Hosted by Tourism Penticton and Destination Canada, with support from Destination British Columbia, GoMedia Canada 2015 highlighted that India still remains a source market for only the well-known destinations in Canada. The smaller regions now need to hike their promotional budgets in the India market to attract more numbers By Kahini Chakraborty
One of British Columbia’s most appealing destinations, Penticton has for long been known as a family-friendly summer beach getaway, and now has evolved with lush green orchards and vineyards as well as outdoor adventure activities. GoMedia Canada 2015, Canadian Tourism Commission’s (CTC) biggest annual consumer media show, chose Penticton & Wine Country as its host for this year. GoMedia Canada 2015, held from September 27-October 1, 2015 at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, witnessed participation of over 120 media from Canada, the United States and CTC’s 10 international markets. The event witnessed a total number of 314 registrants, and a total of 3,575 appointments. Along with face-to-face meetings and non-stop networking opportunities, delegates also got a chance to explore the region, province and country through media tours. Today, having a population of 42,000, Penticton, has become a significant wine-producing region and continues to be a major fruit grower.
The two-days of intensive back-to-back pre-scheduled meetings, held from September 29- 30, 2015, highlighted some of the interesting travel trends globally, wherein the India market was placed in the sixth position among key source markets for Canada.
A bullish growth sentiment for the India market was seen from the well-known destinations of Canada frequented by Indian travellers who mainly comprise of VFR traffic – Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver, Ottawa. While destinations like Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Island of Newfoundland and more, do not have India on their radar as a potential tourism country. Reasons being, budget constraints for promotions and collaborative marketing along with Destination Canada, and lack of travellers from the India market.
As more and more travellers are becoming aware of healthy eating, ‘Farm to Fork’ concept has been emerging in the Canada market. With experiential niche travel becoming a huge demand among travellers, the focus is now towards attracting the ‘millennial’ traveller segment who will be the trendsetter. Destinations like the US, UK, Germany, France, and the domestic market continue to dominate as key source markets for Canada.
Difference of opinion
Matt Mosteller, senior VP, marketing and resort experience, Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Ski Resorts pointed out that majority of Indian travellers visiting different regions of Canada belong to the VFR segment. “Soft adventure along with cultural experiences are picking up. There are few Indians who want to go on a ski vacation. Package trips comprising of a minimum of four-five days covering different regions of Canada continues to remain as a travel trend.” The experiential free spirited traveller segment has been the focus of Tourism Saskatchewan. While for Heritage Park Historical Village, which is Canada’s largest living history museum, the focus is on offering an immersive experience for a multi generational traveller segment. “Besides getting travellers from countries like Brazil, China, Japan, UK, Korea, the US, we could also look at focusing now on the India market that is seen to be demanding more of experiential tourism offerings,” said Barb Munro, communications specialists, Heritage Park Historical Village.
“Old Quebec highlighting its 400 year old history through architecture could be seen as a major drawer for the high-end traveller segment from India with the start of direct Air India flights Delhi-Toronto,” opined Michel Carmichael, account executive, Quebec City Tourism, adding that, “Canadians across the country will celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017. Travel agencies in India could be tapped to promote the destination. The idea is to promote trendsetters. Ontario and Quebec could be done as a combined trip for India travellers.”
In New Brunswick, natural wonders reign supreme. But when asked about the potential of the India market for this new destination, Margie Mackenzie, manager, media, Tourism New Brunswick pointed out, “India is not a key market for us, and we do not see any travellers from this market. We are not even in China and Brazil. For us, we see a lot of domestic traffic and travellers from the US. If we had a huge promotional budget we could consider looking at the India market.”
While for Nova Scotia where fresh local food isn’t a fad, but a way of life, Licia Elder, media relations, Tourism Nova Scotia pointed out that India is not on the radar for the destination. “UK, Germany, US remain our source markets. We have not seen Indian travellers’ interest in Nova Scotia, maybe due to the lack of direct flights or it being a long haul destination. We have limited promotional budgets. Lobster and seafood experiences are trending the gastronomical experiences among travellers.” Tourism Vernon is looking at tapping the India market. “Soft adventure and wellness travel is the trend that we are seeing. Besides our core markets being the US, UK, Australia and Germany, China has been an emerging market for us. FIT travellers number have shot up,” mentioned Ange Chew, tourism manager, Tourism Vernon/ The City of Vernon.
Canada’s capital, Ottawa has been witnessing a lot of Indian travellers mainly the VFR segment from Toronto. “Package travel among Indians is what we see growing among the VFR traffic coming to Toronto. But as a standalone destination, we still do not see a demand from the India market due to it being a long haul destination. Multi generational traveller trends is what we are seeing. Trip planning time has reduced and last minute bookings have increased. For us traffic is huge from the domestic market as well as from our source markets. China and Mexico have been emerging destinations for us,” informed Jantine Van Kregten, director of communications, Ottawa Tourism.
Michele Simpson, media relations manager, overseas, Tourism Toronto highlighted that India is a reactive market. “India is the sixth largest source market for us, apart from the US, UK, Germany, Japan and China being the key markets. It is an emerging market for us. Generally Indians do Toronto and Niagara Falls as a package, or a round trip to other regions as well. We are seeing soft adventure activities trending among travellers.”
While Jo Charnock, marketing and communications coordinator, Tourism Penticton, the hosting destination, informed that Indians are looking for exclusive travel experiences. “Farm to table concept is emerging as customers are well-informed. People want to know the history of the source of the local products. ‘Glamping’, which is glamorous camping, as a concept has been growing. India is a growing market for us. Most of our orchards and wineries in Pentiction are owned by Indian families.”
For Tourism Winnipeg, India and China are seen to be emerging markets. Karen Goossen, director-market development, Tourism Winnipeg also informed that since the destination is small and has many multicultural facets they could look at promoting the destination in India. Journey to Churchill could be a standalone destination among travellers from the domestic and neighbouring markets.
“We do not draw visitors from the India market and it is not on our radar as well. Our source markets remain US, UK, Germany and Japan. In order to provide niche experiences, we are working on developing innovative tour packages that we could cater to our emerging markets,” opined Alison Macdougall, editorial and marketing officer, Tourism Prince Edward Island.
Laywah Ang, media coordinator Asia, Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation mentioned that Ontario has now India and Korea in its emerging market list. Family, FIT travellers segment are showing interest from the India market. Besides this, the world famous 1000 Island in Ontario is now a year round destination. Kathrine Christensen, executive director, 1000 Islands Accommodation Partners highlighted, “We have a year round sightseeing operation that offers tours of the world famous Boldt Castle and the 1000 Islands, apart from ice fishing by a helicopter. We see lots of Indian groups to Toronto and other regions. The middle class family segment from India is our target segment. We have great flexibility to enter the market and we do not cater only to luxury. UK and Germany are our key markets and China and India are our emerging markets.”
Hospitality views
Canada’s largest hotel, the Chelsea Hotel, Toronto is managed by Langham Hospitality Group as a signature independent hotel property as part of its international portfolio of hotels and resorts. Tracy Ford, director of public relations, Chelsea Hotel, Toronto said that the hotel has 25,000 sq ft of meeting space which could accommodate 400 guests. “Most of our MICE business is due to domestic markets. Toronto has a lot to offer for conventions. We did get a few pharmaceutical companies from India for our MICE business. India is a potential market for us,” added Ford.
Sparkling Hill Resort, which opened in 2010, is internationally acclaimed for its architectural magnificence and is the only resort in the world to incorporate Swarovski crystal elements into every aspect of the resort’s design. This 149 room European inspired wellness hotel has a 40,000 sq ft KurSpa with more than 100 treatments.
Cheryl Mackinnon, media consultant, Sparkling Hill Resort said, “The resort does high-end luxury Indian weddings. Our resort could be a luxury stopover destination. We focus on the upper middle class segment and luxury segment. Since we work in collaboration with Destination British Columbia and Destination Canada, they help us in attracting potential travellers from new markets. North America is a key market for us, and we have also seen travellers from China showing interest in the destination.”
Exploring the region
The second day of GoMedia 2015 had eight media tours of half day and full day. The sixth tour ‘Farm to Table’ Okanagan Style was about the owners of Matheson Creek Farm, Dave and Arlene Matheson, who are third generation farmers having strong commitment to the agricultural industry.
During the farm tour, Arlene Matheson stressed upon the history of the family business stating that, “Our farm goes back to 1948 when Dave Matheson’s parents and grandfather immigrated from Scotland. They cleared the land and planted fruit trees. In order to keep the farm viable, Dave Matheson’s mother practiced medicine in Pentiction. Her income helped to sustain the farm. In 1978, we took over the property in order to help them out. We both continued to work off the farm. This allowed us to replant newer varieties and high density trellising systems. We updated the irrigation system for better water management and conservation. All of our apples were being sold through a cooperative packing house.”
In 2000, they decided to sell direct from their farm. Today, they grow 20 varieties of apples, including Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, Aurora Golden Gala, Nicola and Salish. “We strive to produce the best produce using safe, responsible and environmentally friendly farming methods,” pointed out Dave Matheson.