A Northern Ontario Fishing Camp Much Endowed With Family Soul

I will admit up front that I am a distant relative of the Lodge owners through marriage, from Saskatchewan. Having witnessed on a number of occasions the level of commitment the family invests in the culture of hospitality that is at the heart of what guests experience daily, I am truly in awe of this place. I would never hesitate to describe their customer service practices as exemplary. Donnelly family members tell me their secret is they treat guests like family coming home for the holidays. The number of repeat guests over decades and across generations, litterally, attests to the quality of their "Canadian" experience. Having quizzed a number American guests recently about their attachment to Donnelly's Minnitaki Lodge, I have to come to realize that coming here has become over time their quintessential "Canadian" holiday. I believe that says a lot!

Content marketing is storytelling to gain strategic advantage with target audiences

Castle Butte, Big Muddy Valley

A bit of background

For those who don't know where Saskatchewan is located, ours is a beautiful Canadian province located in the heart of the North American Plains region. Stunning in the diversity of its natural environments from grasslands to boreal forest environments, home to thousands of lakes and rich ecosystems. Generating awareness about Saskatchewan as a tourism destination among international audiences has always proved challenging. Awareness of Saskatchewan's tourism resources may be relatively high with audiences in neighbouring provinces like Alberta, U.S. states like North Dakota, and Saskatchewan expats who return each summer to visit friends and relatives, but the lure of Saskatchewan among potential medium and long haul visitors is still a work in progress.

Air connections have steadily improved with major U.S. hubs like Minneapolis, Denver and Chicago, making it easier for international visitors to get here but, but better known destinations with direct international flights and mightier marketing budgets bring considerably more clout in travel markets at a time when factors that affect tourism industry competitiveness worldwide make it difficult for emerging stars to play in the major leagues.

It is easy to understand why destination marketing organizations like the Canadian Tourism Commission would bet on winning horses like the Calgary Stampede, which has greater potential to generate a return on investment, than on a small town rodeo in rural Saskatchewan which would provide just as evocative an experience for visitors, but might be more difficult to get to and require a somewhat more "specialized" outlook on what a Canadian holiday might feel like in the client's mind.

For the record, I have been bringing clients from around the world who didn't know anything about Saskatchewan before getting here for quite some time, through my former tour operator activities with Great Excursions. The main resource I used to engage these clients is sharing with them:

• the authenticity of experiences they would enjoy while in the province;
• documenting the distinctive character of the journey they would embark upon;
• generating content and communicating that content to them.  

Storytelling - that is all it is!

I knew from available market research what my target audiences sought in terms of quality of experience indicators. I proceeded to look for these in the holiday products I would offer them, and I looked to incorporate the right partners as suppliers and agents in the travel trade that were in a position to capitalize on that kind of editorial content availability. Chronicling facts about places, people, communities, and about how hosts are grounded in their respective communities does makes a difference, as you will see.

An international tourism organization where content marketing is central

Perhaps the most vivid illustration of how I was able to harness the power of editorial content for partners, customers, and ultimately the corporate bottom line, is the partnership initiative I established with UK-based responsibletravel.comhttp://www.responsibletravel.com/ in 2002, a specialist online travel agency that uses content marketing tactics to sell accredited responsible travel products to discerning travellers around the world. That company came into being with the financial support of Anita Roddick, founder of  The Body Shop. They actually initiated the conversation with me, and likely found Great Excursions because content marketing was also a core strategy for us. RT.com was in a position to provide us qualified leads in difficult to access European markets. We were able to provide the content they needed to market our products in the segments they targetted.

Using available market intelligence, I conducted intensive research to identify Canadian product suppliers I might wish to establish a travel trade relationship with as an international wholesale tour operator. I conducted comprehensive interviews with company owners and staff about their business practices on environmental, economic and social fronts. The body of my research was used to craft responsibility policies documenting how each of these products was made possible and impacted favorably on local host communities, thereby creating a competitive advantage in the eyes of those customers for which travelling responsibly is an important consideration.

My company’s customer relationship management system required that the communication of these beneficial practices be shared with clients from the lead generation phase to the published independent review that was authored by the client at the end - enticing new clients to come on our trips.

In my next post I will elaborate on specific examples of tourism operations and products with which content marketing tactics proved a pivotal strategy.

Japan Earthquake Aftermath: A comment about Atomic Tourism

As Japan recovers from the aftermath of the latest world event impacting tourism trade, entrepreneurial tour operators are starting to think aloud about the ways to keep the travel trade alive between Japan and the rest of the world. Some have already whispered that "atomic tourism", a niche sector involving visits to significant sites of the nuclear age might hold some potential revenue. This field is set in a wider "dark tourism" realm, encompassing various visitor discoveries of catastrophic events, tragedies and sites where genocides might have occurred through the ages. People's fascination for morbidity often knows no boundaries. Let's hope that whatever new atomic tourism product emerges will be produced ethically, without appropriating fundamental elements that are rightly owned by the grieving population of Japan. There will surely be many lessons to be learned by us all from the journey of recovery this remarkable society is undertaking since March 11, 2011.

Pebble Beach, Gwaii Haanas National Park, Canada

Pick any spot to go ashore and you will find a world of wonder in Gwaii Haanaas National Park and Marine Reserve. Claude-Jean Harel reflects on the beauty of the temperate rainforest and the marine environment at Pebble Beach in this Queen Charlottes travelogue.

Pilgrimage to Windy Bay, Haida Gwaii

Visiting Windy Bay on the eastern edge of Lyell Island feels a little like going on a pilgrimage. It is near here in 1985 that a group of elders from Haida communities decided to embark of a very public campaign to stop logging activities on the island, home to magnificent 100-year old trees, up to 70-meters tall. This is where the begingings of protected Haida Gwaii were hatched. Watchmen still protect the site and the longhouse-style cabin named "Looking Around and Blinking House", which they built and lived in bunk-style while events unfolded at the time. Watchmen do allow visitors in. It is a fitting prelude to any visit deeper into Lyell Island's forest.

Sailing Cruise to South Moresby and Gwaii Haanas National Park

A brief orientation on the sailboat is followed by a quick overview of the first evening's sailing ahead, as we make our way to South Moresby and Gwaii Haanas. This is our first taste of what the adventure will be like. We are all just taking it in.

Haida Pole Carver Takes Visitors on a Carving Shed Tour

A visit to Haida Gwaii would not be complete without meeting a local carver. Norman Price is a Haida elder in Skidegate who makes himself available to our trip participants. He is of the Raven Clan.

The pole he carved and raised in front of his house on the occasion of his 80th birthday a few years ago always draws the attention and interest of our guests. He has been carving and designing since his very early teens... watchmen, raven, mouse, eagles, bear and cubs... and beavers.

But the real treat is when he invites us over to his carving shed. His sense of humour is as vivid as ever, as he demonstrates how even master carvers must sometimes adapt to technological advances.

But not all modern tools are equally suited to Haida carving needs.

He also loves to work with argillite, a type of black slate sedimentaty rock harvested from a Queen Charlotte Islands quarry owned by the Haida , the material from which can only be used by Haida carvers... The material became more popular as a carving medium after the demised of the fur trade.

Totem poles were so highly prized they they fetched as much as 1 dollar per foot for a house pole and $1.50 per foot for a burial pole in institutions like the Field Museum in Chicago by the end of the 19th Century.

Visiting the Haida Heritage Centre in Skidegate, Haida Gwaii, BC, Canada

From the top of their pole, Haida Watchmen who might have been on the lookout for invaders from foreign lands centuries ago are now welcoming visitors to Skidegate. Master harvesters, carvers and navigators, the Haida were true masters of the sea.

A visit at the Haida Heritage Centre in Skidegate is the best way to start seeing the world through the eyes of a very successful nation with great knowledge, elaborate trade networks, rich material culture and a wealth of traditions.

There are as many histories of Canada as there are are First Nations. If anything, the Haida have reclaimed their history in an inspiring way -- one where they are again taking control of their destiny, their resources.

They are developing a tourism industry that is based on sound stewardhip practices.

And quite frankly, the Haida are showing the world a part of Canada that most Canadians know very little about and that most will likely never see. Because, to come here and to experience Haida Gwaii the way it should be experienced requires from visitors that they be prepared to be exposed to a world that has very little to do with what most of us were led to believe Canada was like when we went to school.

My first impression of Haida Gwaii was that of a land inhabited by a people who draw their identity from the place they inhabit with great wisdom.

It seems one of the lessons I learned is that material wealth can play a positive role in how a people grounds itself in the environment which nutured it.

My visit to the Haida Heritage Centre certainly opened my eyes. I'm OK with that. I am just along for the journey... just as long as I learn a little bit more every day from those I share my journey with.

Looking for professional rafting guides in Newfoundland

A quick note to let you know about this request from a Newfoundland operation that we received this morning. Pretty straight forward. Feel free to reply directly to them:

Greetings,

My name is Jason, I'm the manager of Rafting Newfoundland.  Not sure if you're familiar with our operation, but we run rafting trips down Exploits River in Central Newfoundland, Canada.  The portion we run features class three rapids.

We are in the process of hiring for our 2011 season, and we would appreciate it very much if you would consider us for students and alumni of your rafting program that are qualified but you are unable to provide a job for.

We're planning to hire four guides in total (we already have one confirmed), but we may only have full time work for 3.75 guides.  It would be ideal to have three exceptionally qualified guides, and one eager and promising beginner that is seeking time on the river and will be happy even with slightly less work than the other guides.

We run a short 12 week season (we operate from mid-May to early Oct, but are only really busy from mid-June to mid-Sep), but pay fair to compensate.  Guides can expect between $6,000 - $7,500 (Canadian Dollars) for the 12 weeks including bonuses.  We start at $110/trip through the peak season, and offer bonuses throughout the season.   We offer our guides free accommodation in riverfront cabins.

Please feel free to forward students to our website, www.RaftingNewfoundland.com, or they can contact me for a full job description.

Thanks in advance for your consideration.

All the best,

Jason Nault

Administration, Marketing & Web Design

Riverfront Chalets & Rafting Newfoundland

P.O. Box 661, Grand Falls-Windsor, NL

Canada  A2A 2K2

Reservations: 709-486-0892

Office: 719-387-0866

Cell: 709-293-3690

Yukon Huskies heading to the spa

All of nature's creatures deserve a break once in a while - Yukon dog sledding huskies as well...especially during the off season. Watch as these fine distance athletes enjoy a well-deserved dip at their favourite local spa. Their choice offers no special treatments or massages - just the simple pleasure of soaking it up at the local creek.

Royal Wedding Sparks Interest in British Monarchy-themed Tourism

No matter how much one plans, sometimes, things just happen, and one has to explore their potential or risk loosing out on real opportunities.

Great Excursions, the company that I created, is a national tour operator based in Regina, Saskatchewan, a city that prides itself on highlighting the role the British Monarchy plays in how it defines itself, perhaps more than any other city in Canada. Royal weddings don't occur very often, and certainly, when a Royal Visit takes place in Regina, there is no shortage of participants who attend. I thought... What if we developed a trip for British Monarchy enthusiasts who are interested in going to England on, before or after the occasion, to commemorate the wedding?

That's what we have been working on since last week. I will keep you posted on the evolution of the project.

Wagon Ride Ranch Adventure in Saskatchewan, Canada - Great Excursions

One might think that going on a horse-drawn wagon ride is a pretty tame activity for adventure seekers. But those who love draft horses also like to have a little fun too when they get a chance to show their fine team of Percheron at work over rugged Great Plains terrain. This was indeed the case for a group of guest on a ranch weekend break in the beautiful Arm River valley in Saskatchewan. The two hour sunset ride was definitely a treat!

Harnessing the potential of surfing and stormwatching tourism

Tofino tourism stakeholders certainly knew what they were doing when they consciously acted to capitalize on the potential luring surfers and storm watching tourists represented in off-season revenue generation. Surfers use a renewable resource, they engage in activities that don't even require them to drive anywhere once they are in Tofino. The resource is on the beach.

Stormwatchers do the same. They come to enjoy just being in Tofino, experience the feeling of being out there in the elements, seeing the waves, hearing them crashing and just taking in the whole sensation of finding oneself in that particular environment at that particular time. When operators and marketing experts think of product development and destination management, those are key indicators of success.