a specific demographic. They are people who have passports. Our research indicates that they are thinking about going on vacation outside the United States. We have researched a particular demographic profile. That is why Mr. Verret said that we have had campaigns in niche areas that can target those consumers and that are very different from the traditional campaigns that we have had in the past five or six years.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Destination Canada, Canadian Tourism Commission
Have I answered your question?
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
Yes.
Let's talk about westerners who travel a lot. What do we have to do to catch up on the tourism front to attract them here? In what way are we lagging a bit behind?
Vice President, Strategy and Communications, Destination Canada, Canadian Tourism Commission
Are you talking about the west?
Liberal
Vice President, Strategy and Communications, Destination Canada, Canadian Tourism Commission
Yes, the western world, of course—
Vice President, Strategy and Communications, Destination Canada, Canadian Tourism Commission
In terms of the western world, we now have all the means at our disposal. There are common aspects, cultural aspects, so many things that can attract clients to come here for unique experiences.
Getting indigenous people involved in tourism adds value to the Canada brand, which Mr. Goldstein mentioned. The whole issue of francophones outside Quebec, all the festivals available, everything will attract western clients. They will come to Canada more and more because we will attract them according to their interests.
Liberal
Vice President, Strategy and Communications, Destination Canada, Canadian Tourism Commission
That's right.
Liberal
René Arseneault Liberal Madawaska—Restigouche, NB
We have to capitalize on Canada's plurality and diversity.
Thank you.
Liberal
Majid Jowhari Liberal Richmond Hill, ON
It clearly indicates that the United States has the highest number of travellers, but unfortunately these travellers stay in Canada for fewer days than those from any other country. As a low-hanging fruit, is there anything we can do, or is there anything you are planning to do, to increase that 4.5 to at least the average? There is no other country whose visitors spend fewer than 10 days here. What is the plan, if there is a plan, that increases that 4.5?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Destination Canada, Canadian Tourism Commission
To answer that question, the strategy is not to get them to stay longer. It is to get a higher-spending customer, one who may not stay longer but will spend more. This goes to the KPIs, or the way we measure. We're in discussions right now with StatsCan and others to find a better metric for what the customer is actually spending, because the average amount that an American spends here seems artificially low. The type of American visitor we're attracting through this campaign behaves a little more like a business traveller. They spend more per couple on an average day. The type of customer we're looking at in the U.S. spends a little more like a long-haul European or Asian customer. We have the additional benefit that this is a potential repeat customer, four or five times over.
In the long run, these are much better customers for Canada. With digital technology, we can target them. Four or five years ago, we used fairly broad-based advertising, what they call “spray and prey”, hoping to catch the demographics because of the types of publications we were in. We can now reach out to the customers we want and attract them through the portal to the actual experiences and services and goods that they can buy here in Canada.
Conservative
Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer—Mountain View, AB
I would like to welcome the guests here today from the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Certainly, some of the discussions you had were about the ratios with investments from outside compared to the government dollars that are associated with it. I think it's extremely important to recognize the ebb and flow that is there, whether it's the 1988 Olympics in Calgary versus 2010 and then the lead-up to 2017. To expect that to remain the same isn't particularly the way business is going to look at what takes place, so I think that's important. It's certainly a great goal. I think it's perhaps showing that, in the lead-up to 2017, everybody's engaged at this point in time, which is significant.
I know that Brian was talking earlier about where the head office might be located, but in central Alberta we don't have a cross-border issue that we have to deal with. Of course, Alberta is more than just mountains. The Red Deer River that goes through my riding starts in the mountains and it goes down to Drumheller. It overlooks the valley and every once in a while I take a look at the sign that indicates that 10,000 years ago that area was under one kilometre of ice. Perhaps that might be a surprise to Leonardo DiCaprio. It's certainly something that people should realize.
I'd like to ask you, though, about the small and medium-sized enterprises, where about 10% are in the tourism industry. How much are they able to participate in terms of engaging with their marketing expertise in your tourism industry?
