Activities, preferences and marketing trends and niche

experiences
 According to ‘Unlocking the Potential of Canada’s Visitor
economy’ (2018), Destination Canada identifies several benefits of
tourism:
- Job creation (for regional and local economies)
- Encourages entrepreneurship
- Stimulates trade
- Functions as an economic “stabilizer” (brings in income from
foreign sources when some local sectors doing unwell).
- Supports preservation of heritage sites and indigenous
communities (cultural preservation).
 some more benefits (Polovitz Nickerson et al 2014, 41-42)
- Economic diversification
- Better choices in entertainment, shopping
- Enhanced travel infrastructure
- Area beautification
- Tax revenues
- Flow of foreign capital
- Recreational and educational facilities
- Modernization
- A favourable world image
 Tourism marketing in Canada
- Destination Canada (responsible to “sell” the Canadian tourism
“product”) relies on strategy calling upon Unique Selling
Proposition (USP).
- A USP seeks to highlight benefits that are meaningful to the
consumers.
- It is a feature of the product that distinguishes it from others of
similar nature and makes it more appealing.
- A milestone version of Destination Canada’s Global Tourism
Watch, in 2015, identifies the vibrant cities on the edge of
nature as one of Canada’s key USPs.
o This was supported by the proposition that consumers
have a strong desire for both sets of experiences and was
indicative to obtaining a broad and deep sense of place.
- The above complements the USP of active adventure among
awe-inspiring natural wonders. It is surmised that Canada’s
nature offers the most powerful, authentic and pristine
experience, giving it an advantage on the market.
- The target market segments are identified as follows:
o Free spirits
o Cultural explorers
o Authentic experiences
- Canada also compares itself with some other countries in the
competition offering a similar range of features/ attractions.
- Recent observations support an improvement in Canada’s
position.
- Canada ranks high on Qs such as “sought experiences” and
“places they have dreamed of visiting”. It’s also improving its
position (compared to Italy and Australia/ NZ) for “unique
features”.
- Most popular activities for out of region travellers:
o Hiking
o Guided city tours
o Wildlife viewing
- Most popular places visited:
o City parks
o Historic sites
o Buildings and museums
 - Most popular experiences are associated to food (culinary
elements).
- The trip trends to be similar regardless of age, but the intensity
of the experience and degree of participation is likely to vary.
- Niche activities draws specific communities of interest:
o Agritourism
o Spas
o Wellness centres
o Music festivals
- As synthesized by Destination Canada (2015), Experience of
the Canadian Tourism “product” of Canada’s attractions and
activities often involves “unique, vertically focused activities in
addition to engagement with “big tourism attractions”.
Experience is expected to be compounded by greater
familiarity with the destination.
 The 5 challenges needing to be addressed in order to achieve the
economic potential of this sector are (according to a report by
McKinsey and CO, 2018):
1. Demand is concentrated (in space and time + high reliance on
US)
2. Access is difficult (distance and travel issues)
3. Labour is in short supply
4. Lack of investment (in facilities/infrastructure and marketing).
5. Governance is not integrated
 A list of proposed actions to emphasize and strengthen the above
issues (Strong points):
- A safe, welcoming environment
- Vibrant, livable cities
- Many natural attractions
 - Seasonal offerings (variety of experiences associated to
different seasons)
- Cultural variety
 The areas to develop with respect to these strong points:
- (Increase) Balance in year-round offerings (remove too acute
and negative effects of seasonality)
- Attract more high-spend visitors
- More diversified and inclusive opportunities (better sharing
across the entire territory, smooth out regional inequalities).
- Develop and emphasize uniquely Canadian experiences.
 3 opportunities to achieve the economic growth potential of this
sector (in Unlocking the Potential…2018 report)
- Elevating existing major urban centres (expand their potential
and capacity)
- Generating more excitement around nature base attractions
- Showcasing unique cultural experiences in smaller urban
centres