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Tourism Congress 2015 Recap
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"The best yet!" Tourism Congress 2015 breaks records
Congress 2015 is being called our "best yet", with record numbers of delegates coming together to learn and discuss the issues and strengths of the tourism industry in Canada. This TIAC Talk will include some highlights from the congress sessions, and the Canadian Tourism Awards!
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Hon. Bardish Chagger, Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Addresses the Industry
In her first public speaking engagement, the new Minister for Small Business and Tourism - The Honorable Bardish Chagger - was a keynote speaker at Congress, and recognized tourism as an important sector that creates thousands of jobs, and generates important economic activity. She also talked about the future of the industry, and how she looks forward to helping tourism in Canada grow. We look forward to continuing to work with Minister Chagger.
Exciting announcements made!
Congress was a platform for many exciting announcements from industry leaders. Highlights include:
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- The launch of one of our sponsor businesses - Floor13
- A new partnership agreement between Destination Canada and the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada
- The launch of the Banff & Lake Louise Labour shortage study
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Congress Presentation Highlights
This year's three keynotes and seven themed sessions have been some of our most well received to date. Here are some of the highlights:
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Keynote speakers highlight the importance of destination building
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On Congress day 1, delegates were delighted to hear from renowned scholar, author and urban planner, Richard Florida. His keynote presentation, sponsored by Air Canada, discussed how the rise of the new "creative class" is changing how and why people travel - and how destinations can keep up.
In the Industry Wake-up call breakfast, sponsored by Destination Canada, Overbooked author Elizabeth Becker talked about how our biggest assets include our wilderness, and the opportunity for community development and tourism. She also reminded us that we cannot underestimate the role of politics to the tourism industry.
Labour Panel launches discussions and new research
In addition to the exciting announcement of the publication of our Labour Study in cooperation with Banff Lake Louise Hospitality Association, Banff Lake Louise Tourism, Tourism HR Canada and the Hotel Association of Canada, the labour panel provided thought provoking discussion into one of the hottest issues in our industry. Panelists from different sectors of our industry came together and discussed the impact of tourism on jobs and the economy, and the true cost of labour shortages in our industry.Thanks to sponsor Tourism HR for this panel.
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End-to-end customer experience panel encourages engagement
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People are changing the way they make decisions about where to travel, and our end-to-end customer experience panel, presented by InterVISTAS Consulting Inc. Focusing on engagement with customers - especially through social media - as well as product development were key takeaways from this exciting panel.
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Celebrity chefs talk tourism
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Many congress delegates enjoyed our discussion on the rise of food tourism, sponsored by the OCTA. Panelist included Chef's Michael Smith, John Jackson, Connie Desousa, and Paul Harber, talked about Re-discovering, respecting & re-imagining food of the past, attracting millennial travellers through food, and the importance of the farm-to-table movement in food-tourism.
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Canadian Tourism Awards recognize tourism's best
We would like to once again congratulate all winners and finalists at our annual Canadian Tourism Awards. This year's CTAs set a record for overall attendance with over 360 in attendees including 36 parliamentarians and 3 cabinet ministers who came to celebrate the best of Canadian tourism. A special congratulations also goes out to Blake Richards (M.P. for Banff--Airdrie), who was presented with an award in recognition of being a longstanding Tourism Champion. Congratulations Mr. Richards! Here are some pictures from the evening: More pictures can be found on the TIAC website and Facebook page.
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| Team Canada Heading to U.S. Consumer Travel Shows |
With the aim of showcasing Canada's unique range of travel products and experiences, TIAC plans to create buzz and floor traffic using dynamic activations and exciting promotions. Canada's participation in these trade shows is supported by Destination Canada and federal trade promotion programming.
Connecting America is a 3 year targeted marketing initiative aimed at increasing the yield of visitors to Canada from key American regions. This industry-driven program is supported by TIAC, Destination Canada and other industry partners. For more information on Connecting America click here.
If you are interested in participating or looking for more information on the upcoming U.S. consumer trade shows, please contact Rob Taylor rtaylor@tiac.travel or 613 716 5442.
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A New Way to Pay! - We support the launch of
Apple PayTM in Canada
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Apple® has introduced Apple Pay™, a whole new way for consumers to pay using the new iPhone®6, iPhone® 6 Plus, and Apple Watch®, in Canada. Your customers will be able to make payments with the tap of their mobile device rather than using a plastic credit card. Apple Pay will help move more consumers to mobile payments, which means increased consumer spend for your business. This is an exciting time, so get ready!
Please contact Elavon at 1-844-352-8661 to learn more about your options for accepting Apple Pay.
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