CITAP Newsletter

November 2015

Please note this is a re-send of the November 2015 Newsletter with a correction made to one of our articles: in "The CITAP family shares their memories of NIshi-san..." Mr. Bill Bessho's name was incorrectly used while it should have read Ms. Nancy Stibbard, President and CEO of the Capilano Group of Companies.

Please accept our sincere apologies. CITAP Newsletter Team

November 2015 Issue

President's Message

2015 CITAP Winter Function

Remembering our Founder, Mr. Hidi NIshi

RTO Report

Click here for report

Market updates written by Receptive Tour Operator members including:

China
Japan
Taiwan

Enjoy their anecdotal assessment of each of our primary Asia Pacific markets with a combination of Overview, Economy and Forecast.

Welcome to CITAP!

Welcome to new & returning members:

- Embassy Suites Hotel NIagara Falls Fallsview from Niagara Falls, Ontario

- Best Western PLUS Regency Inn & Conference Centre from Abbotsford, BC

- Harbour Air Seaplanes from Richmond, BC

- Prince of Whales Whale Watching from Victoria, BC

- Vancouver Aquarium from Vancouver, BC

- Braidwood Hospitality Management Inc. from Vancouver, BC

- Calgary Hoteliers Inc. from Calgary, AB

- Sheraton Vancouver Guildford from Surrey, BC

- McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Vancouver Airport from Richmond, BC

- Jasper Raft Tours from Jasper, Alberta

- Old Stone Inn Boutique Hotel from Niagara Falls, ON

- Lulu Island Winery | Lailey Winery Ltd from Richmond BC | Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

- WESTCOAST Sightseeing from Burnaby, BC

- Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal from Montreal, Quebec

- Oak Bay Beach Hotel from Victoria, BC

- Edmonton International Airport from Edmonton, AB

- Star Limousine from Vancouver, BC

- Target Tours from Charlottetown, PEI

- H�tels Villegia from Orford, Quebec

- Hotel Chateau Laurier Quebec from Quebec City, Quebec

- Blachford Lake Lodge from Yellowknife, NWT

- Montr�al en Histoires from Montreal, QC

- PHI Hotel Group from Vernon, BC

- Qu�bec Maritime from Rimouski, QC

- The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa from Victoria, BC

- Bellstar Hotels & Resorts from Calgary, AB

-Rockies Heli Canada from Canmore, AB

-Tourisme Outaouais from Gatineau, QC

- Richmond Olympic Experience from Richmond, BC

- Hilton Toronto /Markham Suites Conference Centre & Spa from Markham, ON

Upcoming Events

Online Renewal Form for 2016 Membership is ready!

A reminder that most of your CITAP membership will expire on December 31, 2015. It is strongly recommended that you renew your membership in timely manner. If you are unsure of your membership expiry date, please contact CITAP Office.

RENEW NOW!

Thank you all for your continued support!

---------------------------------

Contact CITAP Office for any information.

Please Update:

CITAP Office's NEW Mailing Address

2397 King George Blvd.

PO Box 45535

RPO Sunnyside Mall

Surrey, BC, V4A 9N3

Tel, fax & email remain the same.

Tel: 604-247-1997

Fax: 604-247-1977

Email: citap97@citap.ca

Got an idea or would like to Sponsor?

Contact CITAP Office to participate as a host for any future events, FAM Tours and sponsorship ideas!

Get

Connected

Stay Connected

to Increase Your Business from Asia Pacific

Interested in joining a committee?

Have a suggestion for a committee?

We welcome your ideas!

Email us at:

Newsletters@citap.ca

Visit our website at: www.citap.ca

President's Message

I hope everybody has been enjoying our prime fall season. As we approach the end of our fall season and daylight savings, we are almost ready to go to winter season for well-known winter paradise in Canada. What new Winter products will you be sharing with the Asia Pacific Market?

The 2015 numbers we have been enjoying show a modest increase of visitors from Asia-Pacific region in September/October, and we are enjoying a very strong late fall season. We will be very happy to see the end results of the traffic for fall season business. Not only have we all been busy with our operations, but it is also our busiest season for sales and often includes travel for many of our key staff. This is our time to promote 2016 to our core clients overseas in partnership with one another.

This October we all took a moment to pause and reflect on our CITAP founder and friend, Mr. Hidi Nishi. Many of our colleagues joined together over the Thanksgiving weekend to attend his memorial service and take some important time to reflect on his substantial contributions to the health of our Tourism Industry. CITAP is one of his many legacy projects and we wish to work as volunteers to continue to meet his original goals for CITAP, "to increase tourism to Canada from the Asia Pacific market." We will miss you Nishi-san, but we will always remember you fondly.

Part of how we work to "get connected and stay connected" is through our website. You will notice over this winter that we will be making updates on many pages. When did you last visit your own page to see if the information posted is still current and accurate? Please take a moment to do so, and if there is a need for updating, I challenge you to do so before we meet together in December at the Winter Function. We want to be ahead of the trend, and to continue to expand our partnerships. Our presence on the CITAP website is one of the many ways we each have to do so.

I cannot believe the Winter Function is already next month! Please be sure to attend this important event on Thursday, December 3rd at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel! I am sure you have each now received the detailed information about this event. I look forward to seeing you in Richmond if not before.

Please take care of yourself and have a wonderful rest of the fall season.....

See you in December

Bill Bessho

President

2015 CITAP Winter Function

John Webster, Tactical Committee Chair

We are now on the home stretch for the December 3rd CITAP Winter Function which will take place at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel in Richmond.

This year's morning session is going to be a little different than the previous years. We will be treated to Maureen Douglas who will enlighten all of us with a 90 minute presentation on Storytelling that Sells: How Stories Build Brand, Culture and Customers.

Maureen "Mo" Douglas - a speaker, facilitator and consultant on public, workplace and leadership engagement - has more than 25 years of experience in developing and leading teams. She is exceptional at helping groups build trust, resolve challenges, foster confidence, envision new outcomes and achieve results. With infectious enthusiasm, Mo helps people work collaboratively for greater success, offering practical and tactical ideas that deliver game-changing outcomes for their organizations. Mo's "uncommon" sense approach has delivered successful results for local governments, Olympic organizing committees, major events, and the tourism sector and industry associations.

In addition to our keynote speaker, we have another guest speakers lined up and are finalizing the details now. Fees to attend will remain the same as last year at $35 for the seminars and $510 for the Marketplace including one dinner ticket. Additional supplier delegates will be $50. This is a member only event, except for the Marketplace where non-member buyers are welcome. We look forward to another successful Winter Function. See you all there.

For more information and to register if you haven't done so: 2015 Winter Function.

In Memoriam: Remembering a beloved leader, mentor and friend Mr. Hidi Nishi

Puspa Affandi, Communications Chair

On October 11th, many of our colleagues came to the Richmond Funeral Home to honour and celebrate the life of our CITAP founder and friend Mr. Hidi Nishi.

Mr. Jack Kaito joined Mr. Bill Bessho and Mr. Tak Onaga who were also at the memorial service and Mr. Kaito shared reflections during the service. He described Mr. Nishi's sense of humor, and said that his passion and dedication really stood out.

"Do not think only for your sake, but think for the industry's sake as a whole. If the industry grew, you would have a share in that too."

Mr. Kaito also recapped highlights of the late Mr. Nishi's career, including his commitment to the development of the Japanese inbound market, his commitment to the growth of the inbound tourism from the Asia Pacific regions, and his dedication to mentoring young people in the industry.

The late Mr. Nishi's impact on the industry was extraordinary. He had made substantial contributions to the health of our tourism industry. Because of his visionary leadership, we were able to create a long lasting association that brings together the Asia Pacific tourism partners from coast to coast to coast of Canada. He will always be remembered as a well-respected and beloved leader, mentor and friend in our industry.

Rest in peace Nishi-san. You will be greatly missed.

The CITAP family shares their memories of Nishi-san...

RTO Profile

Puspa Affandi, Communications Chair

We talked with Mernoz Shastri, Managing Director of Mazda Travel Inc. two summers ago; in this issue we want to follow-up with him to learn what's new at Mazda Travel and to ask for his perspective on the Indian market.

Read full report

Advocacy Committee Report

Merv Gunter, Committee Chair

This past month, CITAP Board Members and CITAP colleagues have been very pro-active in providing a prompt response to a Tourism Operator Guide licensing issue in Quebec City. We continue to follow up on arranging for a meeting with a Quebec City Representative to come to an equitable, cooperative and mutually agreed upon resolution to this recent issue that has come forward.

Our Committee is working with TIAC, The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Destination Canada to schedule a meeting of all of these stakeholders. CITAP's goal is to establish a permanent cooperative presence with these organizations and take our rightful place as a part of the national advocacy voice for our tourism industry for Canada.

Now that the Federal Election is over and we have new Ministers whose portfolios impact Tourism, it is the intention of the CITAP Advocacy Committee to collaborate with TIAC and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in ensuring that the common goals of the tourism industry are brought to their attention.

Below is a list of the new Ministers in our industry's priority departments:

Bardish Chagger - Tourism and Small Business
John McCallum - Citizenship and Immigration
Navdeep Singh Bains - Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
Marc Garneau - Transportation
William Francis Morneau - Finance

Albert Tseng and Merv Gunter are planning to meet representatives of TIAC and the Canadian Chambers of Commerce during the course of the TIAC Congress in Ottawa early in December to discuss plans and strategies in making these ministerial visits being representative of our collective voices - TIAC, CITAP and the Canadian Chamber with a common, unified message from all of us.

We will also be having further discussions with David Goldstein of Destination Canada to ensure our respective organizations are advocating for common, agreed upon goals that are aligned with the goals and expectations of Destination Canada.

PMO Corner

Travel Alberta

Darlene Fedoroshyn, Business

Development Director, Asia Pacific and

Olivia Bai, Market Development Manager, South Korea

South Korea holds positive, long-term potential for Alberta based on the travel intentions and interests of high-yield, long-haul travellers. Korean arrival numbers to Alberta from January to August 2015 increased by 29% while Canada saw a 16% increase in Korean visitation year-over-year. The favourable exchange rate is encouraging South Koreans to travel to Canada as the Won has appreciated 6.6% against the Canadian dollar over the past year.

Read full report

Members Corner

Megan Nelson, Communications Committee

Best Western PLUS Chateau Granville

Welcoming Chinese Travellers

Blue Mountain Resort

Discover Skiing & Snowboarding Program at Blue is More Than a 1 Hour Lesson

Frontiers North Adventures

Experience Northern Lights in Churchill, Manitoba

Fulton's Pancake House & Sugar Bush

Fulton's welcomes Ontario Travel Counsellors in October!

Heritage Park Historical Village