news to use RENDEZ-VOUS CANADA: EDMONTON Lake Louise winter deals
ONE of Alberta’s leading winter resorts is offering UK visitors a free ski-rental package and discounted meal deals this winter. Lake Louise is working with
operators to offer guests staying six nights or more free ‘mid-range’ skis, poles and boots. Available through many operators, holidays must be booked by August 31. Also available is a C$25 meal plan,
Canada reaping benefits of brand profile
RISE
THE Canadian Tourism Commission will ‘reset its sights’ and ‘be nimble’ in its efforts to readjust to a reduced budget, its president Michele McKenzie promised key tourism stakeholders at Rendez-vous Canada in Edmonton. The CTC is facing a trimming of over
C$14 million to its core budget in 2013/14 but despite the challenge this presents ‘momentum is building’ for Canada’s tourism products and, for the first time since 2009, this year will likely see an upswing in travellers from those countries where the CTC has a marketing presence, said McKenzie. “We have a strong country brand that
remains number one in the world, a national tourism marketing organisation that is resilient and creative and unique
experiences from coast to coast that are the calling cards for bringing in more business for everyone,” she said. UK visitors have certainly had Canada
in their sights this year, with numbers up 19.5% in March on the same month in 2011. The rise can be put down to a resurgent ski market and the CTC's marketing platforms, said Regional Managing Director, Rupert Peters. “We are cautiously optimistic that we
will see a modest increase in visitors this year. The results from our marketing efforts, our trade campaigns and our social media platforms are starting to come to fruition,” he said. Rendez-vous drew 342 ‘buyers’ from
over 20 countries, with around 44% attending the show for the first time.
Big White's big offers
BRITISH Columbia ski resort Big White is hoping UK skiers will cash in on an early bird ‘free flight’ offer from Air Canada. Anyone booking a flight to Vancouver before August 31 can take advantage of the flight offer to Kelowna, the gateway airport to the resort. UK operators are featuring the deal,
along with promotions such as a pay- for-seven-nights-stay-for-10 offer.
www.bigwhite.com
AGENTS can cash in on the Rocky Mountaineer’s west coast ports of call by bolting on an Alaskan cruise and earning commission on the entire package.
Agents can earn from Rocky Mountaineer's rail and cruise combinations The luxury train operator’s Journey
through the Clouds service (taking in Jasper and Kamloops) and First Passage to the West (Kamloops, Banff and Calgary, with Lake Louise to be added in 2013) starts or ends in Vancouver and, from next year, a Seattle- Vancouver-Banff-Jasper service, the Coastal Passage, will be introduced. “Around 40% of Rocky Mountaineer
passengers now add on a cruise. By booking a rail-cruise package (the operator uses Holland America) agents can earn commission that starts from
6 SUMMER 2012 • SELLING CANADA
where visitors can enjoy a three-course lunch at several leading restaurants at top properties such as Chateau Lake Louise, Lake Louise Inn and Deer Lodge. “A couple will be able to eat in some
of the Rockies' best restaurants for $50,” said Sandy Best, Director of Business Development for Ski Lake Louise.
www.skilouise.com
IN BRIEF FORT McMurray Tourism is pushing the
destination as one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). “Displays can vary from just a few minutes to several hours. Sometimes the spectacle is like a bright dance, other times just a muted glow. Most often the lights are white and green but on rare occasions, red, blue and purple northern lights tower miles high above the northern skies,” said Fort McMurray Tourism’s CEO Frank Creasy. “We are a viable add-on for visitors to Alberta. It’s just a short flight or an easy five-hour drive to see one of nature’s most colourful spectacles,” he added.
www.fortmcmurraytourism.com
CANADA’S newest major museum, The
Canadian Museum of Human Rights, is set to open in Winnipeg, Manitoba, within the next two years. Currently a statue of Mahatma Gandhi stands
at the head of a path that leads to an unfinished cube-like building surrounded by cranes. Construction will be completed within the next
year and exhibits, which will reflect human rights issues globally, will be added within two years, said Dene Sinclair, Manager, Global Trade Relations at Travel Manitoba. The C$300 million project will help put Winnipeg on the map internationally, said Sinclair.
www.travelmanitoba.com
RIPLEY’S Aquarium of Canada, currently
springing from the ground close to the foot of Toronto's CN Tower, will be home to 13,500 sea and freshwater creatures. It will feature sea-life from the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Great Lakes and interactive exhibits aimed at all ages.
www.ripleys.com/attractions
AIR Transat is overhauling its fleet of
15% across the whole booking," said UK Sales Manager Leslie Peden. Rocky Mountaineer’s new Coastal
Passage journey will see a soft opening in 2013, with departures on August 24 and 25, with more departures in 2014. Rocky Mountaineer’s website gives agents a range of bolt-on cruise options. Peden said UK passengers are leading
the way in sales of the new SilverLeaf service. SilverLeaf passengers travel in a single-level glass-dome coach with hot breakfast and lunch served at their seat.
www.rockymountaineer.com
A330s, spending over $50 million on remodelling the cabins. New ergonomic seats, a new lighting system, new lavatories with full-length mirrors and an updated in-flight system with touch screens offering more movies and other options will be rolled out on two aircraft for the coming summer season. Another three or four upgraded planes will be introduced in the winter.
www.airtransat.ca
A NEW 'world-class resort for ecological and
culinary tourism' will open in Newfoundland by the end of the year. The five-star Fogo Island Inn will be located a 45-minute ferry ride from the mainland, in a part of Canada known as 'Iceberg Alley'.
www.newfoundlandandlabrador.com
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