• Message from the President & CEO
• Tourism Industry News
• Industry Statistics
• Upcoming and Special Events
• What's New
• Department News
• Member Spotlight and Tourism Success Stories

Dear Members,

Welcome to 2004 - a year that holds much promise for growth in Victoria's tourism industry.Our January, February and March 2004 Accommodation Survey indicates a 10-15% growth over 2003 - a very positive indicator.

The destination has been receiving tremendously positive travel media coverage in direct response to Victoria being named as the Top Destination in the Americas, and Vancouver Island as the Top North American Island by readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine.

Tourism Victoria and our member partners also have many special happenings and events to market this year in addition to our already strong market base.

The Butchart Gardens is celebrating 100 Years in Bloom; the Orcas in the City campaign will be launched in the spring; the Royal BC Museum will present the rare, spectacular Eternal Egypt exhibit from July 10th to October 31st; the Royal Victoria Marathon celebrates its 20th anniversary; and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria will launch the Masterworks of 19th Century French Realism exhibit in December.

I also want to draw your attention to the 2004 BC Tourism Industry Conference taking place in Victoria February 25th to 27th. This action-packed event includes a town hall issues session, question and answer session with several key provincial cabinet ministers, a host of professional development workshops and the Tourism BC Awards Gala Dinner. For more information and to register visit www.bctourismindustryconference.ca.

If would like to discuss any of the material presented in this month’s newsletter, please do not hesitate to call myself or any member of Tourism Victoria’s Senior Management Team at (250) 414-6999.

Sincerely,
Lorne Whyte
President & CEO

Changing Market Trends to Influence Travel in ‘04
In November, 50 global tourism executives convened at the 10th annual World Travel Monitor Forum in Pisa, Italy to discuss how the global tourism industry is shaping up for 2004. While the Pisa Forum's collective conclusion was, by nature, speculative ("much better, but not perfect"), the group was more certain about some of the trends that will affect the industry in the new year and beyond.

-Security: There are continuing concerns over safety and security, but it is clear that people are growing more accustomed to living in an unsafe world.

- Health: The same [as security] can probably be said regarding travellers' attitudes to health risks. However, government and the industry cannot be complacent regarding health concerns and travel.

- Length of trips: People continue to take shorter and more frequent trips, but long-haul travel demand is expected to recover in 2004. Nevertheless, some markets will continue to favour domestic and intra-regional travel for some time yet.

- Low cost carriers: The growth in demand for low-cost airlines has been unprecedented, and it is likely to continue unabated as people search for good value.

- Internet: Increases in internet usage to plan and book travel is anticipated. This is expected to result in a continuation of the late booking trend.

- Package tours: Package tours are trending towards partly-packaged holidays, customized holidays and dynamic packaging, instead of the traditional all-inclusive tour packages.

- Business travel: Business travel demand should continue to pick up - possibly even at a faster rate than leisure travel over the next few months.

- Experiential travel: Visitors are increasingly looking for an experience rather than selecting a specific destination.

- Cultural tourism: Demand for authentic cultural experiences continues to increase, especially among the older age groups. Also of growing importance are wellness and educational programs.

Hybrid consumer: Expect more hybrid consumers, looking to combine five-star deluxe accommodation with a low cost flight.

Air Canada Incorporates Fuel Surcharges in Ticket Prices
Air Canada has begun to include the fuel surcharge into its base domestic fares. This change does not affect the final cost of tickets, but advertising and quoted fares will be adjusted to offer consumers a more realistic cost for travel upfront. Published fares for Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and ZIP will be adjusted to reflect the one-way fuel surcharge of $10-20 depending on the travel distance. Fares for international flights already incorporate the fuel surcharge.

Victoria International Airport

BC Ferries - Swartz Bay/Tsawwassen

BC Tourism Industry Conference
“Our Time is Now- Your Business, Your Destiny”
February 25th to 27th, 2004 at theVictoria Conference Centre

Anyone with a stake in BC’s tourism industry will not want to miss this conference. Attendees will gain invaluable information about the state of our province’s tourism industry, have a chance to talk about issues facing tourism during a Minister’s Panel, network with colleagues and business contacts, and attend practical seminars.

The opening speaker is Frank King, Chairman and CEO of the Calgary Olympic Games Committee, and consultant for the Lillehammer, Atlanta and Salt Lake City games. Frank King will encourage delegates to make the most of the 2010 Olympic Games as not just a two-week event, but a lasting legacy for the whole province.

Other seminars include: The ABC’s of the Learning and Enrichment Travel Market, Sport Tourism, Insurance Costs, Changing Trends in the North American Group Tour Market, Bringing Culture and Tourism Together and Crisis Communications.

In addition, pre-conference sessions will be offered on Travel Media Relations, facilitated by seasoned travel writer Judi Lees, and Tourism Packaging and Product Distribution, facilitated by Eva Gutsche of STEM Consulting. Both sessions are available as conference add-ons, or by themselves. These sessions will be held Wednesday, February 25th from 9:00am to noon, and the cost for each session is $75; location to be determined.

For the complete conference program, or to register, please visit www.bctourismindustryconference.ca.

February Membership Matters Mixer
Tourism Victoria and Craigdarroch Castle are delighted to invite you and your staff to attend the first networking mixer of 2004.
Please join us on:
Tuesday, February 10th
5:00pm-7:00pm
Craigdarroch Castle, 1050 Joan Crescent

Please RSVP to (250) 414-6999 or via email to rsvp@tourismvictoria.com.

Tourism Victoria Environment Awards Call for Nominations
The 2004 Environment Awards will be presented at Tourism Victoria’s Annual General Meeting on March 24th at The Butchart Gardens. The Environment Awards are divided into three sub-categories:
- Individual
- Corporate
- Organization
To submit a nomination for any of the above categories, please email Events Co-ordinator Holly Lenk at holly.lenk@tourismvictoria.com, or fax (250) 361-9733, with your nomination and a description of why they are being nominated. Deadline for submissions is Monday, February 16th.

New Appointments
Reid James has been appointed to the position of General Manager of the Hotel Grand Pacific. Reid was previous the Director of Sales and Marketing

Craig Norris Jones has been elected president of the BC/ Yukon Hotel Association (BCYHA.) Craig will lead the BCYHA for the next two years.

Andrea Timlick is the new Sales and Marketing Manager at The Butchart Gardens.

Mr. Francis D. Mairet has been appointed as General Manager at the Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour. Francis will lead the opening of the hotel in the spring.

Scott Mawhinney has been announced as the General Manager for the Brentwood Bay Lodge and Spa. The Lodge plans to open in May of this year.

Travel Media Relations
On the Road
In mid-January Travel Media Relations Manager Anthony Everett and Travel Media Specialist (Canada/International) Kristine George attended a 2010 Travel Media Relations Alliance meeting in Whistler with travel media colleagues from Tourism BC, Tourism Vancouver and Tourism Whistler. As a result of this initiative, a 2010 media trip to Whistler, Vancouver and Victoria will be held mid February for 11 media including journalists from The New York Times, Winnipeg Free Press, Washington Times and La Presse (Montreal).

At the end of January Travel Media Specialist (U.S.) Heather McGillivray attended the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) media dinner in Seattle. The event was attended by 50 media, up from 39 participants in 2003. Anthony attended the CTC Media Dinner in Denver, Colorado. This event was also attended by 50 media.

In late February Anthony will complete media visits in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal in support of Tourism BC’s BC Escapes destination marketing program, with travel media colleagues from Tourism BC, Tourism Vancouver and Tourism Whistler. 20 to 30 media are expected to attend in each market. Anthony and Kristine will then travel to St. John's, Newfoundland to attend the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) annual conference. Over 65 media from across Canada are expected to attend.

Meeting and Incentive Travel
The Meeting and Incentive Travel Department is pleased to welcome back Theresa Whittstock (Lillis) to the position of Meeting and Incentive Travel Co-ordinator. Theresa has returned to Tourism Victoria to take on this role while Tasha Welch is on maternity leave.

On the Road
Meeting and Incentive Travel Regional Sales Representative Paddy McIntyre conducted a sales mission to Ottawa in mid-January. Meeting and Incentive Travel Manager (U.S.) Tracey Webster (Bouck) has coordinated and will be conducting a sales mission in Northern California in mid-February. This mission will follow the Northern California Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) annual tradeshow in Santa Clara, California. Meeting and Incentive Travel Sales Representative Melanie May will be in Vancouver in mid-February to conduct sales calls.

Who is Meeting Here?
Victoria just won the bid for the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) annual summer meeting for June 5th to 9th, 2006 at the Victoria Conference Centre. ASLO has been the leading professional organization for researchers and educators in the field of aquatic science for over 50 years. This repeat business from June 2002 is a five-day meeting attracting up to 900 delegates, with the potential for over 2500 room nights.

Tourism Victoria Website
December's total of 84,878 unique visits to Tourism Victoria’s website represents a 99.92% increase over December 2002 (42,455 unique visits.) Visitors spent almost four minutes on average reviewing destination information and viewed 408,901 site pages.

2003 was a record breaking year for site visitation and use of the website. We recorded 1,324,639 visitor sessions recorded in 2003, a 45.43% increase over annual visitation (72,876 visitor sessions) in 2002.

Accommodation members wishing to participate in Tourism Victoria's 2004 packages that will be featured on www.tourismvictoria.com and sold via the online reservation system, as well as at the Visitor InfoCentre, are asked to contact Tourism Victoria's Director of Visitor and Membership Services Helen Welch and provide your net rates as soon as possible. Helen can be reached at (250) 414-6977 or by email at helen.welch@tourismvictoria.com

Membership
New Members
Welcome to Tourism Victoria’s newest members! For more information about these members, please visit the business directory on our website, www.tourismvictoria.com.

Café Brio
Liquor Plus
Tom Ryan Photography
Paloma De La Paz Imports
Pacific Shores Resort and Spa
Dock 503
Work Source - Business Victoria
Kalahari Desert Expeditions
Chocs Away! Custom Chocolates
Serious Coffee
Victoria and Vancouver Island Travel and Tourism Guide
Seawolf Kayaking Adventure Company
Barkley’s Steakhouse
Fireside Grill
Battery Street Guest House
San Juan Airlines
Hemlock Printers
Above the Rest Accommodations

Are you making the most of your membership for 2004?
Tourism Victoria offers many benefits to you as a member. It is important to ensure you are taking advantage of as many benefits as possible.

-Do we have a full supply of your brochures at the InfoCentre? One out of four visitors approach the counter for information at the InfoCentre; the rest pick up brochures and look at advertising. To ensure that we have a full stock of your brochures, please contact Visitor Services Supervisor Jennie Lembcke at jennie.lembcke@tourismvictoria.com or call (250) 953-2033.

-Do we have your 65-word listing on www.tourismvictoria.com? Is the information up to date? Do we have your image that goes along with your listing? Please review the business directory section of the website to make sure we have all the pertinent information.

-Do you have the next Membership Mixer date marked on your calendar? Networking with business contacts and colleagues in the tourism industry can be a valuable source of information and potential leads.

-Are you up to date on all of the marketing opportunities available on our award-winning website?

-Do you know how to access lead lists on the member extranet at www.tourismvictoria.com?

-Are you familiar with each of Tourism Victoria’s departments and how partnership with each one can help your business, including Travel Media Relations, Leisure Travel, Meeting and Incentive Travel, and Web Marketing?

These are just a few of the benefits that are available. To ensure you are making the most of your membership visit the 2004 Membership Benefits section of the Tourism Victoria website, or contact Membership Services Account Manager Heidi Mount at (250) 414-6973 or Membership Services Co-ordinator Lacey Wiltse at (250) 414-6972.

SuperHost
Ensure your business is known for superior customer service and creating loyal customers– register your staff for a SuperHost workshop today!

-Japanese Service Expectations - February 10th, 9am - 4pm. Tourism Victoria member rate: $49 pp + gst

- SuperHost Fundamentals - February 26th, 9am - 4pm. Tourism Victoria member rate: $49 pp + gst

Now you can put the world-renowned SuperHost program to work for you, too. When 60% or more of your employees participate in any of the SuperHost workshops, you can become a Recognized SuperHost Business and gain recognition in the community for superior customer service.

Congratulations to the following Tourism Victoria members for recently becoming Recognized SuperHost Businesses:
A Secluded Romantic Retreat at Sooke River Estuary
Abbeymoore Manor
FoodCityNetwork.com
Great White Charters

For more information or to register for any SuperHost workshop please contact Lacey Wiltse by phone at (250) 414-6972, email lacey.wiltse@tourismvictoria.com or visit www.tourismvictoria.com/superhost.

Downtown Victoria Ambassador Program
Lacey Wiltse will begin recruiting volunteers for the upcoming Downtown Victoria Ambassador program, starting with Volunteer Victoria's Volunteer Fair at Hillside Mall on February 14th. This will be an excellent opportunity to share information about the highly successful Downtown Victoria Ambassador program. The program, which is a proud partnership between Tourism Victoria, the City of Victoria and the Victoria City Police Department, is now approaching its 12th season of operation. Last summer, our group of over 80 friendly and knowledgeable volunteers assisted nearly 40,000 visitors and residents in downtown Victoria.

Do you know a friendly and outgoing student looking for a fun way to earn volunteer hours? Or someone who just wants to help make Victoria an even friendlier place to visit? For more information on the Downtown Victoria Ambassador program or to volunteer, please visit www.tourismvictoria.com/ambassador, email Lacey at lacey.wiltse@tourismvictoria.com or by phone at (250) 414-6972.

Leisure Travel Department
On the Move
Leisure Travel Sales Manager (North America) Beverly Booth attended the American Bus Association trade show in New York in mid-January, and conducted sales calls to key accounts. Leisure Travel Manager Michael Abe attended Corroboree 2004, the Canadian Tourism Commission trade show in Australia. Director of Sales and Marketing Lee Morris will be traveling to Toronto early in February to make presentations to receptive tour operators. Lee also will be attending the annual general meeting of the Canadian Inbound Tourism Association- Asia Pacific (CITAP.) In late February Lee will be travelling to the UK for a series of sales and trade show activities.

Trade Show Leads
Lead lists from Canada’s West Marketplace, an annual tour operator trade show organized by Tourism BC, are now available on Tourism Victoria’s extranet. Members can use their extranet password to access leads lists from all the trade shows that Tourism Victoria attends. You are encouraged to follow up directly with those operators who have shown an interest in your product. Please also ensure you continue to send information about new tours that you develop so we can help keep our travel trade contacts informed of new products. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Leisure Travel Sales Co-ordinator Heather Bourassa at heather.bourassa@tourismvictoria.com or call (250) 414-6994.

Destination Advertising
Research
Tourism Victoria’s Fourth Quarter Exit Survey results are now available. The 2003 annual Exit Survey summary will be available soon.

Advertising
Tourism Victoria has finalized several advertising campaigns for the spring. The following is a list of ads and publications to watch for as well as upcoming advertising opportunities. For more details please contact Destination Advertising Manager Thom Klos at (250) 414-6980 or email thomas.klos@tourismvictoria.com.

Tourism Victoria destination advertising: Watch for ads promoting Victoria as a getaway destination in the following publications - BC Business (January), Northwest Travel (January/February), Seattle Homes & Lifestyles (January/February, March, May), Tourism Vancouver Island's Vacation Planner (March) and Tourism Vancouver's Official Visitor's Guide (April.)

The Butchart Gardens 100 Years in Bloom: Tourism Victoria ads promoting this milestone event will appear in the following publications - GardenWise (early spring), Canadian Gardening (February/March), Alberta Gardener (March/April), Gardens West (March), KCTS Magazine (January/February, March), AAA Journeys Washington (March/April.) Other campaigns promoting the 100th anniversary of The Butchart Gardens will appear in publications in Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle and Portland.Please contact Thom Klos for details.

We are working closely as well with the Royal BC Museum to develop partnered campaigns to promote the Eternal Egypt exhibit. Details on how members can participate in these campaigns are available from Thom as well.

Below are comments received from various travel professionals regarding familiarization tours conducted by Tourism Victoria’s Leisure Travel Department in partnership with many of our members:
"We thoroughly enjoyed Victoria! A quaint little town with so much to offer, the highlight of the entire familiarization tour for everyone was the whale watching. The group enjoyed their stay and couldn't believe how much support was put into the familiarization trip".
-Naomi Quinn, Asia Pacific Travel Marketing (APTM) familiarization tour

"Beautiful city with very friendly people. Thank you for looking after us so well."
-Alexandra Law- Sovereign Holidays UK

"Thank you for such a great time; I can't wait to come back for more. We are already working with a group of 10 to 20 couples, both golfers and non-golfers, to put together a seven day Vancouver Island program using the suppliers from the itinerary your department put together for me.
-Jason Reeder- Ultimate Experience in Golf

"I appreciate your attention and concern for our groups interested in what Victoria can offer our clients, as well as the information on activities, restaurants and accommodations in the surrounding area."
-Angela Brown, Business and Leisure Holidays

"A lot of thanks for the organization; it was a most enjoyable stay, of course too short but a chance to see what Victoria and area has to offer. Great time! Beautiful city, the group had a fine stay."
-Elizabeth Pruvost-ACE/Air Transat

The next issue will be distributed March 2004. Content is due February 18th.

We would love to share this information with as many people in your organization as possible. To have other members of your organization added to our newsletter mailing list, please contact Heather Follis.