2016/17 Annual Report

Transcription

1 2016/17 Annual Report

2 CHINOOK COUNTRY TOURIST ASSOCIATION exploresouthwestalberta.ca T: F: Scenic Dr. S. Lethbridge, AB T1K 5B7 instagram.com/southwestalberta facebook.com/southwestalberta twitter.com/chinookcountry

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Executive Director Message 3 Services Provided 5 Successes 6 Southwest Service & Tourism Awards 7 Digital 9 Visitor Information Centre 10 Community Visitor Survey 11 Key Events Financials 15 Contacts

4 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MESSAGE Dear Tourism Partners, Our Vision Statement directs us to Growing the tourism industry and visitor economy in our City and Region. The focus of Chinook Country Tourist Association is to hold our vision statement up to everything we do to ensure we stayed dedicated to that cause. In 2016, this resulted in us embarking on a Visitor Survey project to better understand our guests and what was driving them to come to this region. Some of those results are in this report and provide us with clues on how to grow the sector. Knowing that 82% of our guests plan to return, we need to ensure they have superior experiences while visiting so they will also advocate on our behalf when they return home.

5 For a second year, the economic conditions in 2016 were ideal for the visitor economy due to a weakened Canadian Dollar, lower fuel prices and a general decline in economic conditions - especially in Alberta. In fact, tourism is one of only a few that benefit from these conditions as it generally hurts most industries. It is important to point out that these factors combined to restrict outbound travel by many Albertans and Canadians and to make Alberta more attractive to US and International travellers. >> We saw a 2% increase in visitation to the Visitor Centre in The increase came from guests directly coming into the VIC to get information (255 additional people) >> Waterton Lakes National Park saw a 13.1% annual increase over 2015 with a record 530,400 visitors, (January to November 2016). Some businesses indicated they saw a dramatic increase in American visitors in 2016 over 2015 and >> Our city and regional attractions that participated in the Circle Tours Campaign saw increased visitation averaging 12.9% and hotel packages at the various properties in southern Alberta went from 190 sold in 2015 to 510 in 2016 (268% increase). Total engagements from all social media channels reached 1,368,661. >> The Lethbridge Attractions Campaign also saw strong success exceeding marketing goals in the forecast objectives such as gate admissions and total clicks from online sources. As indicated above, The Circle Tours Campaign had another strong year in 2016 with more partners joining the campaign then previously in We continue to support our industry through this initiative as we provide all the project management services in-house. This program has connections to many attractions throughout southern Alberta and tells the story of and gives credibility to the many authentic experiences throughout the region. With several new partners coming to the table to provide resources, the program had strong results in 2016 and culminated with the Travel Alberta Industry Alto Award for Marketing Excellence with a budget up to $10, was a good year for the organization with several notable accomplishments such as development of the Community Visitor Survey Toolkit program which was pilot project for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and implemented in conjunction with Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association and ourselves. This toolkit provides other communities with processes and tools to perform visitor surveys and find out more information about their visitors. In November, City Council passed a resolution to accept the Destination Management Plan, which was developed by the Strategic Tourism Committee and Stantec Consultants. They also passed a resolution to have City Administration develop an implementation plan for a new Destination Entity to proceed with the plan. At this time, it is not clear how it will impact Chinook Country s operations was a big year for tourism visitation, not just locally or regionally but nationally as well. Canada welcomed 19,979,334 travellers last year which is the highest number since 2002 and second highest ever. International arrivals increased by 16% in Destination Canada s overseas markets, and 10% in the US market, for an average of 11% growth across the board. And there are many reasons to be optimistic about visitation in 2017, Canada has already been named the top place to visit in the world by Lonely Planet, the New York Times, and Condé Nast Traveler. As Canada celebrates its 150th birthday there will be numerous reasons to come and enjoy all that we have to offer including free entry to all of Parks Canada Places. As we continue with 2017 we will renew our commitment to our mission and vision and continue to build awareness for the unique experiences in this area. Our goal is to engage more visitors and build greater awareness for visitors to consider the city and region as a great destination to experience. Thank you, Nikolaus Wyslouzil Executive Director 2

6 SERVICES PROVIDED 3 DMF EVENTS MARKETING SERVICES Sales & Marketing for Hotels & Motels through DMF program Southwest Service & Tourism Awards Marketing Plans, Social Media, Cooperative Marketing Programs

7 STAKEHOLDER SERVICES VISITOR INFORMATION PUBLICATIONS Distribution of Operators Print Materials, Brochure Display, Promotion by Counsellors, promotion on Exploresouthwestalberta.ca, Promotion of Southwest Alberta at Travel Trade Shows Information Centre Services, Tourism Training & Presentations, Convention & Special Event Visitor Packages, Gift Shop Lethbridge & Southwest Alberta Travel Planner, Culinary Guide, Waterton Lakes National Park, Kid s Map, Lethbridge & Southwest Alberta Map 4

8 SUCCESSES >> Achieved recognition with Travel Alberta Alto Awards for Marketing Excellence up to $10,000 >> Enhanced Waterton Food Festival >> Developed a Kid s Map >> Created an Instagram Campaign for the Culinary Guide >> Increased in visitor gift shop sales >> Enhanced the Circle Tours Campaign >> Contracted Sales & Design for the Waterton Guide >> Acquired Marketing & Sales Contract for an additional DMF Property >> Acquired a grant for a survey project and met the goals of the project 5

9 2016 Winners (Over 200 Nominations) Anne Jensen, Taber & District Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Visitor Information Services Aspen Crossing Tourism Champion Bayshore Inn Resort & Spa Accommodation of the Year Cornerstone Funeral Home Outstanding in Business Daniel Slovak, Northside Dodge Outstanding Travel & Transportation Jackie French, Exhibition Park Lethbridge Outstanding Events & Conferences Employee Jerry Firth, Rufus the Mime Volunteer Champion Lethbridge Tactical Supply Retail Store of the Year Mitch Bevers, Casino Lethbridge Outstanding Food & Beverage Employee Municipality of Crowsnest Pass Municipality of the Year Oktoberfest YQL Festival & Event of the Year Plum Restaurant of the Year Quirk Magazine Outstanding in Media Shelley Zur, Country Encounters Bed & Breakfast Outstanding Accommodation Employee Taber Exhibition Association Outstanding Sports & Recreation Tom Weekes, Cowley Co-Op Outstanding Retail Employee United Riders of Crowsnest (UROC) Outstanding Adventure Tourism Wear M Out Attraction of the Year William Merasty, Head-Smashed- In Buffalo Jump Outstanding Attraction Employee 6

10 DIGITAL EXPLORESOUTHWESTALBERTA.CA New to the Website: >> Contest Page >> Deals Page >> Industry Page Total Sessions: 92,105 Increase of 113% Total Users: 72,363 Increase of 112% Total Page Views: 186,114 Increase of 117%

11 FACEBOOK facebook.com/southwestalberta "Out in the middle of a field lays a prehistoric rock that floated there through the ice age. Pretty neat little roadside attraction!" - TripAdvisor.ca Reviewer DonNJane 8448 Likes Grew by 180% No matter the season, the views in the #Crowsnest- Pass never disappoint 2660 Followers Grew by 23% Straight Lines and Purple Skies 896 Followers Grew by 383% 8

12 Visitor Information Centre $32,928 In gift shop sales Visitor Origins Lethbridge 57% Zone 19% Alberta 15% British Columbia 3% Other Province 1% Montana 2% Alaska 1% West U.S 1% Other U.S 0% Unknown 1% 12,062 Visitors Maps Most requested item Visitor Destination Lethbridge 41% Zone 7% Alberta 15% British Columbia 5% Saskatchewan 2% Ontario 3% Other Canada 3% Montana 4% West U.S 8% Other U.S 6% International 4% Unknown 2% 9

13 Community Visitor Survey A pilot visitor survey funded by Destination Development and visitor Services Branch from Alberta Culture and Tourism. The survey was implemented through Lethbridge to understand trip characteristics of non-resident visitors who travel to Lethbridge. The survey provides insight into visitor interests and activities to better target tourism services and to measure the impact and effectiveness of tourism strategies. Survey Respondent Origin Canada 81% United States 11% International 8% Visitor & Resident Respondents Resident 263 (64%) Visitor 149 (49%) Total: 412 Visitor Trip Motivators Event or Festival 35% Visiting Family 32% On the way to primary Destination 17% Shopping 6% General interest 17% Outdoor Adventure/ activities 11% Attraction 7% Camping 7% Rest and Relaxation 5% Heritage or Culture 1% Survey Administration Locations & Events: Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation (6), Fun City Sliders (16), Lethbridge Farmers Market (73), Helen Schuler Nature Centre (1), Henderson Pool (1), Heritage Day (4), Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden (12), Shelter Me / Party in the Park (10), Southern Alberta Summer Games (5), Street Wheelers Weekend (21), Fort Whoop Up (8), Whoop-Up Days (74), Tour of Alberta (89), Visitor Information Centre (27) The average total expenditure per person was $247 and the total expenditures for visitors to Lethbridge was $36,825. The majority of respondents visiting Lethbridge 71% were repeat visitors to the area, while 29% were first-time visitors. 10

14 KEY EVENTS Southwest Service & Tourism Awards Gala Spring Showcase Rendez-vous Canada Waterton Food Festival Southern Alberta Summer Games Street Wheelers Lethbridge Electronic Music Festival New Student Lethbridge Orientation Chamber of Commerce Tour of Alberta Business of the Year 2016 MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT Tourism Week Lethbridge Destination Management Meetings Chamber of Commerce President Dinner Tourism Conversation Fun City Slider Party in the Park Whoop-Up Days Canadian Badlands DMO Round Table Discussions Travel Alberta DMO Leadership Training Waterton AGM Travel Alberta Conference Canadian Badlands DMO Round Table Discussions Travel Alberta Town Hall Meetings Opportunity South Conference 11

15 Canada s West Market Place Canadian Badlands AGM NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR Destination Marketing Association of Canada Meetings Southern Alberta Food & Beverage Show Hurricanes Dinner Edmonton Gift Show The Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show TIAC/DMAC Diamonds Bridal Exhibition & Fashion Show 12

16 2016 FINANCIALS REVENUE BY SOURCE ($) Revenue $860,412 City of Lethbridge 304,715 Contract Revenue 191,007 Advertising Revenue 218,980 Membership/Stakeholder Sales 65,374 Miscellaneous Income 26,466 Retail Sales 32,911 Southwest Awards 10,335 Grants 7,120 Amortization of Deferred Capital Contributions 2,677 Interest Income 827 Expenses $879,971 EXPENSES BY ACTIVITY ($) Marketing 306,286 Administration 430,110 Building Operations & Amortization 96,800 Membership & Events 26,333 Retail Purchases 20,442 13

17 STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS Revenue ($) 19% Increase in Southwest Awards Revenue Advertising 218,980 Amortization of Deferred Capital Contributions 2,677 Southwest Awards 10,335 City of Lethbridge 304,715 Contract Revenue 191,007 Grants 7,120 Interest Income 827 Membership/Stakeholder Sales 65,374 Miscellaneous Income 26,466 Retail Sales 32,911 Revenue 860,412 12% Increase in Grants 18% Increase in Retail Sales Expenses ($) Amortization 11,446 Automotive 6,720 Bad Debts (Recovered) 0 Conference, Meetings & Workshops 26,333 Insurance 9,309 Interest & Bank Charges 4,380 Marketing 306,286 Office 43,260 Professional Fees 8,050 Repairs & Maintenance 5,644 Retail Purchases 20,442 Salaries & Related Benefits 422,060 Telephone 10,109 Utilities 5,932 Other Expenses 0 Expenses 879,971 Excess (deficiency) of revenue over expenses (19,559) 14

18 CONTACTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sandi Davis President Martin Ebel Vice President Trish Hill Vice President of Finance Aaron Domes Director Keith Robinson Director Richard Chevrier Past President Nikolaus Wyslouzil Executive Director Jaci Zalesak Director, Client Relations Candace Ebrey Director, Marketing JoAnne Ronceray Visitor Services Manager Phil Edmundson Brochure Distribution Manager Alyssa McIntyre Coordinator, Content Development Amanda Asuchak Sales Executive Marie-Ann Rheault Sales Associate Stephanie Van Hill Website Administrator STAFF - As of April

19 NOTES: 16

20 CHINOOK COUNTRY TOURIST ASSOCIATION exploresouthwestalberta.ca Scenic Dr. S. Lethbridge, AB T1K 5B7