TRD Final Report

8/6/2019 TRD Final Report

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Renewing Tourism Red DeerBuildingAlbertasLeadingTourism

Organization


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RenewingTourismRedDeer

TABLE OF CONTENTSI. ExecutiveSummary ....................................................................1

TheoverridingthematicdirectionforTourismRedDeerinthenear

termis focus. ...........................................................................................1ImplementaDMF,butmoveslowlyanddeliberately. ........................2PursueaRegionalModelbutdontgetboggeddownbyit. ...............2Maintainthebasicstructureofamemberbasedorganization............3

II. BackgroundandAnalysis ..........................................................4Methodology ..........................................................................................................4SomeContext:TourismMarketing .....................................................................5

DestinationMarketingOrganizationsinWesternCanada .....................7ComparativeStructures ............................................................................7ComparativeFinancialData ...................................................................15

TourisminRedDeerandArea ..........................................................................17TourismRedDeer................................................................................................21Issues&ChallengesConfrontingTourismRedDeer.....................................22

1.DestinationMarketingFund .................................................................22StakeholderAssessment..........................................................................22GoForwardAssessment:RedDeershouldadoptaDMF .................23

2.Regional/LocalFocus..............................................................................23StakeholderAssessment..........................................................................24Going

Forward

Assessment:

Pursue

a

Regional

Model

but

dont

get

boggeddownbyit. ..................................................................................243.Governance ..............................................................................................25

StakeholderAssessment..........................................................................26GoForwardAssessment:AMemberbasedorganizationwithpublic

andprivatesectorrepresentation ..........................................................264 Mandate and Focus 30


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WhatDoTourismOrganizationsDo?...............................................................32AModelofDMOFunctioning ..................................................................32FunctionsofaDMO....................................................................................34

WebSiteFunctionality.............................................................................42SomeMarketingStrategyBestPractices...........................................................43

TheList .........................................................................................................43BestPracticePerspectiveConclusionsforRedDeer..............................45

A

Strategy

Agenda

for

2007....................................................................45

TheStakeholderPerspective:WhatShouldTourismRedDeerBeDoing?.46IV. Implications: Drafting a Business Plan for Tourism RedDeer......................................................................................................56

BusinessPlanStructure.......................................................................................56


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I. Executive SummaryBOILINGTHINGSDOWN

Asthesubtitletothisreportstates,thepurposeofthisprojectwastolaythe

foundationthatwouldpermitTourismRedDeertobecomeAlbertasleading

tourismorganization.Despitetheloftyambitions,thiswasnotintendedtobe

ablue sky exercise. We needed to detail specific plans and activities that

wouldseetheambitioncometofruition.

Equally important, we had to detail these plans and activities in a manner

that was customer driven. This meant talking to stakeholders and askingthemwhattheythoughtTourismRedDeershould(andshouldnot)bedoing.

Customer driven did not occur in absence, however. Lessons learned from

otherDestinationMarketing Organizations (DMOs) were gathered through

telephoneinterviewsasweresomebestpracticesformtheliterature.

Attheendofitall,hereiswhatwelearned.

TheoverridingthematicdirectionforTourismRedDeerinthe

neartermis focus.

What we heard from stakeholders (and members) was the need to get

focused. It was a theme repeated by the leaders of other DMOs we

interviewedaswellasathemearisingfromthebestpracticeresearch.Focus

means:

Developarealworldmarketingstrategy.Astrategythatbuildsarounda

single, well defined and focused value proposition and brandingstatement that in turn, becomes the focal point of everything we

communicate topotentialvisitorsandmarkets. Itmustbebrutallyclear

whoweare,whatRedDeerandarea isoffering,whyweofferwhatwe

do,andtheconsistencyandqualityoftheseofferings.

Concentrate our DMO activity on the marketing that is on getting the


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Target our real customers. Forget what is trendy in the tourism

development field. Focus on our critical markets those segments that

already find Red Deer appealing. Concentrate our marketing efforts,

including advertising, direct mail, etc. on these targets. This means

focusing on the regional consumer, tour groups as well as

business/tradeshow/convention trafficespecially thoseseeking toescape

thehighcostsofEdmontonandCalgaryoffindingcentralizedlocations.

Strengthentheprocessforpursuingbids.

ImplementaDMF,butmoveslowlyanddeliberately.

ADestinationMarketingFund(DMF) isbasicallya levyonaccommodation

andaneffectiveandsustainablewayfor theDMO toraiseoperatingfunds.

The success of these funds is demonstrated by their adoption across

jurisdictions.

There

are,

however,

critical

success

factors

associated

with

a

successful

DMF

thatdictateaslow,deliberateapproachtoimplementation.TheDMFshould

be voluntary and the community must have a significant critical mass of

support.Inaddition,theuseofthemoneyraisedthroughtheDMFshouldbe

specified inadvancewithclearoutcomes identified.These two itemsmeans

thatTourismRedDeershouldtakeitstimetooutlineaclearplanforuseof

themoneyandconductthenecessarygroundworktobuildacriticalmassof

support.

PursueaRegionalModelbutdontgetboggeddownbyit.

Tourismareasarebestdefinedbythemixandconsistencyoftourismassets

as well as touristbehavior, as opposedby arbitrary municipal or county

boundaries.ForRedDeerandarea, thisregion isconsiderablysmaller than

the existing Tourism Destination Region (TDR) establishedby the province

and a good deal larger than The City of Red Deer and Red Deer County.

Especiallyfortheleisuremarkettourist,aregionthatencompassesRedDeer,

Lacombe, Ponoka and Clearwater Counties and the various towns withinthese,ismostconsistentwiththismixoftourismassets.

The current organizational structure of Tourism Red Deer provides a

workable model to broaden this regional approach. As a memberbased

organization, Tourism Red Deer can and should accept memberships from

b i i ti ithi thi b d hi l d it


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approachtomarketingshouldnotgetboggeddownbytheassumednecessity

ofseekingconsensusamongpotentialregionalpartners.

Maintainthebasicstructureofamemberbasedorganization.

Tourism Red Deer is currently a memberbased organization that operates

alongthesamelinesassimilarorganizationsinCalgaryandGrandePrairie.

There are other possible organizational models, including having the

organization a part of an economic development entity (Edmonton andLethbridge) or part of the Chamber of Commerce (Kelowna and Medicine

Hat). No one approach appears tobebetter than the rest and the member

basedmodelusedbyTourismRedDeeriscertainlynoworse.

Moreover, the memberbased structure provides a convenient and flexible

meansofexpandingtoamoreregionalapproachasrecommended.Assuch,

maintainingthisbasicstructureisrecommended.

Nevertheless,someorganizationalchangesshouldbeadopted.Amongthesechanges,havingTheCityofRedDeerrepresentationontheBoardcomefrom

Economic Development as opposed to Community Services. This would

better align municipal representation with the basic purpose of the

organization.


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II. Background and AnalysisTOURISMINREDDEERANDAREA

Tourism Red Deer contracted for a review of its operations and functions

withthepurposeofcreatingarenewedorganizationwiththerightstructure,

mandate and strategy to meet the tourism marketing challenges of one of

CanadasmostdynamicgeographicalareasRedDeer.

The first part of the review focused on past and current functioning. The

secondphase,thepartofthereviewrepresentedbythisreport,focusesonthe

changes stakeholders and best practices indicate are required to build

AlbertasleadingDestinationMarketingorganization(DMO).

MethodologyTheapproachtakenwasafourstepprocess.Specifically,we:

Reviewedtheresultsoftheinitialphaseofwork.Dataandresultsweretakenfromthisworkwheresuchinformationwouldbeusefulinmaking

conclusionsaboutdirectionsTourismRedDeershouldtakeinrenewing

itself.Muchofthisdataispresentedinthissectionofthereport.

Gatheredstakeholderfeedback.Focusgroupsandindividualinterviews

wereconductedtogatherfeedbackfrommembersofTourismRedDeer,

representativesofTheCityofRedDeerandothermunicipaljurisdictions

and others with a stake in the tourism industry. The intent was gather

what itwas thesestakeholderswanted theorganization todo identify

howbesttomeetexistingandfuturedemands.

Interviewed leaders of other DMOs. Telephone interviews were

conductedwith leadersofotherDMOsinwesternCanada togaintheir

insightastobestpracticesandfuturerequirementsofDMOs.


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Some Context: Tourism MarketingA tourist isgenerallydefinedasanyonewho travelsmore than80kmfrom

their home for leisure or business purposes. Tourism is a large and

sustainable global industry with a demonstrated ability tobring substantial

economic and socialbenefits to geographical areas be they at the level of

nations or small towns. Equally important, growth in tourism has beensubstantial,albeitwithoccasionalhistoricalinterruptions.

For thesereasons,virtually anygeographicalareaswithsufficientresources

be they towns, cities, states or provinces and nations are involved in

marketing themselves as tourist destinations. Usually, there is an

accompanying organizational structure tasked with performing the tourism

marketingfunction.

Thebenefits of a well orchestrated tourism marketing plan gobeyond theobviousbenefits tohoteliers,restaurantsandothersdirectly involved in the

industry. There are the additional employmentbenefits. These include the

benefits that flow to the community generally. If done well, the economic

benefits can help fund the development of attractions or infrastructure that

can be enjoyed by the broader population and contribute to the overall

qualityof life thingssuch as parks,recreation facilities,museumsand the

like. Moreover, these activities may also contribute to citizen pride and

improvedperceptionsofcitizensregardingtheircommunity.

InCanada,theCanadianTourismCommission(CTC)takesresponsibilityfor

destination awareness of Canada as a tourist destination. A new campaign

hasrecentlybeeninitiatedaroundthetheme,CanadaKeepExploring.

At the provincial level (in Alberta), Travel Alberta is responsible for

destinationawareness.TheProvincesmarketingeffortsareorganizedintoa

numberoftouristzonesreferredtoasDestinationTourismRegions(DTRs).

AmapofAlbertasTDRsispresentedintheExhibit:AlbertaTDRs.

A quick review of the Exhibit reveals that these regions appear tobe less

designed for marketing purposes than for administrative ease. The Central

Region, which encompasses Red Deer, extends from north of Edmonton to

theborders of Calgary and from the national parks to the Saskatchewan

border


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Because of the broad scope of the benefits, tourism marketing has

traditionallybeenacooperativeaffairbasedonpartnershipsamongparties

thathaveastakeinthebenefits.Atalocallevel,thishastypicallymeantthe

involvement of thebusiness community, those more directly involved with

the tourism industry as well as the town or city. It also has meant regional

partnerships among communities where destination characteristics or

featuresextendbeyondadministrativeboundaries.

DestinationMarketingOrganizationsinWestern

Canada

ResearchconductedpreviouslyforTourismRedDeerexaminedthepractices

of selected Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) across western

Canada1.Specifically,

GrandePrairieRegionalTourist

Association

TourismMedicineHat

FortMcMurrayTourism TourismRegina

Lethbridge Convention and

VisitorsBureau

TourismSaskatoon

TourismCalgary TourismKelowna

EdmontonTourism

ComparativeStructures

TheDMOsabovedifferintheirrespectivemandates,governancestructures

and ownership structures. The Exhibit: Comparative Organizational Data

highlightsthesebasicorganizationalarrangements.


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8

Exhibit:ComparativeOrganizationalDataCity/DMOname Mandate/Role/Vision/Mission Ownership

Structure

Governance BoardofDirectors

FortMcMurray

FortMcMurray

TourismAss.

(FMTA)

Mandate:TopromoteFortMcMurray

andregion,attractvisitorsandprovide

local,provincialandnational

informationservices.

Mission:PartnersincreativetourismandgrowthintheRMofWoodBuffalo

(2ndlargestcommunityinN.A.)

notforprofit

memberbased

Committeestructure

inplace(finance,

tradeshows,HR,

marketing)

Roleisadvisory

EDreportstoBoard

14elected(9min.14max)

industry/Suncor/SCL/member

city/municipalitynotonthe

Board

GrandePrairie

GrandePrairie&

Region

TourismAss.

(GPRTA)

Operatesasadestinationmarketing

organization

Vision:GrandPrairieandRegionisthe

placewhereeveryonewantstobe.

Mission:TheGPRTAworksin

conjunctionwithindustrypartnersto

createtourismopportunitiesforthe

GrandPrairieRegion.

Notforprofit

Memberbased

Municipal

Governmentagency

ExecutiveDirector

reportstoBoardof

Directors

policyguidancefocus

CarverModel

16members:one(1)rep.from

eachmunicipalitywithinthe

region(6intotal)and10

industryreps.

Chairhasaoneyearterm

withanoptionforasecond

year.

Directorshave2yearterms.

TheBoardhasanumberof

committees:Website,

Marketing,Membership,

Fundraising.

BoardofDirectorsisvery

strongandeffectiveinterms

ofguidingpolicyand

establishingthescopeof

operations.


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9

City/DMOname Mandate/Role/Vision/Mission Ownership

Structure


Lethbridge

Lethbridge

Convention&

VisitorsBoard

(LCVB)

Mission:TheLethbridgeConvention&

VisitorsBureauisthedestinationand

eventmarketingorganizationfor

Lethbridgebyprovidingleadershipand

coordinationforthetourismindustry

anditsmarketinginitiatives.

LCVBisa

departmentof

Economic

Development.

In2004,LCVBmerged

withEconomic

Development

Lethbridge(EDL)

bycouncilresolution.

GovernedbytheEDLBoard

ofDirectors

EDLhasa25memberBoard

of the25thereis

representationfromeach

tourismsector

(5

6)

and

one

politicalappointment.

ThereisaTourismcommittee

establishedwith

representativesfromeach

majortourismsector.

TheCityAdminemployeeis

theliaison

between

EDL

and

theCity.

20%ofboardactiveinsub

committees

MedicineHat

TourismMedicine

Hat(TMH)

TheChamberwillpromoteandenhance

tourisminMedicineHatand

SoutheasternAlbertawithpriorities

suchasattractingmoreconferences,conventionsandspecialeventsaswell

asprovidingopportunitiestothe

tourismindustrytoincreasetheir

business.

Notforprofit

Departmentof

theMedicineHat

Chamberof

Commerce

TMHoperatesasa

DMOforTravel

Alberta.

TMHsExecutive

Director reportsto

theChamberBoard.

ChamberBoardofDirectors

isresponsibleforguiding

policyandadvocacyfor

TMH.

BoardhasaTourism

Committee. Sector

representationispreferred

butnotalwaysthecase.A

committeememberdoesnot

havetobeamemberofthe


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10


Structure


chambertoparticipateonthe

committee.

TourismCommitteeofBoard

has10sectorrepresentatives

andplaysanadvisoryrole

RedDeer

TourismRedDeer

(TRD)

Notforprofit

Memberbased

Broadscopefromadministrationto

policy/strategy

Operatingagreement

withCityofRedDeer.

13memberBoard;5appointedincluding

municipality,leading

stakeholdersplus8electedby

members

Committeestructure(BidRed

Deer,Marketing)

Calgary

TourismCalgary

(TC)

Mission:TourismCalgarymarketsandpromotesCalgaryandareaasthe

destinationofchoiceforleisureand

businesstravel.

Role:Industryalignment,catalyst,

marketing/salesprograms,VIC,

research

Notforprofit

Memberbased

IndepBoard

Focusonpolicyand

strategies

Pres.reportstoBoard

22,primarilyindustry,mixofelectedandappointed

Execcommitteeonly

NewjointHotel&TC

committeetodirectDMFand

reporttoBoard

Edmonton

Edmonton

Tourism

(ET)

TheroleofETistoplan,implementandevaluatemarketing,salesand

communicationsprogramstoincrease

travelandpromoteGreaterEdmonton

asamustseetourismdestination.

Vision:GreaterEdmontonisamustsee

notforprofit

EToperatesasa

org.unitof

Edmonton

Economic

Development

TourismEdmontonoperatesasa

departmentof

EdmontonEconomic

Development

(EED).

TourismEdmontonreportstotheEEDBoard. Thereare15

Boardmembersplus2

advisors. Theboardis

primarilymadeupof

appointedseniorbusiness


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11


Structure


tourismdestination.

Mission:Workingasateamtoestablish

anenvironmentintheGreater

EdmontonRegionthatencouragesand

fosterstourismpartnershipand

opportunities.

(EED). Anorganizationwas

formedcalledthe

EdmontonCapital

RegionTourism

Partnership

(ECRTP)of23

members(7electedfromsectors,14

municipalreps,and2

EDEreps)

ECRTPfunctionsina

strategiesadvisory

capacity

Membershipbasedandisnotaformal

legalentity.

TheECRTPhasa

committeestructure

focusedoninitiatives.

people.

ThetermoftheBoardChair

is2years.

TheEEDBoarddoesoperate

withanevolvingcommittee

structure.

TheECRTPadvisory

committeehasagoodlevelof

influenceovertheEEDBoard

intermsofstrategy

developmentandguidance.

Subcommitteesare

structured

to

work

with

TourismEdmontons

operatingdepartments

Regina Novisionstatement

Missionisobjectiveoriented

Notforprofit

Memberbased

AccountabletoBoard

No formalreporting

relationshiptothe

City,workclosely

withcity

Boardroleisalways

strategic,35yearsout

16members(9selectedby

industrysectors,2cityappointed,5atlarge

elected)

2yearterm


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12


Structure


Committeestructure,

effectivenessvaries

Committee

membershipmixof

boardandvolunteers

Saskatoon Vision:TobeatopofminddestinationinCanada.

Mission:TooperateasSaskatoons

destinationmanagementorganization,

maximizingtheeconomicbenefitfor

Saskatoonthoughtourism.

Memberbasednotforprofit

IndependentTourismAgency

15Boardmembers(2appointedcitycouncilorsand

13electedbyindustrysector)

TermsforBoardChairand

Directorsaretypically2years

withanoptiontostayonfora

maximumof4yearsto

ensureflexibility

and

continuity.

TheBoardhasacommittee

structureincludingthe

followingcommittees:

AuditCommittee

MarketingCommittee

Conventions!Saskatoon

Committee

SomeAdHocCommittees


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13


Structure


Kelowna Mandate:TourismKelownaisa

DestinationMarketingOrganization

andConventionandVisitorsBureau

(CVB)dedicatedtoproviding

leadershipandcoordinationin

promotingandmarketingKelownas

tourismindustry,resultinginincreasedvisitationandrevenues. Alsomoving

intodestinationdevelopmenttoelevate

tourismawarenessfromaCityPlanning

perspective.

Vision:Toberecognizedasthe

collectivevoiceoftourismstakeholders

andthe

lead

entity

for

innovative

tourismmarketingintheOkanagan,

resultinginasustainablemarket

positionrivalingthatoftoptourism

destinationsinthePacificNorthwest.

Mission:Toattractvisitorsby

positioningKelownaasauniqueand

diverseyearrounddestinationforthe

benefitofourcommunity.

NotForProfit

Divisionofthe

Kelowna

Chamberof

Commerce.

GMreportstothe

CEOoftheChamber

ofCommerce.

AnelectedTourism

AdvisoryCouncil

(TAC)ensures

that

TourismKelowna

remainsresponsive

andaccountabletothe

tourismindustry.

TACroleistoadvise

on,approveand

monitorthemarketing

objectives,strategy,budgetandpolicy

issuesofTourism

Kelowna.

TACChairhasa

standinginvitationto

attendanyandall

Executive

Committee

meetingsofthe

Chamber.

TACisnotinvolved

indaytoday

operations

BoardofDirectorsofthe

Chamberisthegoverning

bodyforTourismKelowna.


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14


Structure


TACChairisan

appointedDirectorto

theChamberBoard.

Reps.ontheTACare

industryreps. One

appointedfromthe

hotel/motel

association,therest

areelected.

TheTACwasinitiated

toexecutethe2%

HotelTaxina

transparentmanner

(tobuildconfidenceandaccountability).

Source:TourismRedDeerReview.PriceWaterhouseCoopers&ExcelerationCorp.


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ComparativeFinancialData

BasiccomparativedataisprovidedintheExhibit:DMOComparativeFinancial

Data. A review of these data suggests there are no hard and fast rules

concerning funding for DMOs. Some observations concerning these data

include:

The percapitabudget forDMOs areremarkably stable ranging from

$4.43 for Grande Prairie to $8.92 in Medicine Hat (excluding data fromKelowna).

Not surprisingly, the per capita budget of the DMO may be most

dependantontheperceivedimportanceoftourismtothelocaleconomy.

Kelowna is the perfect example where tourism is the number one

industryandthisisreflectedintheDMOsfundingallocations.

Whilevariationinpercapitabudgetsare,forthemostpart,minimal,the

proportion

of

DMO

budgets

funded

by

the

municipality

varies

considerably.Forexample,theCityofMedicineHatfundslessthan30%

oftheDMOsbudgetwhereincontrast,theCityofLethbridgefundsover

50%. In Edmonton, the City funds over 75% of the DMObudget. In

Calgary,itisroughly30%.Thesevarianceareprimarilyafunctionofthe

organization structure of the DMO. The closer the DMO is to the City

organizationally,thegreatertheproportionofmunicipalfunding.

Comparatively, Red Deer is in the middle of the pack in terms ofbudget

dollarsspentpercapitaaswellastheproportionofmunicipalexpenditures.


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16

Exhibit:DMOComparativeFinancialDataDMO Population MunicipalFunding Municipal

Funding/

Capita

Budget Budget/Capita Proportionof

BudgetComprised

ofMunicipal

Funding*

RedDeer 80,000 $150,000 $1.88 $430,000 $5.37 35.0%

Lethbridge 77,202 $310,000 $4.01 $420,000 $5.44 53.7%

FortMcMurray 61,000 $40,000 $0.66 $450,000 $7.37 9.0%

MedicineHat 56,048 $150,000 $2.67 $500,000 $8.92 29.9%

GrandePrairie 62,000 $62,000 $1.00 $275,000 $4.43 22.6%

Edmonton 700,000 $3,500,000 $5.00 $4,500,000 $6.42 77.9%

Calgary 1,000,000 $2,000,000 $2.00 $6,500,000 $6.50 30.8%

Kelowna 100,000 $345,000 $3.47 $1,800,000 $18.00 19.3%

Regina 190,000 $270,000 $1.42 $1,350,000 $7.10 20.0%

Saskatoon 205,900 $320,000 $1.55 $1,200,000 $5.82 26.6%

Source:TourismRedDeerReview.PriceWaterhouseCoopers&ExcelerationCorp.

IndependentlycalculatedfromtheTourismRedDeerReview


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Tourism in Red Deer and AreaTourism isnotaprimaryengineofeconomicactivity inRedDeerasit isin

Kelowna. Few locations in Alberta are. Nevertheless, it is still an important

factor of economic activity thatby most accounts, is not fully orbroadly

appreciatedbyresidents.

Unfortunately, data supporting the level of economic activity generatedby

tourism in Red Deer and area is difficult to get. One reason for this is the

structure of Tourism marketing in the province described earlier. Data is

available for the various TDRs in the province but those TDRs dont

necessarily correspond to meaningful geographical areas useful in making

tourismorienteddecisions.Forexample,inRedDeerscase,theCentralTDR

is such a large area, no useful extrapolations can be made to define

circumstancesorcharacteristicsforRedDeerandarea.

Some census data is available; however, the nature of this data makes it

unreliableespeciallywhenexaminingcircumstancesinRedDeerperce.Some

data arising from this source is presented in the flowing,Exhibit:Estimated

PersonTripsandExhibit:EstimatedTouristExpendituresbyCategory.

While this data is too crude to draw detailed conclusions, some general

observationscanbemade.

Red

Deers

consumer

tourism

market

is

largely

in

its

backyard.

Red

Deers market is not the United States, Europe or even (likely) eastern

CanadaorBC.ItsAlbertaandsomeofSaskatchewan.

The Red Deer consumer tourist market drives to Red Deer and drives

around.Themeansofarrivalisnotairandnotrail,itiscarandbus.

Arrivalsanddeparturesandrelated touristbehaviorsaredominatedby

highway #2 and the Calgary/Edmonton corridor. This corridor needs to

be

considered

an

important

factor

in

tourism

marketing

strategy

development.

Someof thesepointsaremademoreexplicitbyexaminingasimplemapof

RedDeer(seeExhibit:RedDeerandArea).Themapspresentedintheexhibit

show the surrounding area to Red Deer at two scales. Red Deer county is

highlighted on the maps as is the 80 km tourist zone (shown as a circle)


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18

Exhibit:EstimatedPersonTrips2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Overnight

Albertans&OtherCanadians 772,000 734,000 866,000 617,000 633,000

US&Overseas 41,000 31,000 44,000 30,000 n/a

SubTotalOvernight 813,000 765,000 910,000 647,000

SameDay* 693,000 652,000 775,000 565,000

TotalPersonTrips 1,506,000 1,417,000 1,685,000 1,212,000

Est.#ofVisitors 813,000 765,000 910,000

*Estimatedbyusingthesamepercentageofsameday to overnight asoccursintheAlbertaCentralTDR

Source:TourismRedDeerReview,CensusDivision8informationprovidedbyAlbertaEconomicDevelopment


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19

Exhibit:EstimatedTouristExpendituresbyCategoryExpenditureCategories RedDeerArea AlbertaCentralTDR

ALLTOURISTSSpendingatLeastOneNight $129,800,000 100% $378,000,000 100%

Accommodation $29,200,000 22% $82,000,000 22%

FoodPurchasedinRestaurants $24,300,000 19%

FoodPurchasedinStores $9,000,000 7%

$101,000,000 27%

VehicleOperation $30,600,000 24%

VehicleRental $1,900,000 1%

$112,000,000 30%

LocalTransport $700,000 1% $2,000,000 1%

Recreation/Entertainment $10,200,000 8% $31,000,000 8%

Clothing&Retail $24,000,000 18% $50,000,000 13%

CombinedTotalbyOvernightVisitors $129,800,000 100% $378,000,000 100%

*Totalsmaynotaddpreciselybecauseofroundingoffassociatednumbers.Source:TourismRedDeer,CensusDivision8touristspendinginformationprovidedbyAlbertaEconomicDevelopment.


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Tourism Red DeerTourism Red Deer is the destination marketing and event marketing

organization for Red Deer and area with area essentially comprising Red

DeerCounty.ItisessentiallyamemberbasedorganizationservingRedDeer

andareatourismrelatedbusinesses.ItisalsocontractedwithTheCityofRed

DeertoruntheVisitorCentre.

The organizational structure is detailed in the Exhibit: Tourism Red DeerOrganizationChart.

Exhibit:TourismRedDeerOrganizationChartTourism Red DeerBoard of Directors

Executive Director

Visitor Services MarketingFinance and

Admin

Marketing Sub-CommitteeExecutive Sub Committee

Bid Red Deer

Community ServicesDirectorate

(City of Red Deer)

Basic Functions:

Visitor CentreNewsletter

Basic Functions:

FinanceAdministration

IT

Basic Functions:

MaterialsMember Services

Basic Functions:

AdvocacyPublic RelationsSystemCoordination

TourismRedDeersstructureis:

Relatively lean heavily dependant upon volunteers and part time staff


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Thismeanswhilethereisgoodalignmentbetweenmoneyandfunction,thereis little effort that canbe directed at more general DMO functions (such as

publicandmediarelations,directsales,productdevelopmentandthelike).

Issues & Challenges Confronting Tourism Red DeerInadditiontoidentifyingwhatfunctionsstakeholdersthoughtwereandwere

notpriorities,fourissuesororganizationalchallengeswereidentified.Theseare:

DestinationMarketingFund

Regional/MunicipalFocus

Governance

MandateandFocus

Eachoftheseisaddressedinturn.

1.DestinationMarketingFund

Adoption of Destination Marketing Funds (DMF) is a trend in the tourism

industry and an effective mechanism of providing funding to local tourism

marketingefforts.

In

one

sense,

there

is

a

DMF

in

place

now.

The

Alberta

government

used

to

havea5%hoteltax,theproceedsofwhichwentintogeneralrevenues.This

wasreducedtoa4%rate,theproceedsofwhichwenttotourismmarketing.

ThisisinessencewhataDMFis,ataxontouristrelatedservices(usuallyon

accommodations)thatgoestofundtourismrelatedactivities.Thedestination

beingmarketedwiththesefundsisAlberta.

At the time of the 5% to 4% reduction in Alberta, tourism stakeholders in

somemunicipalitiesadopteda1% taxtoserveasasourceoffundstolocal

tourismmarketingefforts.ThisisessentiallywhatisreferredtoasaDMFinAlberta today. As Red Deer has not adopted a local DMF, the tax on hotel

rooms is 4% and all monies gained flow into provincial tourism marketing

efforts.

Stakeholder Assessment


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DMFs in otherjurisdictions as a reliable and sustainable source of tourismfunding.

GoForwardAssessment:RedDeershouldadoptaDMF

ThesuccessofDMFselsewhere,provideampleevidence thatadoptionofa

DMFforRedDeer(andarea)willprovidesignificantbenefits.The1%isnot

so onerous so as to impact consumer purchase decisions in any significant

wayand

as

such,

provides

arelatively

painless

means

of

providing

tourism

marketingresources.

AsmuchasDMFsrepresentapositivedirectionforTourismRedDeer,there

aresomecriticalsuccessfactorsthatneedtobeconsidered.

DMFsworkbestwhen theyarevoluntary,meaningorganizationshave

the choice to opt in or out. This requires a significant critical mass of

supporters to be established a clear majority of accommodation

providers

must

be

willing

to

support

the

initiative.

DMFs create issues of accountability those providing the funds need

assurance they are being used effectively on high priority programs.

Theseprogramsneedtobeagreeduponinadvanceandclearconnections

between the money and program mustbe maintained. At times, other

jurisdictions have used special committees of the Board with specific

responsibility of DMF oversight to help maintain accountability. Still

other jurisdictions have used other mechanisms to help support

accountabilityobjectivesincludingdetailedfundaccounting.

DMFs should notbe introduced quickly. The ground has tobe made

ready.TourismRedDeerneedstooutlineaclearplanforthemoneyand

buildconsensuswithinthecommunityuntilacriticalmassofsupportis

achieved. Webelieve that setting the stage will take at least one year

from2007throughto2008.AnintroductionofaDMFcouldtakeplacein

2008or2009,dependingonhowquicklyanacceptablelevelofagreement

canbereached.

Thesedatesfor implementationarereflected in thebusinessplan in the last

sectionofthisreport

2.Regional/LocalFocus


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R i T i R d D


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A consumer marketing strategy that emphasizes the benefits andhighlights the attractions of the region shouldbe adoptedby Tourism

RedDeer.This includes thedevelopmentofauniquevalueproposition

andbrandingstatement.

The region should encompass Red Deer, Lacombe, Ponoka and

Clearwater Counties and the towns that lie within these. This would

includeanareathatisinpart,currentlyservedbytheDavidThompson

DMO.

Aregionalorganizationwouldbeapositivedevelopmentandshouldbe

pursuedbyTourismRedDeer.However,sucharegionalapproachisnot

essentialinsupportingaregionalpromotionalstrategyandTourismRed

Deershouldnotgetboggeddowninitsmarketingeffortsinnegotiatinga

moreregionalorganization.

Today,organizationsandbusinessesmayjoinTourismRedDeerregardless

of location and these memberships shouldbe pursued outside of Red Deer

andRedDeerCounty.

There is associated with this the issue of the organizations name. Tourism

Red Deer sounds as though it concerns only the city of Red Deer. An

associatedtagline(suchasservingvisitorstoRedDeerandArea)mayhelp

address this issue. However, concentrating perception on the major urban

area is consistent with practice of virtually all DMOs. This isbecause it is

most consistent with how the consumer market thinks about travel

destinations.

3.Governance

The third challenge facing Tourism Red Deer is finding an appropriate

governancemodel.Governanceflowsfromownershipandashighlighted in

the Exhibit: Comparative Organizational Data, there are only three basic

alternatives.

1. Basic ownership by an economic development agency, meaning the

DMOoperatesasadepartmentofa larger functioningorganization. That

larger economic development agency maybe a not for profit with its own

governance structure or act as a municipal department. Edmonton and

Lethbridgearethemodelshere,whereEdmontonTourismisadepartmentof

Ed t E i D l t d th L thb id Vi it d

Renewing Tourism Red Deer


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2.BasicownershipbytheChamberofCommerce.Inthesecases,theDMOmay report to the Chamber Board or a Committee of the Chamber Board.

Kelowna and Medicine Hat are the two examples of this model. Success in

this model, particularly in Kelowna, appears attributable in part to the

importanceof tourism to thelocaleconomyandthereforethepervasiveness

oftheimpactoftourismacrossthebusinesscommunity.Tooversimplify,the

businessofKelownaistourism.

3. Independentownershipasanot forprofit. In thesecases,ownership of

theDMO arises from the saleof memberships in the community.Theseare

largely sales tobusinesses such as hotels and restaurantsbut also include

salestopublicinstitutionsandfacilities.TheBoard,inthesecases,isusually

elected from the membershipbut often includes provisions for appointed

membersusuallyfromtheChamberofCommerceorthelocalmunicipality.

Here,GrandePrairie,CalgaryandofcourseRedDeeraretheexamples.

Stakeholder

Assessment

Stakeholders are overwhelming in their assessment that Tourism Red Deer

shouldremainamemberbasedorganization.Afewstakeholdersarguedfor

makingtheorganizationpartofalargereconomicdevelopmentorganization.

MorethoughtthatmergingtheorganizationwiththeChamberofCommerce

would be a positive direction. However, again, the clear majority were

supportiveofanindependentmemberbasedorganization.

Currently,

however,

City

of

Red

Deer

representation

on

the

Board

comes

by

wayof theCommunityServicesDivisionanditisthroughthisdivisionthat

thecontractwiththeVisitorsCentreismaintained.Incontrast,most,ifnotall

DMOs,however,maintainarelationshipwiththefunctionalarearesponsible

foreconomicdevelopmentandmanystakeholderspointedoutthisanomaly

withTourismRedDeer

GoForwardAssessment:AMemberbasedorganizationwith

publicandprivatesectorrepresentation

As mentioned earlier in this report,bestpractice data indicates that DMOs

typically function best when representation of both public and private

interestsareatthetable.Thisimpliesamemberbasedorganizationwherethe

municipalityormunicipalitiesaremembersandhaveaseatattheBoard.This



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however,iswithinTourismRedDeersothatcommondirectionandpurposeemerge.

OtherDMOshaveusedadvisorycommittees tohelpprovideoutside input

andframethedebatesthatneedtotakeplace.Thisisespeciallytrueinthose

DMOs that are part of the Chamber of Commerce with no public

representatives at the table. Regardless of structure, however, what is

importantisthatthesedebatestakeplaceandthatprivateandpublicinterests

arerepresented.

Currently,TourismRedDeerhasaBoardthatmixesthesepublicandprivate

interests well. The City of Red Deer and the County have assigned

representationasdoesthebusinesscommunitywiththeDowntownBusiness

AssociationandtheChamberofCommerce(andWesternerPark).

There is also an advisory relationshipbetween the Director of Community

ServicesofTheCityofRedDeerand theBoard.Thishasbeenaddedto the

structure to reflect the importance of having the voice of public

administrationattheBoardtable.Webelievethat:

TheconnectionbetweentheBoardandtheadministrationofTheCityof

RedDeershouldbealignedwiththeEconomicDevelopmentfunctionof

TheCityofRedDeerasopposedtoCommunityServices.

The City of Red Deer shouldbe provided another voting place at the

BoardbyconvertingthecurrentAdvisoryBoardMembertoafullvoting

BoardMember,or

Anadvisorycommitteebecreated toprovideabroadrangeofexpertise

and insight to the Board which may include other municipal

administrationaswellastourismspecificrepresentatives.

Some related changes to Tourism Red Deer governance and funding could

include:

SeparateTheCityofRedDeerscontributiontoTourismRedDeerfrom

the

provision

of

specific

services,

in

this

case,

the

management

of

the

VisitorsCentre.ThecontributionmadebyTheCityofRedDeer(atleast

in part) shouldbe considered their membership fee independentofany

specificservices.

Separating the membership fee from the contract fee established for

ifi i d t l d th ti ti f ifi t t



31/71


chargedtocountiesandtownsbasedonpopulationorsimilarsizerelatedmetric.


32/71



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g

4.MandateandFocus

Mandateandfocusoftheorganizationisthelastofthefourissuesthatarose

fromourinterviewswithstakeholders.TourismRedDeerscurrentmandate

issomewhatunclear.Theorganizationhassufferedsomewhatfromavaried

and extensive setof expectationsby various stakeholders. Expectations that

are,forthemostpart,inconsistentwiththeorganizationssizeorbudget.

StakeholderAssessment

Forthemostpart,expectationsamongstakeholdersamounttothefullsuiteof

expectationslistedforDMOsgenerally.SeetheExhibit:FunctionalActivitiesof

DMOsforamorecompletelistingofthesefunctions.However,thebudgetof

theorganizationissufficientfor:

Production of marketing materials, especially the brochure including

advertisingsales,asasustainablemeansofpromotingtheregion.

ManagementandadministrationoftheVisitorsCentreanditsassociated

functions,includingproductsalesetc.

A basic level of promotion & tourism awareness as well as some

coordination&planningfunctionsdeliveredlargelythroughtheofficeof

ExecutiveDirector.

Theissuethen,isoneofhighexpectations(andvariedbystakeholdergroup)

combinedwith

alimited

budget

yielding

alack

of

focus.

Go Forward Assessment: Focus activities in line with the

budgetandexpandfromthere.

Thisfocusedstrategyreallymeanssettingthreeprioritiesfor2007.Theseare:

Developarealworldmarketingstrategy.Astrategythatbuildsarounda

single, well defined and focused value proposition and branding

statement that in turn, becomes the focal point of everythingcommunicatedtopotentialvisitorsandmarkets.Itmustbebrutallyclear

whoweare,whatRedDeerandAreaisoffering,whyweofferwhatwe

do,andtheconsistencyandqualityoftheseofferings.

ConcentrateourDMOactivityonthemarketing,thatis,ongettingthe



34/71

Target our real customers. Forget what is trendy in the tourismdevelopment field. Focus on our critical markets those segments that

already find Red Deer appealing. Concentrate our marketing efforts,

including advertising, direct mail, etc. on these targets. This means

focusing on the regional consumer, tour groups as well as

business/tradeshow/convention trafficespecially thoseseeking toescape

thehighcostsofEdmontonandCalgaryoffindingcentralizedlocations.

Associatedwiththisisstrengtheningtheprocessforpursuingbids.

How this is intended to evolve over the next few years is presented in the

nextsectionofthisreport.



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III.Functions of Tourism OrganizationsWHATTOURISMREDDEERCANANDSHOULDBE

DOING

What Do Tourism Organizations Do?TourismisamajorindustryinNorthAmericaandinCanadaandservesasa

vital component of many local economies. Today, virtually every major

municipality in the country has an organization with abasic mandate to

promote the municipality (or municipality and surrounding area) as atourism destination. These organizations are typically referred to as

DestinationMarketingOrganizationsorDMOs.

Theprecisestructureoftheseorganizationsvarieswiththemunicipalityand

a host of variables including the relative importance of tourism to the local

economy and the nature and scope of tourism assets. Here, however, we

examine nothow tourism organizationsare organizedbut rather, what it is

theydotheiractivitiesandfunctionsthatareintended,onewayoranother,

tosupportandpromotetourism.

AModelofDMOFunctioning

The typical functionsofDMOsaredeterminedby therole theyplay in the

community. They are, in essence, a linking pin between the supply and

demandinthetourismeconomicequation.Thisconceptandroleisexplored

intheExhibit:TourismSupplyandDemandModel.

Thebasic idea here is that in playing the role of linking pin, DMOs are

basically a conduitbetween the supply elements of a community (tourism

assets)andthedemandelementsofthemarket(marketsegments).Thetools

used are largely information and communication and the process is

marketingandsellingtheassetstokeymarketsegments.



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33

Exhibit:TourismSupplyandDemandModelInfrastructure Retailers

Food andBeverage

AttractionsTransportationAccomodationsRecreation &Entertainment

Event AttractionsPermanent Attractions

Destination Image and Theme

Regional Segment

Intra Provincial/National Segment

International Segment

Destination Marketing Organization

Ambient/Natural Attractions

ClimateSceneryCulture

HospitalityWildlife

Constructed Attractions

Theme ParksOutdoor Parks

Fairs, ExhibitionsHeritage Sites

Cultural facilitiesCivic Squares, Streets and

Other Public PlacesConvention Centres

Sport and RecreationalFacilities

Educational FacilitiesShrines and Sacred Sites

Programs and Events atpermanent Attractions

Touring EventsBusiness EventsSporting Events

Educational Events

Religious EventsPolitical Events

Community festivals

Mega-Events Attrations

Touring Event Attractions

Regional Event Attractions

Local Event Attractions andActivity Outlets

Supply

Demand

Segment

Segment

Segment

Segment

Segment

Segment

Segment

Segment

Segment

Segment

Segment

Segment

LinkingPin

Strategy Formulation

Development

Awareness Connecting

SupplyElementsare

depictedatthetopofthe

systemdiagram.

Attractionsarehighlighted

(ingreen)astheyrepresent

thereasonspeoplevisit.

Demandelementsare

depictedatthebaseofthesystemdiagraminterms

ofregional,

provincial/nationaland

internationalmarketsas

wellassegmentswithin

thosemarkets.Segments

andmarketsthatfitthe

supplysideofferingarehighlightedinorange.

Thelinkingpinbetween

thesupplyofferingandthe

variousdemandsegments

istheDMOandfour

criticaloverarching

functions:

Strategy

Formation,Development,

Awarenessand

Connecting.

Source:SupplySideMapAdaptedfromGetz(1991)


37/71



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35

Exhibit:OutliningtheFourOverarchingFunctionsofDMOsFocus Overarching

FunctionDescription SomeRelated

Functions

1.Strategy

Formation

Strategyformationtakesthestrengthsandweaknessesofthesupplysideofthetourism

economicequationandmatchesthemupwiththeopportunitiespresentedbyvarious

segmentsofthemarket.Inshort,matchingwhatwehavetosellwiththosewhoare

buying.

Akeypartofthisoverarchingfunctionisdefiningthedestinationimageandtheme.Part

ofthisisdonebythemarket(howthedestinationisalreadyperceived)andpartisdoneby

theDMO(brandingandthematicrepresentations).

Assessing

Attraction/Assets

andAssetMix

TourismResearch

Internal

/Supply

Side

2.Product

andSystem

Development

Developmentconcernsallthoseactivitiesdesignedtoimproveorenhancesupplyside

componentsespeciallyattractions.Developmentactivitiesincludeeverythingfrom

buildingattractionstoadvocatingforimprovementstotransportationnetworks.Anything

thatisintendedtochange,insomeway,thephysicalcharacteristicsofthesupplyside

equationisclassifiedasadevelopmentactivity.

EventBidding

EventPromotion

Advocacy

External

/

Demand

Side

3.Awareness

/Marketing

AwarenessistheoverarchingfunctionmostpeopleassociatewithDMOs.

Awareness/marketingactivitiesarethoseconcernedwithprovidinginformationonthe

supplysidetopeopleonthedemandsideconsistentwiththestrategy(overarching

function#1).Awarenessisaboutbuildinginterestinthedestinationintargetedmarket

segmentsusingthemostappropriatecommunicationtoolsandchannels.

Destination

Marketing

EventMarketing

andPromotion

Brochures&

Guides

WebSites



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36

Focus Overarching

Function

Description SomeRelated

Functions

4.

Connecting/

Sales

Theconnectingfunctionconcernstheflowofinformation/actionfromthemarkettothe

supplysideofthetourismeconomicequation.Anythingthathelpsorfacilitatesthe

connectionbetweenbuyerandsellerispartofthisconnectionfunction.Fieldingcallsand

enquires,managingavisitorcentre,sellingticketsandpackages(orputtingbuyersin

touchwiththosewhoaresellingitems)areallabouthelpingbuyersconnectwithsellers.

VisitorCentre

TourTradeSales

Convention&

EventSales

Referrals



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37

Exhibit:FunctionalActivitiesofDMOsFunctionalAreas Functions/

ActivitiesDescriptionTypicalElements

1.1Strategy

Development

Strategydevelopmentisconcernedwithdetermininghowthemarketplacedefinesthe

destinationimageandtheme,translatingthisintoabrandanduniquevaluepropositionand

thenlinkingthiswithspecificmarkettargetsegments.Takentogether,theseactivitiescomprise

thetourismstrategy,however,theyarealso,typically,themostdifficulttoachieveasthey

requirestakeholderconsensus.

1.2Researchand

Information

Management

ResearchandInformationManagementsupportsvirtuallyallactivitiesoftheDMOand

specificallyfulfilsanintelligencefunctionthatallowstheDMOtounderstandmarketdemands,

industrysupply,andthelinkagesthatneedtobemadetomaximizetourismimpact.

Partofthisincludesdatabasemanagementthatcanbeusedtosupportresearch(above)aswell

asdirectmail/emaildevelopment.awarenessandsales

1.Strategy

Formulation

1.3Advocacy Advocacyconcernsactingasacommunityspokespersonforthetourismindustryandtourism

stakeholders.Theseactivitiesinvolvelobbyingandmakingrepresentationstohighlevelof

government,makingthecasefortourisminthelocalmediaandotheractivitiestoensurethe

interestsofthelocaltourismindustryarewellrepresentedtostakeholdersandthepublic.



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38

FunctionalAreas Functions/

Activities

DescriptionTypicalElements

2.1Human

Resource

Development

Specificallyhavingwelltrainedemployeesinvisitorfacilitiesisimportanttoahighqualityand

consistentvisitorexperience.ItisrareforDMOstohaveanydirectcontrolovertheprovision

ofeducationandtrainingservices,itmayactthroughitsstakeholdernetworktoensurethe

provisionofsuchservices.Inthisregard,theDMOmayplayaroleindefiningahuman

resourcedevelopmentstrategyforthedestinationaswellasadvocatingforsupporting

programs..

2.2Product/Asset

Development

Productandassetdevelopmentconcernsthoseactivitiesthatentailmakingphysicalchangesto

theattractionsthecommunityhastooffer.Rarelydoesthisinvolvethedirectexpenditureof

dollarsbytheDMOasthetourismproductstypicallybelongorareownedbyother

organizations(althoughinsomecasesmunicipaldollarshavebeenfunneledthroughtheDMO

forspecificcapitalimprovements).MoretypicalistheDMOprovidingadviceandfeedbackto

suppliersoftourismproducts,usuallybasedonresearch.Thismaytaketheformasproviding

advisoryservicesduringnewproductdesignordevelopmentaswellasproviding

improvementrelatedadvice.

2.3Tourism

Infrastructure

Reviewingandrenewingtheinfrastructureinplacedesignedtosupportandpromotetourism.

Thisincludestheorganization,activitiesandgovernanceoftheDMOitself.

2.4Member

Services

MostDMOsareorganizationsthatarefundedthrough,inpart,membershipfees.Thebasic

serviceprovidedtothesemembersisthemarketingofthedestination.However,therearea

numberofsupportandrelatedservicesthatcanbeprovidedtomembers.Theseinclude

opportunitiesforthemembershiptopromotetheirorganizationsthroughbrochuresandother

informationchannels.

2.Productand

System

Development

2.5Crisis

Management

Reactingeffectivelyintimesofcrisisrequiresstrongstakeholdercoordinationabilitiesanda

basiccrisisresponseplan.Crisesmayrangefromlocalissuesrelatedtoviolentcriminalactsor

marketing/imageproblemsinthedestination,tobroaderissuessuchasterrorismornatural

disasters.Thiswillincludesupporttovictimsorthoseaffectedbythecrisistopublicrelations



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39


Activities


andmediamanagement.

2.6Stakeholder

Coordination

DMOshaveadiversityofstakeholderswithacommoninterestbutalsowiththepotentialto

threatentheabilityoftheDMOtoachieveitsobjectives.DMOsareconvenersthatunitea

diversesetofinterestsincludinghotels,government,attractions,conventioncentre,DMO

members,residents,restaurants,universitiesandcolleges,localchamberofcommerce,and

sponsors.

CoordinatingtourismstakeholdersisconsideredtobeacorecompetencyofaDMO.Itisonly

throughsecuringthecooperationofvariousstakeholdersthattheDMOcanmobilizethe

resourcesnecessarytobeeffective.Inthissense,itissuggestedthatultimately,theabilityto

performthedestinationmanagementrolewillbedeterminedbytheDMOsabilityto

coordinatethesestakeholders.

2.7Finance/

VentureCapital

Development

Financeandventurecapitalareimportanttothedevelopmentofdestinationsuperstructure.

SomeDMOsplayaroleinassistingdestinationstakeholderswithfinancialassistanceand

accesstoventurecapital.Effortsinthisregardmayincludeincreasingawarenessinthe

financialcommunity,providingtourismresearchandmarketpotentialinformationtosuppliers

aswellasassistingongrantapplications.



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40


Activities


3.1Advertising Advertising,oneoftheimportanttoolsofpromotion,employsvariousmedia.Consumer

advertisingutilizesprint,television,radio,outdoorandInternetmedia,whiletradeadvertising

occursinspecifictraveltrademagazinesandnewspapers.Alsoimportant,buthardtoinfluence

asaDMO,iswordofmouthadvertisingthatisgeneratedbypreviousvisitorstothe

destination.

3.2DirectMail Theuseofdirectmarketingmethodshasincreasedasdestinationshaveturnedtothedirect

mailofdestinationbrochuresorvisitorguides/magazines,aswellastheuseofglobal

distributionsystemsanddestinationwebpagestofacilitatedirectcommunicationand

bookings.

3.3Publications

andBrochures

Inbuildingawarenessandcommunicatinginformation,destinationorientedbrochuresand

informationpamphletsareakeyDMOfunction.Distributionofthesehasnowexpanded

beyondprinttodownloadableformatsconnectedtowebsite(s).

3.4Eventand

FestivalMarketing

Eventandfestivalmarketingisfocusednotonthemarketingofthegeneraldestinationbut

ratheronaspecificattractionorevent.Festivalsandeventsareemergingasaprimarytourism

developmentstrategy.Somedestinationshavebecomeknownfortheirfestivalsandspecial

eventsorbyaparticularfestival/event.

3.5Media/Public

Relations

Themainmediapublicitytechniquesarespecialevents,speeches,news,andwrittenmaterials.

Theyinvolveinformationfromanoutsidesourceusedbythenewsmediabasedonitsnews

value.

Incontrast,publicrelationsisabroaderconceptasitencompassesagreaterrangeofactivities

forbuildingrelationshipswiththeorganizationsvariousstakeholdersbyobtainingfavorable

publicity,buildingupagoodcorporateimage,andhandlingorheadingoffunfavorable

rumors,storiesandevents.

3.Awareness/

Marketing

3.6WebSite3.7 Webmarketingisrapidlybecomingoneofthemostimportantdestinationmarketingtools



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41


Activities


Development becauseitisaneffectiveandefficientwayofcommunicatingmarketingandothermessagesto

thevisitorsmarketandotherstakeholders.Thedevelopmentofecommercehasledtosome

significantchangesinthewaytouristsrelatetothetourismindustryespeciallythroughthe

creationofnew,virtualmarketplacethatisredefiningelementsofthesupplysideofthe

tourismeconomicequation. Aspecialsectioninthisreportdetailsamodelof website

functionsforDMOs.

4.1DirectSales Directsalestobusinessandotherorganizationalevents.Corporateconventions,annualmeetingsetc.usuallyrequireadirectsalesapproachwhererepresentativesoftheDMOinitiate

contactandsellthedestination.

AnelementofDirectSalesisbidcoordination.Thisinvolvesthepreparationandproposalsfor

specificspecialevents.

4.Connecting/

Sales4.2TradeShow

Representation

Directsalesattravelindustrytradeshowscanbeveryeffectiveinbuildingrelationships

betweentheDMOandthedifferentsuppliersoftourismproductsandservicesinthe

destination.Theseeffortsmayengenderprideinthedestinationamongtheparticipantsand

alsoallowforthemutualsharingofsalesexpertise.

CooperativeprogramsgoalongwayinblendingtheDMOandthehospitalitycommunityinto

aunifiedmarketingpresence.Theydevelopmutualrespectandappreciationregardingthe

needsofeach,maximizingmembershipparticipationanddestinationexposure.

4.3Visitor

Management/Services

Traditionally,thishastranslatedintorespondingtoremotevisitorinformationinquiriesby

telephone(by

offering

toll

free

call

centres)

and

to

the

development

and

staffing

of

visitor

informationcentrestoassisttouristsinthedestination.



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WebSiteFunctionality

Increasingly, tourism organizations are providing products and services

online, resulting in more customers getting destination information and

booking accommodation via the Internet. Web Sites are also a cross over

product. They support awareness/marketing objectives, as well as

connecting/sales objectives. In addition, websites, when they evolve more

into a fullfledged ecommerce application,become part and enhance the

supplyside of the tourism economic equation. Website functionality

typicallymovesthroughthreestagesofincreasedfunctionality.Theseare:

Promotion, providing general awareness and tourism and presence on

theinternet.Contentisfocusedonthesupplyside.

Provision and processing, in addition to the promotion function,

providing an ability to respond to sales enquiries, usually through e

mails.

Full

fledged

ecommerce

applications.

The

web

site

becomes

part

of

the

supplysideoftourismallowingvisitorstobooktours,trips,lodgingand

related services online with integrated payment and confirmation

mechanisms.

Table1.WebSiteFunctionsLevelof

Functionality

WebSiteFunction

GeneralPublicity:ProvideabasicWebpresence,interaction

andsupportinginformation.

Promotion

Advertising Product/Services: Publish the local tourism

productsorserviceswithoutprices.

Advertising Product/Service with Price Information:

Provide up to date price information for the local tourism

productsandservices.

Email Enquiry and Booking. Provide email addresses to

allow customers to make enquiries about the webpage,

products,services,andsoon.

Provision

and

Processing



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Levelof

Functionality

WebSiteFunction

Paymentusuallycarriedoutusingconventionalmethod.ecommerce

Online Payment: Provide online shopping (selling) with

creditcardpaymentbuiltintothesite.

Some Marketing Strategy Best PracticesIsitnecessaryforacitytohaveamarketingstrategyforattractingtourism?

ThebestpracticeresearchoutoftheUnitedStatessupportstheideathatifa

cityaimstohosttouristsinawaythatleadstoeconomicgrowthandbalance

theneedsofthecitizensofthecity,thenaamarketingstrategy isthebest

way

of

doing

so.

Defining a vision, specifically defining a unique value proposition and

brandingthisvaluepropositionarefundamentalcomponentsofamarketing

strategy. Does this mean a city needs a vision and a brand for tourism

development? Arent cities different somehow? Again, the best practice

research indicatesdefining thevaluepropositionandcreating thebrandare

both essential indeed, essential first steps to successful destination

marketing. The reason is that destinations, like companies, must

communicatetoabroadmarketofconsumerswhattheyare,whytheyofferwhattheydo,andtheconsistencyandqualityoftheirofferings.

TheList

A listing of some recognized best practices of DMOs reported from the

UnitedStatesareprovidedbelow2.

Definingapowerfulanduniquevalueproposition, tourge tourists to

select thedestinationovernumerousalternatives.Whatiscriticalis that

thisvaluepropositionbegrounded in therealityof thecommunityand

consistentwithhowthemarketalreadyperceivesthecommunity.

Branding the value proposition, in a communications program that is

substantial and consistent This means deciding upon a brand and an



47/71

easytounderstandandrememberstatementthatcommunicatesthevalue

propositiontovisitors.

Visitor profiling to understand the tourist segments, their consumers

preferences, and purchasingbehavior. This requires DMOs to capture

data, usually at grass roots levels in an effort tobetter understand the

visitor.

Designingvisitoractivitypackages,thatgeneratecostandtimesavings

forthevisitor.Thisrequiresacommitmenttovisitorprofiling(above)as

wellaspackagesthatgeneraterealbenefitsforthevisitor.

Providing for the education of tourismpartners (citizens, institutions,

airlines, hotels, etc.) and the facilitation of coordination. At its most

simple, bringing partners together to talk about and share some

understandingoftheoftencompetingobjectivesatworkanddeveloping

solutionstoprovidewinwinsituationsforallconcerned.

Perennially laboring to improve the diversity of the destinations

offerings.Constantlyworkingtoexpandonthenumberanddiversityofthe offerings,but only after the value proposition and relatedbranding

andthemeshavebeenconstructed.Diversityinmarketingoptionswork

best when derived from a common thematic thread or core. Pursuing

diversity independent of the core value proposition is an example of

worstpractice.

Creatingcompellingreasons tovisit in theoffseason. Once thebasic

value proposition is defined and the destination is on a sound footing,

best practice pursues development of the off season. Pursuing the off

season,independentofthevaluepropositionandbrandingstatementsis

anotherexampleofworstpractice.

Ensuringconsistency,between theactual touristdemographicsand the

needs and wants that the destination serves. This means conducting

researchtoensurethedestinationdoesnotfoolitselfintothinkingithas

moreorsomethingdifferenttoofferthanthevisitorperceives.Thiscomes

downtoconstantlyrealitytestingthevaluepropositionandthestrategytoensure there isalignmentbetween the mix ofattractionsandwhat is

beingsoldandthedesiresanddemandsofthesegmentswearetargeting.

Finding and developing undiscovered value inherent in the

destination. Again, only valuable once the value proposition and



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This list is essentially sequential,by which we mean it presents a logical

progressionofbestpractices.SuccessfulDMOshave traditionallystartedatthetopofthelist,definingapowerfulanduniquevaluepropositionandhave

workedtheirwaythroughtothelastofthebestpractices,suchasfindingand

developingundiscoveredvalueinherentinthedestination.

Thetotaltimeittakestomakethisprogressionisinorderofyears.

BestPracticePerspectiveConclusionsforRedDeer

Insomeways,RedDeerhasgone through thiscycle. Ithasmadeefforts to

brand a unique value proposition for example and has done some work at

designingvisitoractivitypackages.

However,webelieveitis timetostart thiscycleagaingoingbacktosquare

one. Specifically, the first three points serve as an adequate agenda for the

upcomingyear(2007).

AStrategyAgendafor2007

1.Defining apowerful andunique valueproposition, to urge tourists to

selectthedestinationovernumerousalternatives.Whatiscriticalisthatthis

valuepropositionbegroundedintherealityofthecommunityandconsistent

withhowthemarketalreadyperceivesthecommunity.

For Tourism Red Deer this mean conducting public consultation

events/workshops/focus groups to gather opinions, attitudes and insights

from the Tourism community and the community generally, about whatmakesRedDeerspecialandequallyimportant,howothersalreadyperceive

thecommunity.

2. Branding the value proposition, in a communications program that is

substantialandconsistent.Thismeansdecidinguponabrandandaneasyto

understand and remember statement that communicates the value

propositiontovisitors.

ForTourism

Red

Deer,

this

means

taking

the

data

generated,

in

step

1above,

anddevelopingauniquephrase/brandthatcommunicatestheessenceofthe

valuepropositioninawaythatwillstickwithconsumers.

Webelievethisisworkthatshouldnotbedoneinternally.Itrequirestheuse

ofaprofessionalmarketing/advertising firmwithexperience in this formof



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ForTourismRedDeer,suchagrassrootslevelprogramshouldbeinitiatedfor

implementation in the latespringof2007.Specificdatagatheringshouldbeinitiatedat:

HotelsandmotelsinRedDeer

Conventionandmeetingfacilities

Publicattractions/facilities(museum,parks/recreationfacilities,etc.)

Whereverpossible,datafromexistingsystemsshouldbegathered.However,

small and simple informal data gathering methods can be used atsites/facilities where no data gathering currently exists. It is expected that

some of the work associated with this initiative, such a data entry and

preliminaryanalysis,couldbedonebysummerstudent(s).

The Stakeholder Perspective: What Should TourismRed Deer Be Doing?The list of functions described in the previous section represent a listing of

functions and related activities in which DMOs typicallybecome engaged.

Withrareexceptions,DMOsdonotengage in thecompletesetofactivities

listed.

In what activities the DMO chooses tobecome engaged is dependent on a

number of factors usually related to the needs and requirements of the

communityandthecontextinwhichtheDMOoperates.Theprioritiesoftheorganization will change as circumstances and community needs change.

Indeed, this review was a result of the recognition that circumstances and

requirementshavechangedandthatasaresult,theprioritiesofTourismRed

Deerhavesimilarlychanged.

ToaddressthequestionofwhatTourismRedDeershouldbedoingnow,we

interviewed stakeholders and members of the organization and asked to

where the organization needs to move. Specifically, what functions or

activities Tourism Red Deer needs to focus on, and what activities or

functionsarenolongerpriorities.

Responses of stakeholders were analyzed and grouped into the functional

areas defined. Summaries of these are provided in the Exhibit:Go Forward

Priorities Voice of the Custo er F o thi a aly i a et of o a



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47

Exhibit:GoForwardPriorities,VoiceoftheCustomerFunctionalAreas

Functions/Activities

Products/Programs/Project

sCurrentlyUnderwayor

Completed

CurrentImportanceto

Customers

G

oForward

Priorities

Comments

Strategy

Formulation

Strategy

Development

Strategydevelopmentisahighpriorityforcustomers.Theywant

toseeaclearbrandingstatementandvaluepropositionthat

stakeholders(andmembers)canbuyintoasameansofproviding

somestrongfocustoRedDeerandareamarketingprograms.

Pursuingthisisalsoseenasamechanismforbuildingimproved

member/stakeholderrelationshipswithinthetourismindustryin

RedDeer.

Challenge,Itisdoubtfulthatcustomersareawareathowdivisive

strategydevelopmentcanbedespitebeingawarethataclear

strategyisrequired.Also,somecustomersexpressedtheconcern

aboutbeingstrategizedoutwherestrategyisequatedwith

meaninglesstalkandtheproductionofmotherhoodstatements.

Researchand

Information

Management

Prioritiesfor

DMO

include

conducting

research

on

how

Red

Deer

is

perceivedrightnow,reasonsvisitorscomehere(andwherethey

comefrom)asabasetobuildthestrategylistedabove.

Thisisnotlistedasahighpriority,however,becausemost

customersbelievetheyhaveaprettygoodassessmentofthe

currentrealityofthetourismmarketinRedDeer.Research,



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Functional

Areas

Functions/

Activities

Products/Programs/Project

sCurrentlyUnderwa

yor

Completed

CurrentImportancet

o

Customers

GoForward

Prioritie

s

Comments

therefore,moretaketheformofcustomerconsultationandaclearenunciationorsummarizationoftheseforplanningpurposes.

Advocacy Whilemoderatelyimportanttostakeholders,thisisgenerallygiven

alowerpriorityfortheDMO.ItisstillseenaspartoftheDMOs

job,justnotacurrentlyahighpriorityitem.

Human

ResourceDevelopment

Humanresourceissuesarebeginningtomakethemselvesapparent

intheindustryasshortagesinthelaborpoolbegintohaveanimpactonrestaurants,hotelsandthelike.Hereagain,however,

customersseethisasanareawheretheDMOcanofferlimited

assistanceandtherefore, considerthistobealowpriorityitemfor

DMOattention.Productand

System

Developmen

t

Product/Asset

Development

Thequalityofthetourismproductisnaturally,ahighpriorityitem

forstakeholdersinthetourismbusiness.However,theabilityofthe

DMOto

contribute

to

the

development

or

improvement

of

the

productisperceivedaslimitedtoprovidingadviceand

consultation.Moreover,developingtourismproduct/assetshasnot

traditionallybeenseenaspartofthemandateofTourismRedDeer

Assuch,customersseethisasalowtomoderatepriorityitemfor



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Functional

Areas

Functions/

Activities

Products/Programs/P

roject

sCurrentlyUnderwa

yor

Completed

CurrentImportancet

o

Customers

GoForward

Prioritie

s

Comments

theDMO.

Thereisanexceptionhere.Increasingnumbersofstakeholdersare

lookingforsometourismexpertisebywhichtojudgethetourism

appeal/impactoftourismrelatedprojects.TheDMOisseenasa

logicalplacetoobtainthisexpertise.

TheoverallpriorityforTourismRedDeeristhereforeamoderate

oneandwilllikelygrowovertime.Stakeholdersdonotwant

TourismRedDeertobedevelopingtouristattractions,buttheydoexpectittoprovideadvice,consultationtosuchprojectsaswellas

provideaforumormechanismbywhichstakeholderstosuch

projectscanbebroughttogether.

Tourism

Infrastructure

Improvingelementsofthetourisminfrastructureisseenas

somethingTourismRedDeermustdo.Peopleseeaneedfor

TourismRedDeertoexamineitsstructure,roleandmandate.

However,this

is

not

seen

as

an

immediate

priority

especially

comparedwiththeneedtogetoutanddothemarketing.

Someactivitiesarerequired,butagoslowapproachtointernal

organizationalrenewalispreferredwithasuggestedtimelineof

twoyears.Thiswouldfocusonthepreciseareacoveredby

TourismRedDeer,stakeholderidentification,appropriate



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50

Functional

Areas

Functions/

Activities

Products/Programs/P

roject

sCurrentlyUnderwa

yor

Completed

CurrentImportanceto

Customers

GoForward

Prioritie

s

Comments

organizationalgovernance,establishmentofpropersubcommitteestodospecializedworkandalternativefundingmodels

includingdecisionsconcerninghotelandrelatedsurcharge.

Member

Services

Memberservices(asdefined)here,areseenasalowpriority.The

mostimportantoftheseservicesisseenasthemarketingand

promotionofRedDeerandarea.Anythingelserightnow,isseen

asadistantthirdlevelpriority.Overall,thepriorityhereratedlow,

notbecauseitisunimportant,butbecauseTourismRedDeerisseentohavedoneagoodjobinthisarea,especiallyrelatedtothe

brochure.

Crisis

Management

Fewstakeholdershadeventhoughtofthisfunctionuntilwestarted

askingthemaboutit(laterintheinterviewprocess).Those

respondingreferredtothetornadoatPineLakeandwhatpositive

things/messagescouldhavecomeoutofthatexperiencehadwe

beenbetter

prepared

to

deal

with

such

an

event.

Nevertheless,

the

perceivedlowprobabilityofanothercrisisoccurringdrovealow

priorityconsensusonthisitem.

Stakeholder

Coordination

Thoseinterviewedexpressedtheconcernthatthetourismsupply

system(meaningthepublicandprivatesectorinterestsandallthe



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Functional

Areas

Functions/

Activities

Products/Programs/P

roject

sCurrentlyUnderwa

yor

Completed

CurrentImportanceto

Customers

GoForward

Priorities

Comments

diversitywithineach)havecontributedtoasituationwherewereallydonthaveouracttogether. Whilethosewetalkedtowere

shortonspecifics,therewasstillastrongexpressedneedfor

stakeholderstogettogethertodiscussissuesofcommonconcern

andidentifyopportunitiesforimprovement.

Amongthese,however,istheissueofstrategy. Thoseinterviewed

expressedtheideathatawellconceivedbrandingstatement,a

clearvaluepropositionandsoundpositioningworkwouldallgo

alongwaytoprovidingsomeofthecoordinationneeded.

Finance/

VentureCapital

Development

Generally,thisisnotseenasimportanttostakeholders(orrather,it

isseenasafunctionforthestakeholdersthemselves).Assuch,this

receivedlowpriority.

Awareness/

Marketing

Advertising Ingeneral,stakeholdersallmentionedtheincreasedneedtoget

outthere,meaninganeedtobroadcasttheRedDeertourism

messageanddrivetourismbusinessintothecommunity.

Advertisingwasgenerallyseenasakeywayinwhichtodothis.

Virtuallyallexpressedcautionconcerningtheadvertisingstrategy,

however,especiallywithregardtothecostsinvolvedandtheneed

tobewelltargeted.



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52

Functional

Areas

Functions/

Activities

Products/Programs/P

roject

sCurrentlyUnderwa

yor

Completed

CurrentImportanceto

Customers

GoForward

Priorities

Comments

DirectMail Aswithadvertising,directmailcampaignswereseenasawayof

gettingthemessageout,withlesscostandpotentiallyimproved

targetingofrecipients.However,thiswascombinedwiththe

recognition

Familiarization

Tours

Toursandexternaltourpromoterswereseenasarelativelysmall

partoftheRedDeertourismmarket.Assuch,DMOactivitiesthat

seektousetourresellersorpromoterstendedtoreceivealow

priorityfromthoseinterviewed.

Publicationsand

Brochures

Stakeholdersrecognizethatthisisanareawheretheorganization

hasplacedsomesignificanteffortandmostbelieveithaspaidoff.

Itisplacedonalowprioritygoingforwardonlybecause

stakeholdersindicatedthatnoimprovementstothebrochureare

requiredthatwiththisaccomplished,otherprioritiesrequire

attention.

TradeShow

Representation

Toursandexternaltourpromoterswereseenasarelativelysmall

partoftheRedDeertourismmarket.Assuch,DMOactivitiesthat

seektousetourresellersorpromoterstendedtoreceivealow

priorityfromthoseinterviewed.



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Functional

Areas

Functions/

Activities

Products/Programs/P

roject

sCurrentlyUnderwa

yor

Completed

CurrentImportanceto

Customers

GoForward

Priorities

Comments

Eventand

Festival

Marketing

Eventsandfestivalsarebecomingincreasinglyimportantinthe

mixofattractionscommunitiesareabletoofferthetouristmarket.

Thistrendinthetourismindustrygenerallyiswellrecognizedby

tourismstakeholdersinRedDeer.Thisisespeciallytrueasmost

stakeholdershavenoticedthatRedDeerhasaparticularlygood

trackrecordathostingevents(lesspositiveaboutfestivals)tothe

pointofthisalmostbecomingacompetenceofthearea(especially

forthemidsizemarketevents).

Media/Public

Relations

Hereagain,media/publicrelationsmanagementwereseenas

essentialmeansofgettingthemessageout.Therewasaclear

indicationthattheDMOhadtodomoreofthisasameansof

generatingfreeadvertising.Theitemislistedasamoderate

prioritygoingforwardonlybecauseofuncertaintyastothe

capacityoftheDMOtoaccomplishthistask.

Becauseof

the

capacity

issue,

some

noted

the

advantages

of

ago

slowlyandgetourfeetwetapproachtargetingregionalmedia

andtyingbroaderpublicrelationseffortstospecificevents(above).

WebSite

Development

/ Thesituationwiththewebsiteislargelythesameasforthe

brochure.Thoseinterviewedobservedthatobjectivesatimproving



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Functional

Areas

Functions/

Activities

Products/Programs/P

roject

sCurrentlyUnderwa

yor

Completed

CurrentImportanceto

Customers

GoForward

Priorities

Comments

thewebsitehadlargelybeenmet(promotionalobjectives).WhilethewebsiteisseenascriticallyimportanttomarketingRedDeer

andarea,prioritiescanshifttootherareas.

Thereareconcerns,however,thatwhilethewebsitenowlooksas

goodasitdoes,thatitisstillnotouttheremeaningnotgettingthe

hits.Withthisinmindcomesissuesofhavingtomarkettheweb

siteandusingitmoreeffectively.

Direct

Sales/Travel

Trade

Toursandexternaltourpromoterswereseenasahistoricallysmall

partoftheRedDeertourismmarketbutonewherethereisgrowth

potential.Assuch,DMOactivitiesthatseektousetourresellersor

promoterstendedtoreceiveamoderatepriorityfromthose

interviewedindicatingtherelativeuncertaintyvarious

intervieweeshadconcerningthismarket.Connecting/

SalesDirectSales/

BusinessandConventions

Directlygoingafterthebusiness/conventionmarkethas,likethe

traveltrademarketabove,notbeenseenaspartofTourismRedDeerspriorityareas.Yetitappearstobeanareaofincreasing

importance,especiallytoprivatesectoroperatorsinRedDeerand

anareawhereTourismRedDeershouldbeplacinggreater

emphasisinthefuture.


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IV.Implications: Drafting a BusinessPlan for Tourism Red DeerCHARTINGTHECOURSEFOR2007TO2010

The priorities identified in the previous two sections of this report lead

directlytoestablishingabasicbusinessplanfortheperiod2007through2010.

The Business Plan presented here is a draft plan. It has notbeen vetted

throughtheSteeringCommitteeforthisproject,norhasitbeenreviewedor

discussedwithstakeholders.Itissimplytheresultofourconversationswith

stakeholders combined with a review ofbest practices, and examining the

implicationsforTourismRedDeeractivities.

Business Plan StructureThebusiness plan that follows is presented in abasic hierarchical structure

following the general pattern of DMOKey ResultAreas (KRAS) andbasic

functions.

Abasicsymbolsetisusedintheplanningtablestoindicateiftheactivityof

objectiveis:

Anewinitiativeoraction

Aongoingbusinessactivity



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BusinessPlanningTableTourismRedDeerBusinessPlan

Component

Description Description/Implications Goals

Mission: Tomarketand

promoteRedDeer

andAreaasa

touristdestination.

AllfourKeyResultAreasmustbeaddressed:

StrategyFormation

ProductandSystemDevelopment

Awareness/Marketing

Connecting/Sales

RedDeerandAreaencompassesRedDeer,Lacombe,Ponoka

andClearwaterCounties.

Significantlyincreasetouristvisits

toRedDeerandAreaasmeasured

eitherbythenumberofvisitsand

thelengthofstay.

Improvecitizensperceptionof

theircommunity.

Mandate: Tofosterandbuild

connections

betweenRedDeer

andAreaand

potentialvisitors.

CommunityStakeholders:

Citizens

Municipalities

CommunityBasedAssets/Organizations

BusinessCommunity

Actasalinkingpinbetween

communitystakeholdersandthe

tourismmarketincluding

improvingcoordinationamong

existingstakeholders.

1.Strategy

Formation

Developingthevalueproposition,brandandpositioningto

effectivelycommunicateRedDeerandareasuniquetourist

offering

Aclear,easytocommunicate

messagewithahighdegreeof

community/stakeholder

agreement

KeyResult

Areas

2.Productand

System

Development

Developingthesupplysystemoftourismresourcesincluding

thecoordinationamongtouristsuppliersandthecommunity

atlarge.

Ahighlevelofcoordinationand

communicationamongtourism

stakeholders.



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BusinessPlan

Component

Description Description/Implications Goals

3.Awareness/

Marketing

DevelopingawarenessofRedDeerandareauniquevalue

propositionandbrandinidentifiedtourismtargetmarkets.

TopofmindawarenessofRed

Deerandareasvalueproposition

andbrandinidentifiedtarget

marketsaswellasincreased

visitations.

4.Connecting/

Sales

Makingdirectcontactwithvisitorsandpotentialvisitorsto

providessales

and

after

sales

service.

Increasevisitsattributableto

tours,trade

shows,

business/conventionsandspecial

events.



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Exhibit:BusinessPlanDetailsforStrategyFormulationKRA1.

Strategy

Formation Initiative/Actions

2007

2008

2009

2010

Comments

/

Implications

Strategy

Development

DevelopatourismmarketingstrategyforRedDeer

andarea.

DefinebasicthematicpositioningofRedDeerand

Areaanddefineuniquevalueproposition.

Developauniquebrandingstatementandimage

In2007itissuggested

thatconductingthe

tourismstrategycould

rangeconsiderably

dependingontheextent

to

which

internal

versus

externalresourcesare

used.

Ablendedstrategyhere

couldcostabout$30,000

forprofessionalsupport

increatingbrand.

Deploystrategyacrossallmarketingmaterialsandefforts

Deploystrategyacrossinternalpublicandcitizens

Researchand

Information

Management

Facilitates

TRD Final Report

Documents

Transcript of TRD Final Report