April 2006
BC Ferries
Since the tragic sinking of the Queen of the North on March 22nd, the Northern BC Tourism Association has worked hard to anticipate and deal with upcoming changes to tourism in the region. Interim CEO Tracy Calogheros has given interviews on CBC Radio, and in Canwest’s newspaper chain relaying our message. We want to make sure people know the North is still accessible, and inform them about other ways to get here, while reinforcing the positive safety record of BC Ferries. We have been providing updates and links to transportation suppliers from the main page of our website. Tracy also attended a meeting with Tourism BC and BC Ferries staff on April 7 in Vancouver; and has sat in on several conference calls. We will keep stakeholders informed of any news that affects them as we learn of it, and continue to strive for new ways to market Northern BC as a touring destination.
BC Ferries has now released their summer schedule - which will see the Queen of Prince Rupert handle both the Inside Passage and Queen Charlotte Islands runs. There will be air service offered as well to augment the run. This means fewer sailings per week on both routes. Please visit www.bcferries.com for more information on their schedule.
Hockeyville
Four cities in our region made the top 25 for Kraft’s Hockeyville Challenge, airing on CBC Television. McBride painted themselves blue, Smithers held the world’s highest elevated female hockey game, Fort St. James came up with their own local versions of Don Cherry and Ron MacLean, and Prince George sent in a bucketful of beetle-kill pucks.
All four cities produced 2 minute videos, portions of which appeared on the national broadcast. And two of those towns have survived to the round of 20! The Smithers Steelheads and McBride Blue Grizzlies are still in the running. Tune in to CBC TV on Tuesday June 6 for the next round of results!
Our Spirit Bear
Bear watchers look out! If you drive by 5th Avenue in Prince George you’re sure to spot one of the city's newest landmarks. Prince George’s sixth spirit bear stands proudly in front of our office! Local artist Kim Knutsson designed the bear. The upper body is a landscape of trees and mountains; the lower body swimming with spawning salmon. Several photographers have been spotted outside taking pictures of the bear already – as they make their way around the city trying to find them all. The bear will be auctioned off at a later date.
For a full staff directory at NBCTA:
http://northernbctourism.com/contact
For past newsletters:
http://northernbctourism.com/stakeholders/newsletter
For future marketing opportunities: http://northernbctourism.com/stakeholders/on_the_horizon
Trade Report
ITB Berlin
March 8-12, 2006
In March of this year Jay Graham, Trade and Industry Development Coordinator for Northern British Columbia Tourism Association attended ITB Berlin along with the other RDMO’s in British Columbia. ITB is the largest Travel Trade Show in the world hosting over 10,800 exhibitors from all over the world. Our region was able to make some key contacts with operators and media members in the German market that should result in increased visitors to Northern British Columbia. We will be seeing one result of attending this show in May as the Panamerican biodiesel project will be drawing International media attention as they pass through our region and have the only Canadian stop in Prince George. Check the sidebar for more info on the event!
Spotlight Canada (London, UK)
March 13-15, 2006
Immediately following ITB, Jay was off to London, England to attend Spotlight Canada. This is the premier Trade show in the UK. For Northern British Columbia Tourism Association this continues to be an excellent show. There was an increase in the number of appointments with buyers and also an increase in the number of appointments with Priemere Travel Agents (specialists in Canadian Product). The UK market continues to have a strong demand for our nature and Culture products however Canadian product in general is losing ground slightly due to the low cost of travel in Europe. Spotlight Canada also announced that they would be retooling this show to increase the stature and presence for future years (more details are forth coming).
For more information about the Northern British Columbia Tourism Trade Program please contact Jay Graham – Trade and Industry Development Coordinator, jay@nbctourism.com or 250-561-0432.
Media Report
Canada Media Marketplace – Beverly Hills
April 3-5, 2006
Ian Giesbrecht attended his first Media Marketplace. While there, he met with travel writers from the western United States and Canada. There was a lot of interest in the north – particularly in Tumbler Ridge and the North Coast. Anthony Everett of Tartan PR also attended the event and sent many journalists our way. Follow up has begun with the more than 40 writers and photographers we met there; and at least three committed visits are in the works.
Ian will be heading to Deerhurst, Ontario after the May long weekend to take part in Go Media Marketplace. This event brings travel writers and editors from Eastern Canada, Europe and Asia to the table. If you want more information on the kinds of stories being pitched at these events, contact ian@nbctourism.com.
Consumer Show Report
Toronto Adventure Show
Erin Thomson attended from February 24th-26th and says this show was fabulous and definitely worth attending next year. Erin was constantly busy, the consumers in Toronto were very interested to tell stories of where they have been, what they have done, and what they intend to do while in Northern BC. There were many consumers who drove an hour or two just to attend this show. Over 440 travel guides and member brochures were passed out. Families and couples mainly attended the event.
Pomona FCMA Show
From March 20th – 23rd, 2006 Amanda Stregger attended this show. It was an overall great show! She shared a booth with Sundance from Cariboo-Chilcotin. She saw no other members or other regions there. Almost 500 Travel guides were distributed. The show surprisingly was not as busy as I suspected, but it was always steady! Amanda says it had a big and spread out feel, which may have made it seem less busy than it actually was. There was a lot of interest from people who wanted to know things to do in our region on the way to Alaska.
Calgary Outdoors Show
From March 24th-26th Heather MacRae attended this show. The show was quite slow on the Friday night during the dinner hours. It picked up a bit after dinner then slowed again around 9pm. Saturday and Sunday were busier. The show was attended by mid 30’s-40’s couples. Over all one of the slower shows I have attended this year. Many people were interested in knowing where they could go for camping and there were a lot of questions concerning fishing in the west – Spring and Fall salmon runs and where they could stop on their way to the Coast. It seemed people had not decided enough to be going to our region to be picking up specific operations. Most inquiries were general in nature and not specifically stating they were planning a trip to our region.
Northern Announcements
.Travel Domain
This is an exciting new development in the tourism industry. It’s like a dot com, but a whole new domain. NBCTA has been granted a dot travel website, and we’re urging all operators, to apply as well! For more information, check out http://www.tiac-aitc.ca
Industry Input Sessions
We're urging all operators or interested locals to come out to one of our 3 industry input sessions.
May 15 - Tumbler Ridge Community Centre
May 17 - McBride Village Council
May 23 - Smithers 1012 Columbia St.
All sessions run from noon-3PM.
In this issue
BC Ferries
Hockeyville
Our Spirit Bear
Trade Report
Media Report
Consumer Show Report
Announcements
Webstats
March: 37,477visits
(1,209 / day)
April: 25,681 visits
(856/ day)
Marketing Opportunities
Contact Clint Fraser
for more information
on the latest opportunities
at NBCTA.
Fun fact
It's the 200th birthday of Fort St. James this year! They'll be celebrating all summer, so drop by the old tradin' post.
Panamerica 2006
This exciting German bio-diesel project made its only Canadian stop in our city, on their way to Argentina from Alaska! For pictures of the team's stop in Prince George check out the tour's website:
panamericana2006.com
