WE'RE PLAYING HOST TO A LOT OF TRAVEL MEDIA THIS SUMMER



Out on the Big Water with Northern Wilds crew aboard SailSuperior.com's Frodo.  Clockwise rom left are Kate Watson, Shawn Perich, Captain Gregory Herioux, Amber Pratt and Paul Pepe.  Jim Boyd is behind the lens.

 This year is shaping up to be another amazing year for travel media interested in our area.  These journaists have discovered us through a numnber of sources and tourism partners and we've connected with them to create unique itineraries that they'll showcase in web, print and television.
As of today, we're up to twenty journalists covering everything from motorcycle touring to sailing the Big Water, kayaking, the growing local music culture and our culinary diversity.

Travel media is such a critical part of our marketing strategy and is becoming increasingly a larger element within our operating budget.  attracting journaists through any number of Canadian and US travel media showcases such as Canada Media Market Place or Go Media to name but a few.  We also get a lot of travel media inquiries from our friends at OTMPC and even other tourism marketing organizations such as Algoma Kinnewabi Travel Association. Travel media tells stories in more detail and authenticity than an advertisement does and often ends up costing less.  We typically cover their expenses while here and many of our partners featured offer discounts and complimentary admissions in exchange for the publicity they receive.  In 2011, we welcomed twenty two journalists and we received over $7325 000 in earned media value (determined by what we'd have to pay for the equivilant print, web or television space.)

A few weeks back we hosted four Minnesota based journalists writing for Northern Wilds but also representing interests beyond the popular Northern Lake Superior lifestyle.  Today I had a chance to see the first two digital outcomes of the 4 whirwind days they spent, not only in Thunder Bay but up as far as as Terrace Bay and Rossport, really giving our coastal region a lot of attention.  In fact, we want to welcome them back later this year to see even more of the region.

You can read the identical articles either at North Shore Community Radio's website or at Northshorehwy61.com's site.

While the group was in Thunder Bay, The Tourism Division had a great time playing host as a couple of them weren't that familiar with the area.  Shawn Perich, Editor of Northern Wilds, along with staff writer Amber Pratt, North House Folk School Marketing Coordinator Kate Watson and freelancer Jim Boyd absorbed a lot of different experiences while in the area and really loved the food culture, the waterfront redevelopments and our urban connection to our natural environment.  For me, the most important element of the familiarization tour was getting to stregthen our tourism relationships and freiendships with folks across the border.  Lake Superior and the highway corridor around it is our single largest tourism asset and it takes all of us working together across three states, one province and two countries to grow the industry in any meaningful way.

Of course, it wouldn't have been made possible without the assistance of over sixteen other local and regional tourism partners who took time to show them around their attractions and respective communities.

Tomorrow is another day and we're welcoming a California based travel culture journalist , followed on Monday by a Vancouver based blogger, a crew from Inside Motorcycle and MAV TV...and this is all before the Bluesfest weekend!  We have another twelve booked in for the balance of July and August.

If you see a film crew or photo journalist around the city this summer, take a second to welcome them.  They'll love it!

Urban Angling Abounds in Canada's Best Outdoor City

he re-branding Thunder Bay as Canada's Best Outdoor City gains more and more equity with every small complimentary contribution from our industry and media partners.

Capitalizing on the fact that we are on the shore of the world's largest freshwater lake, overlooks one of Canada's most spectacular Provincial Parks and is gateway to some of the Continent's best known parks and protected areas makes for a logical fit.

Along the way, its always been important to ensure that this outdoor branding does not alienate our urban tourism partners and opportunities. Urban angling is one such experience that doesn't get enough attention. With no fewer than five rivers winding through the city and emptying in the big lake (Kaminisitqua, Neebing, Mcintyre, Current Rivers and McVikar creek) and ample opportunities along the Lake's shore itself, one does not have to go far to find good angling. In 2009, the Angler Young Angler North American tournament record walleye was caught right in the Kam River.

The idea of being able to catch great fish without trekking out of the community is a simply awesome thing to consider. Not only does it make angling more accessible to youth and local residents without the budget for boats and extensive gear, it can offer visitors something unique that they can fit into a relatively short stay or if they don't have the time to head out on the water with our charter operators (which, by the way, offer some pretty spectacular big lake fishing experiences - a must do). The local spring tradition of smelting is in a lot of our bloods. Imagine the fun for visiting mining, education or health care executives to partake in the spring smelt run while here or cast a line with a local down at the Lake. Its something that extends a visitor's experience in the community.

One such great angling location is Prince Arthur's Landing and its great to see anglers continuing to drop lines there. I think its a fantastic experiential addition to the enhancements made to this park and will offer visitors and residents another activity to participate in while there. This past week, urban angling got some positive attention from the CBC's own Gord Ellis, a national icon in the outdoor world and someone who is proud to call the city home. In the clip, Gord chats with two teenagers pike fishing down at Prince Arthur's Landing last weekend. Its a great story for a couple of reasons. It showcases another activity to partake in while at the park, its another way to connect to the lake and it shows how Thunder Bay's youth are excited, not only about the park but in enjoying outdoor experiences here. You can catch the audio clip here.

Engaging youth in the outdoors and in our city's activities is critical to building good citizens and encouraging them to consider their future opportunities in the city. Encouraging our young citizens to appreciate and enjoy the city's many opportunities can encourage them to consider building their futures and careers here. While they may migrate to the big cities and schools, a lot are returning to raise their families and find career opportunities in the entrepreneurial, mining and health sciences sectors in particular.

Its our connection to our unique natural environment that sets the city apart and makes it a great place to live and work. AS the city celebrates its current cultural and economic renaissance, out intimacy with our natural surroundings will be critical to our growth and sustainable success.

NEW CRAFT BREWERY ADDING TO OUR CULINARY SCENE

Thunder Bay's economic transformation includes the explosive growth within our culinary sector, with new and innovative locally owned and themed establishments popping up on the landscape regularly and rapidly becoming financially (and in many cases environmentally)sustainable.

One such much anticipated addition to our eclectic culinary scene is Sleeping Giant Brewing Company. The brainchild of Kyle and Andrea Mulligan and Rob and Kerry Berlinquette, this new craft brewery is currently renovating space in the intercity area of the city and aims to have some great new beers ready for consumers in the spring of 2012. Its always great to see new entrepreneurs investing back into the community and showing confidence in our upward direction as one of Canada's Best Outdoor Cities.

I've had a chance to sample their brews and they are all exceptional. I really like beer so perhaps I'm biased. They're launching with three beers, all thoughtfully crafted and carry names with local connections such as 360 Degree Ale, Elevator Wheat and Skullrock Stout.

While it may not be obvious at first, Sleeping Giant Brewing Company is a welcome addition to our tourism industry in that it adds another local dimension to our culinary culture. More and more adventurers like to sample local beers when travelling and its a great opportunity to pare this with some of the delicacies at our many local restaurants to promote

One need only look at the popularity of brewery or winery tours in other jurisdictions and its easy to see how they play a role in enhancing a visitor's experience in the community. Even a single brewery in a community can build partnerships with the culinary scene to expose it to a wider audience and hekp tell the stories of a community. I can't wait to see their great "hometown proud" logo around local restaurants and in the LCBO and Beers Stores soon.

You can visit their website to learn more about them, their inspiration and most importantly, their beers.

Cheers!

"Unconventional Convention" Campaign Takes Off.

Our "Unconventional Convention" strategy is generating some positive attention from our friends at Northern Ontario Business.

The February issue features a number of articles on Thunder Bay's corporate partners, Lake Superior Visits and Sailsuperior. There is also a robust article on our new strategy developed in 2011 that aligns with our overall vision to be positioned as Canada's Best Outdoor City and distinguish ourselves from other municipal convention destinations. Where most people are zigging, we decided to zag. We've focused on the details that create inspired meetings and conferences. Things like the food, the pre and post activities and the unique off site, corporate retreat and break out options. The convention business is hugely competitive between cities across Ontario and we felt it important to break the mold a little, have a little fun and get planners thinking about how they great they'll look when they've delivered a successful and unique event. We've also looked beyond our traditional municipal boundaries to include unique corporate retreat experiences in Nipigon and Red Rock.


Our 2011 Meeting and Convention Planner has all the conference planner info at ones fingertips-from room capacities, hotel room inventory, unique locations and the like but kicks it up a few notches to showcase the culinary masterminds of the convention hotels, unique off site and team building experiences and things to do while waiting to fly home. What do you remember from a conference? Was it the great food? The team building sailing or kayak tour or just catching a great local band in a club at the end of the day? Most people don't remember what the meeting room looked like.


The strategy draws heavily on our biggest asset. Air connectivity. With Westjet, Air Canada, Porter, Bearskin and Wasaya serving the city, we're becoming top of mind for provincial and national meeting planners. Easy to get to, affordable hotel rates and all the services available in larger centres opens a lot of eyes in the conference planners world.


In 2011, we began an in flight marketing campaign with all five national and regional airlines to speak directly to the corporate audience. Lets face it. Everyone reads the in flight magazine when flying. They flip through it, read it backwards and memorize the ads. The strategy also included a refreshed and inspiring trade show expo and participation in some of Ontario and Canada's top convention planner shows. We even had a lot of fun coordinating the cover shoot last summer at the newly opened Prince Arthur's Landing where we staged an outdoor meeting at the end of pier 2 on a clear July night with sailboats cruising around in the background.


An important element of the convention strategy is to improve the cross pollination between our corporate and leisure segments. Encouraging business travellers to explore our restaurant and live music scene, integrate a visit to the art gallery or hit the slopes increases yield and improves the overall economic contribution of the tourism industry. It also makes business travellers enjoy their time more and perhaps they'll return with family on vacation.

The plan also focuses on a number of best bet segments within the corporate travel market that have a logical reason to do business in Thunder Bay. Mining, health sciences, government, NGO, education and First Nations groups are all important to our municipal corporate travel market and contribute significantly to our overall annual tourism economy.

The strategy is already delivering more bid inquiries through our office and more interest in both the online site and printed convention planner. From the industry performance side, increased airport usage and hotel occupancy rates in 2011 support the notion of increased business travel to the city.


If you're a convention planner looking for something different, contact our Conference Planner, Rose Marie Tarnowski at rtarnowski@thunderbay.ca

Thunder Bay International Airport Has A Recond Year

Thunder Bay International Airport continues to attract new users and has recently announced that 2011 was a record year with over 719 500 users through the doors, a 4% increase over 2010.

There is no doubt that the airport is an asset our community and regional tourism industry is fortunate to have and is unrivalled across Northern Ontario in terms of air connectivity from major Canadian markets. Having Porter and Air Canada increase their daily seat capacity in the past year, the continued connectivity of Westjet to western and eastern markets and strong regional presence of Bearskin and Wasaya provides travel options not only for the outbound resident but greater inbound options essential to attracting successful conference and sport tourism bids. Its also an asset that is valuable in attracting longer haul leisure markets seeking their epic touring or angling adventure in the region. The city has an important role to play as a gateway to those experiences beyond the city lights. Car rental, accommodation and culinary partners all can benefit as a result.

The installation of a third loading bridge in late 2011, improvements to their parking lots, new private sector investments such as the Pilatus Centre and the massive solar park that will provide renewable energy to the facility are all examples of the Airport Authority growing and innovating to meet changes in the travel industry. The fact that its also continued to resist the charging of "airport improvement fees" is another feather in their cap.

Congrats on a record year and here's anticipating even more growth ahead.

Victoria Inn Invests in its Meeting and Convention Capacity

Thunder Bay has enjoyed some of Ontario's highest hotel occupancy rates over the past year due to growth across a number of segments. The convention and meeting segment, in particular, has grown significantly as the city solidifies its place as the "Unconventional Convention" destination, attracting more local, regional and provincial corporate events.

The Victoria Inn is making some changes to meet the growing demands of Thunder Bay's red hot conference market. The former Scuttlebutt's Grill and Bar space within the hotel has closed after fifteen great years and the space formerly occupied by that iconic watering hole is being transformed into new meeting and convention space. Situated adjacent to the Hotel's existing flexible space ballroom, the new renovation will connect with sliding panels to create a ball room capable of hosting up to seven hundred and fifty persons.

According to Ray Nadeau, General Manager of the Victoria Inn, the new space should be available for booking sometime in April 2012. This transformation follows a series of previous investments the hotel has made in the past several years that include renovated guest rooms and improvements to increase their environmental sustainability, making them a leader in urban sustainable tourism.

This is an encouraging sign within the community's tourism industry to see this capital reinvestment to capture growth within the meeting and convention market. The city's corporate market is a significant contributor to the city's overall tourism economy and is important to ensuring we maintain a successful four season tourism. The corporate and conference market traditionally drives late fall, winter and early spring occupancy in the city in a big way along with seasonal sport tourism events.

They way I see this is that offering more choice in meeting space will open up new opportunities that extend the benefits beyond the host hotel. Larger conferences often rely on multiple properties working together to accommodate delegates and this investment is certain to create potential new accommodation business for the five properties along the Arthur St strip. This will also have the potential to increase opportunities in the airline, rental car and culinary segments.

Congrats to Ray and the Victoria Inn for making this investment into the meeting and convention segment.

Ontario Tourism Launches "The Superior Adventure" Contest

Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership has always been a big supporter of the incredible outdoor experiences that exist in our city and region and the launch of their latest contest based campaign is no exception.

This morning, they officially launched the "The Superior Adventure" contest to show off its newly refreshed Outdoor Adventure travel website.

All adventurers are invited to enter the contest which features seven days of unforgettable experiences on Lake Superior's north shore with celebrity hosts Thunder Bay's own Darren and Michelle McChristie of Superior Outdoors magazine (and the Walleye, I might add).

After gearing up at Mountain Equipment Co-op and Henry's Cameras, the winner and three friends will set out to explore the scenic waters and rugged headlands of the world's largest freshwater lake, travelling the coast in the comfort of a Suburu Outback.

Highlights of the contest include return airfare with Porter, flying the winners into Thunder Bay to get started. They'll enjoy a guided hike through Pukaskwa National Park, wildlife viewing in Slate Islands Provincial Park, an Agawa Canyon train tour, kayaking, stand up paddling, sailing with Thunder Bay's own Sailsuperior, and an exclusive helicopter tour of the lake and spectacular shoreline. This trip is so epic, its valued at around $27 000 CDN. OTMPC and the various partners invite avid outdoor enthusiasts to enter online at www.onteriotravel.net/outdoor

Other local partners include Fort William Historical Park, Marostica Motors Suburu, Beyond the Giant Retreat, Rose Vally Lodge and others.

In addition, every contest submission automatically enters one for a chance at winning a Kodak Playsport Zx5. I own one personally and they are incredible little HD video cameras and their waterproof, shockproof and dustproof casing makes them rugged little travel companions to capture your epic adventure.

Steve Bruno, OTMPC's Outdoor Partnership Coordinator, is a great friend to the Thunder Bay and regional tourism industry and is one of our early supporters when we launched Seven Days With the Giant some 4 years back. He's the dedicated genius responsible for pulling this great campaign and the partners across the entire north shore together.

This campaign is a prime example of the importance of taking a regional approach to tourism development and marketing. Its done by taking what is undeniably one of the continent's great coastal drives as the foundation to build unique, high quality itineraries for outdoor enthusiasts who want to access the myriad of experiences along the coast by automobile. Looking at the calibre of the prize package, it drives home the point that we are an up and coming premier destination for the avid explorer.

Thunder Bay Participates in Seatrade Cruise Shipping Miami's International Gathering

The arrival of the MV Clelia II at Pool 6 last summer signaled the return of passenger shipping to the downtown north core waterfront and complimented the significant investment in our waterfront currently underway.

While vessels have been coming into the city since 1997, the future for great lakes cruise shipping holds tremendous opportunity for growth. With a total economic impact of $592 000 from the twelve Clelia visits last year, cruise shipping has the opportunity to offer big returns for the community and positively impact many small businesses in a relatively short port stay. It may have only represented less than 1% of our total tourism economy last year but the importance extend beyond the actual monetary value. Cruise shipping elevates our community's reputation as a culturally enriched unique, exotic and high calibre destination. Aligning with this reputation brings tremendous positive attention to our community and region. Bluntly stated, cruise shipping is sexy.

I recently returned from attending the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Miami (http://www.cruiseshippingmiami.com/) conference. This annual gathering, the 26th such event, is the home port of the global cruise shipping industry. It was an opportunity to spend four days in the company of two thousand delegates and thousands of industry exhibitors and travel trade specialists, sharing experiences and learning best practices from some of the world's best. While our industry is in its infancy, caters to smaller expedition type vessels and is small when compared to Miami, Port Canaveral, Alaska and BC, the lessons learned are still valuable and can be applied to our own experiences and vision.

I had the chance to take in the State of the Industry panel discussion, lead by the CEOs of six of the world's top cruise lines, as well as workshops and panel discussions on upscale markets, global source and deployment strategies, terminal design and management, expedition and discovery cruising, and more.

Overall, the industry has a lot of growth ahead of it. The industry expects to globally carry upwards of 14.1 million passengers this year, an increase of 6.4% over last year. While last year's capacity seems to have fared well, it came at heavily discounted rates. The expedition and discovery markets, our best bet, expects positive future growth projections. The global market, comprised of only 9000 berths spread among 53 ships, is very small but running at high occupancy levels, indicating potential growth opportunities for new builds in the future.

In addition to our delegate status, we were also there as members of the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition, a collective of 24 port cities and marine partners working together across the border to build a viable industry that diversifies, not only the tourism industry, but the Great Lakes marine industry in general. Being the only freshwater destination at the show helps us stand out, generating a constant stream of interest from other delegates, exhibitors and visitors to the show.

Lake Superior has tremendous potential to grow with respect to the expedition and discovery cruising markets. With the National Marine Conservation Area, Isle Royale, Apostle Islands and other areas of National and International importance, combined with unique communities and shore excursion options, we have to start promoting us as a place as exotic as anywhere else on earth.

for this year, we're looking at 10 return visits from the Clelia II while 2011 and 12 promise two visits by a larger vessel in each year and the possibilities of several other lines currently evaluating the market demand.

We have a long way to go to build cruise shipping for our region but the good news is that we're out of the gate, are starting to make ourselves known on the international stage and developing some great innovative bi national partnerships for the future.

Province Invites Expressions of Interest for the Big Thunder Sports Park.

The Ministry of Tourism's Investment Development Office has released a Request for Expressions of Interest for the former Big Thunder Sports Park, located south of Thunder Bay.

The 360 acre property was once one of the world's best known ski jumping facilities, and a major annual stop on the world ski jumping circuit. This reputation helped make it the site of the 1995 World Nordic Championships prior to its closing in 1996. The property has sat, largely unused since that time with interest in its re programming surfacing from time to time over the past decade and a half.

To read more or download the request, visit www.investinontario.com/tourism.

FWHP Wins Discovery Award

Fort William Historical Park has been recognized by its peers in the Ministry of Tourism for noteworthy efforts in increasing cross-border visits from the United States.

The Fort received the Discovery Award for Innovative Risk Taker thanks to the opening of the Fort William Historical Park Canada Gateway Centre in Grand Marais, Minnesota earlier this summer.

The Discovery Awards identify and recognize excellence in public service within the Ministry of Tourism. Awards in six categories were presented at the Ministry’s Staff Day in Toronto earlier this month.

On hand to receive the award as team members were General Manager Sergio Buonocore, Manager of Marketing and Customer Service Doug Stanton, Historical Operations Manager Peter Boyle, and Business Services Manager Sandei Beattie. Fellow award winners absent for the ceremony were Corporate Development Officer Chris Ficek and Collections Team Leader Shawn Patterson.

The Canada Gateway Centre represents a partnership between the Fort and American entrepreneur David Parsons of Parsons Management, who also operates the Grand Marais Inn. The grand opening occurred May 27th, 2009. The initiative is designed to encourage U.S. travellers passing through Grand Marais to visit the Fort, Thunder Bay and northwestern Ontario. Grand Marais was targeted due to high tourist traffic during the summer and its relatively close proximity to Thunder Bay.

General Manager Buonocore says that the Gateway Centre is a unique initiative and that the Discovery Award represents hard work by all Fort staff. “There’s no other initiative like this in the Ministry of Tourism,” says Mr. Buonocore. “And the Discovery Award is a reflection of the ongoing team effort by the entire Fort staff.”

The Centre is contributing to increases in revenue (29%) and attendance (40%) for FWHP 2009 to date, compared to the similar calendar period in 2008.

Online Tools Help You Keep Up on the Waterfront Development

With the City of Thunder Bay's waterfront development well underway, there are a number of channels available to the community to stay on top of all of the activity and get answers to the questions they have. As part of an proactive communications strategy, a regular newsletter and facebook fan page have been established.

This is a high quality catalyst infrastructure investment in the community unlike anything in the past and will be relevant to the local population and help with visitor retention by keeping them in the city longer with a variety of activities including enhanced charter boat access, galleries, local eateries, water park, public walking and biking trails and spa. Subsequent phases of enhanced marina capacity and a cruise shipping terminal will become important regional beacons for the regional tourism economy, drawing educated adventure seekers to the city and area. Its a large, complex and complicated undertaking but one that will play a major role in the transition of Thunder Bay's tourism economy towards a more captivating destination. When one looks at some of the most successful cities in the world, a common theme is a vibrant mixed use waterfront that brings people to the waters edge 24 hours a day and year around.

The fact that the funding for the first phase is already committed is a testament to the quality of the project and the matching of pragmatic elements with consumer travel experience demands. At last week's Ontario Tourism Summit in Windsor, talk of the development was everywhere and at a time when many economies are constricting, the positive movement is putting Thunder Bay on the tourism map internationally. There are some in the community who are fearful of change, lack confidence in our community's potential to be world class or are just unaware that we have the ability to develop infrastructure and experiences that people the world over are seeking. Its important that we move forward confidently and boldly, take calculated risks based on good consumer research and embrace everything great this city can be.

Visit www.thunderbay.ca/waterfront for more background on the project or join the facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Thunder-Bay-ON/City-of-Thunder-Bay-Waterfront-Development/139348779150?ref=ts

The McGuffin's Launch a Great Quetico Commerative Book

Anybody in Canada and the United States who appreciates wilderness photography and conservation knows the names of Gary and Joanie McGuffin. They have done a lot to bring attention to the natural beauty of Northern Ontario through their stunning photography, epic annual adventures and leadership in conservation based causes to ensure our natural environment remains a tourism treasure for generations to come. I'm also proud to call them friends of mine and I credit them as being an instrumental part in of launching of the "Seven Days With the Giant" platform in 2008.

This morning, Gary and Joanie released a new book of images and stories to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Quetico Park. I have to admit I have never paddled Quetico but have flown over much of it in a float plane and educated myself at their visitor center. A read through their latest work uncovers the layers and depth of what is one of the world's great natural environment parks that encourages me to explore it by water, up close and personal. It also reminds me that we in Thunder Bay are fortunate to be a gateway community to this renowned wilderness area and our strategy to build Thunder Bay into one of Canada's great outdoor cities needs to integrate with such a gem.

The book is available at Chapters here in Thunder Bay and it makes a fantastic gift or a great educational keepsake for yourself. I think more local tourism partners should learn about this gem and what they can do to link themselves to it in some way. To learn more about these wonderful folks, visit http://www.garyandjoaniemcguffin.com/

Thunder Bay Does Well With Celebrate Ontario for 2009

Celebrate Ontario recently rolled out funding for the 2009/2010 fiscal year and a number of Thunder Bay events received welcome Provincial contributions that will help them grow and attract more visitors.

Thunder Bay Bluesfest, to be held July3-5 this year at Marina Park, received a little over $45 000. This iconic summer event, now in its 9th year, draws bands from across North America and fans from around the globe. What better way to spend a summer weekend in Thunder? For more information, visit www.tbayblues.ca


The Sleeping Giant Writer's Festival, now moved to its new home at Fort William Historical Park (www.fwhp.ca) received approximately $33 000. This event has been drawing writers from further afield every year since its inception several years back. for more information, visit www.sleepinggiantwriters.com

The Sleeping Giant Loppet received $18 000. This iconic cross country ski race will be able to grow and reach new Canadian and U.S. ski enthusiasts. Visit www.sleepinggiantloppet.ca to learn more about registeringfor the event in 2010.

The 2010 CIS Mens Univeristy National Hockey championships received $75 000 towards the second year of the event being held in Thunder Bay. Visit www.thunderwolveshockey.com to learn more abou the event and the local Lakehead University hockey program.

Congratulations to all of the successful event organizers.

Thunder Bay Welcomes Porter Airlines

One of our best tourism assets is the Thunder Bay International Airport Authority (http://www.tbairport.on.ca/). Of all Northern Ontario communities, Thunder Bay has the best airlift capacity, giving us an edge in promoting tourism, particularly the conference and sport segment. That asset is about to become even better with the recent announcment that Porter Airlines (http://www.flyporter.com/) will begin offering daily service between Thunder Bay and Toronto Island Airport starting June 26. Porter has announced three flights daily during the week and twice daily on weekends.

This addition is important on a number of different levels. Porter has a reputation of serving major financial and cultural centers including Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, New York, Chicago and Halifax. Being aligned with these cities through the common bond of Porter has fantastic potential to open up new markets. Just being in the same league with these other centers raises the profile of our fine city. This also extends our airlift capacity. Any one of us who flys in and out of the city knows exactly how full the aircraft are at the present time. Those who see this as the pie being split into more smaller slices could be accused of looking at the situation myopticly. We have a chance to grow the pie bigger, and ensure everyone benefits but it will take a collective efforts of all of us in the industry to grow the pie through innovative partnerships.

Porter will fill a niche and provide more options. I priced out one way Thunder Bay to Toronto fares today on their website and at $155 each way pre taxes and fees, its competitive and offers good value. In my travels, I rotate around all of the airlines. and while I secretly have my favorite, the service and reliability across the board is pretty standard....and pretty good. I'm looking forward to adding Porter to my rotation.

I was at Seatrade Cruise Shipping Miami a week ago when I read the Porter news on my Blackberry and I have to say, the buzz within our conference delegation was immediate. In the context of the conference group, we discussed how Porter can be a marketing tool to attract high end expedition cruise ships to use Thunder Bay as a terminal to Lake Superior adventures, reaching large motivated cruise travel markets in some of North America's biggest centers. I have been getting emails from tourism colleagues across the continent this week about the Porter development. Good news travels fast and the industry recognizes what this means for our future.

Porter will also provide new opportunities for the mining and health care segments in downtown Toronto to get here more efficiently but it also can open up the affluent business and outdoor markets in Chicago and New York. Thunder Bay now stengthen's its position as a regional center and gateway to the outdoors and marketing to the affluent anglers, kayakers and wilderness enthusiests in these large markets can bode well for us with the right partnerships and tactical programs.

Having Ontario's third busiest airport means we are also well served by a number of international and regional carriers. Recent developments on the landscape with some of them will bode well for us as well. Air Canada Jazz (http://www.aircanada.com/), Westjet (http://www.westjet.com/)and Northwest (http://www.nwa.com/) connect us to the rest of the world effortlessly. Bearskin (http://www.bearskinairlines.com/) and Wasaya (http://www.wasaya.com/) are important regional carriers that support Thunder Bay's reputation as a regional hub for mining, government, First Nation, health sciences and education segments. The Northwest/Delta merger could open up new markets as will the code share agreement recently announced between Westjet and Southwest Airlines (http://www.southwest.com/)

As part of our shift to experience based marketing campaigns that target North America's largest travel segment - the outdoor adventure seeker- these developments across all of the airlines will help us reach those avid markets farther afield. We've seen increased interest from California, Florida and Texas, states that swelter in the summer months. We potentially could be capitalizing on our comfortable summer temperatures and abundant wilderness as well as targeting key health sciences, mining, education and sport tourism traffic selectively. Building editorial relationships with the airline's inflight and web based travel magazines allows us to reach new consumers easily and in a controlled way. Afterall most of us flip through the inflight magazine while we fly. It all starts with building awareness, than buzz, than making Thunder Bay a name people hear so often, they just have to visit.

What it really comes down to is looking at the opportunities that exist around us and developing new ways to capitalize on new markets. We need not look much further than our air partners to identify potential new economic developments. Welcome to Thunder Bay, Porter Airlines! We're looking forward to working with you.

Travel Media Descends on Thunder Bay

Throughout July Tourism Thunder Bay (www.visitthunderbay.com) have played host to an unprecedented number of travel journalists through our partnership with Ontario Parks (www.ontarioparks.com) and the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (www.tourismpartners.com).

During the week of July 19th, Tourism Thunder Bay played host to eight writers from three countries travelling in two groups. The theme of both tours was "Four Days With the Giant" and we were able to showcase Thunder Bay's incredible "Superior By Nature" brand of customer service.

One group consisting of Canadian and US freelance journalists arrived in the City on July 19th and were escorted around the community for six days, visiting Sleeping Giant Park, paddling and sailing the harbour and rivers through the city, visiting iconic attractions such as Fort William Historical Park and Kakabeka Falls and enjoying many of Thunder Bay's unique culinary experiences, including the Hoito, Caribou, Good News, Thunder Oak Gouda and others.

The second group was arranged through OTMPC's Japanese office and consisted of four Japanese journalists who specialize in writing about Women's outdoor experiences. This group enjoyed much of the same itinerary that focused on outdoor and cultural experiences combined with urban culture and culinary elements. The Asian travel market, while a small percentage of Thunder Bay visitors, shows tremendous growth potential as the market looks to explore Canada beyond Toronto and Vancouver. It is also a group that stays longer adnd leaves a much greater per person economic impact.

For both tours, Tourism Thunder Bay's Cathy Presenger worked behind the scenes to arrange the local itineraries and provide support to ensure their every need was accommodated while in the community.

The recurring comment made by the writers was the incredible hospitality they received in the city, the abundance of attractions and discoveries, great summer weather, cleanliness of the community and the interest in being present in a community undergoing an exciting economic transition. One group was treated to wine with their Caribou dinner experience, complements of kayaker Maureen Stehman, whom they met on the McIntyre River earlier in the day.

The writers had time to explore on their own and went discovering unique local gems, some of which were unknown to even those of us in the know!

As the articles start emerging in print and online travel journals, we will be posting links on this site.

08 Visitor Experience Magazine Makes Big Online Waves

The 2008 Thunder Bay Experience Visitor magazine was launched March 1st to great responses from consumers and industry alike and the demand will continue to climb into the summer leisure market season.

In addition to the 120 000 copies in circulation (a 20% increase over 2007) the guide is also available online at http://www.visitthunderbay.com/. In its first two months posted, it has been downloaded 9234 times. At this pace, it is conceivable that it will be viewed online up to 54 000 times this year. This would be a significant increase over the 31 000 copies downloaded in 2007 of the previous guide.

While high quality select print visitor information is still considered an essential part of our marketing mix, online posting of the guide makes perfect sense in that it delivers greater reach for our advertisor's investments in the guide, reduces postage costs for one-off distribution and helps meet our goals of environmental responsibility.

The Experience magazine is important for attracting new visitors to the community but more importantly, it can help keep existing visitors in the community for a longer stay, thereby increasing economic impacts. While we strive to attract new visitors, the current North American economic climate also has us looking at visitor retention as a means to compensate for any loss, in visitor numbers, from particular markets. Comprehesive information sources are a great way to achieve this goal.

Web Use Dominates Marketing Efforts

With approximately 80% of travellers using the internet as a trip planning tool, web based marketing continues to be a focal point of our marketing efforts. With an enhanced web site and awareness campaigns that drive consumers to the www.visitthunderbay.com site as the new primary call to action, we are quickly seeing the results with respect to making new consumer impacts.

From January 1-May 13, 2008, the number of web visitors increased 41% from the same reporting period in 2007, from 89 740 to 150, 702. The site has averaged 1150 visitors per day, up from 685 last year.

76% of these visitors are arriving at the site by typing the url in directly, indicating that the web address is sticking in people's minds and they are responding from a variety of media sources, be it print, web or other.

With www.Visitthunderbay.com coming up second on www.google.com, when "Thunder Bay" is searched, we are also seeing an additional 22 400 visitors arriving at the site through search engines, primarily Google while 9764 visitors came to the site through the City's main website, www.thunderbay.ca.

The Thunder Bay tourism community plays an important role in raising the profile as well. A number of local businesses including hotels, retail and restaurants have posted links on their web pages that have shown to successfully guide traffic to the site. We encourage local tourism businesses and organizations to develop free recipricol links to encourage greater traffic movements between sites, something that benefits the tourism community as a whole.

This data is important in assiting us with future marketing and media campaigns by directing our investments where they are most likely to reach potential consumers. Over the next few years, we will pursue more media opportunities in new experience based online markets and be much more focused in both print and web campaigns. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at ppepe@thunderbay.ca.

May 2008 Tourism News

New E-marketing Initiatives Launched

With over 80% of travellers turning to the internet for travel planning, Tourism Thunder Bay has recently launched two new communications tools to build visitor loyalty.

A new monthly subscription e-newsletter provides regular updates on upcoming events, lodging specials and general visitor information. Available through http://www.visitthunderbay.com/, visitors can read the current edition online and subscribe to future issues that are sent to the email address provided by the user.

Industry contributors can have their events and specials listed in upcoming editions be emailing Erin Brewer at ebrewer@thunderbay.ca. Please keep your submission to 150 words or less.

Go to www.VisitThunderBay.com/newsletter to read the current issue and register.

Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/) is the new global electronic platform for social communication. With almost 40 000 local, seven million Canadian and over 70 million worldwide users, this is an excellent means to reach potential new visitors. The Facebook group site, VisitThunderBay.com provides Facebook users with an interactive web portal to seek information on upcoming events, ask our travel Councillors questions online and share pictures, stories and videos of their favorite Thunder Bay experiences.

Facebook account holders can visit http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9587366163

Sport Tourism Developments

Candian Sport Tourism Congress

Tourism Thunder Bay recently attended the Canadian Sport Tourism Congress in Gatineau Quebec. The three day conference, held April 27-29, was a chance for over 300 delegates representing municipal and Provincial tourism marketing agencies to meet with Provincial and National Sport organizations representatives. The venue provides opportunities to raise the profile of the city as a sport tourism destination for Provincial, National and International Event hosting. With Sport Tourism being a mult Billion dollar industry in Canada, Thunder Bay has facilities and related infrastructure ideal for hosting a wide range of events.

Tourism Thunder Bay met with a number or sport organizers including Cycling Canada (BC), AthletsCAN, CPGA, Ringette Canada, BasketBall Canada, Freestyle Canada, Cross Country Canada, Soccer Canada, Ontario University Athletics and the CAN AM Fire and Police Games organizers.

Visit http://www.canadiansporttourism.com/ for more information on the organization.

New Skateboard and BMX Competition Facility

Tourism Thunder Bay is a proud supporter of the Thunder Bay Skate Coalition and their efforts in developing a world class skate and BMX plaza at Marina Park. The new plaza will provide recreational and competitive opportunities for thousands of local and regional youth, promoting physical fitness and facilitating the hosting of future skate and BMX competitions at the regional provincial and even international level.

The Thunder Bay Skate Coalition is raising funds to build the plaza and has initiaited a "Buy a Brick" campaign. Personal bricks are $100 each and corporate bricks are $500 each. To view images of the new park or to support the park's development and have you business or family name added to this unique new sport tourism facility, visit http://www.tbsc.ca/.

Cruise Shipping News

As part of Tourism Thunder Bay's membership in the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition (GLCC), the department was actively involved in the 2008 Seatrade Cruise Shipping Conference held in Miami Beach Florida this past March. Hundreds of Cruise destinations and cruise shipping suppliers have the opportunity to meet with over 10 000 industry delegates in this multi billion dolalr segment of the global tourism industry.

The GLCC was successful in meeting with a number of cruise operators and as a result, a number of cruise executives will be touring the City in late June 2008 to view our attractions and marine services with the aim of bringing their vessels into the region in future years. For more information on the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition, please visit http://www.greatlakescruisingcoalition.com/

The uniqueness of Lake Superior and the establishment of the new National Marine Conservation Area adjacent to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park are attractive selling points to smaller expedition cruise operators as well as private charter vessels. Some of the trends that will be pursued include marketing unique lake itineraries to smaller expedition cruise lines as well as to the U.S Superyacht market, whose owners and operators are seeking new destinations for their vessels. This will complement work being done in select Great Lakes markets to attract the pleasure boat markets as well.

To date, Tourism Thunder Bay has been successful in attracting 11 visits by the MV Clelia II in the summer of 2009, bringing an estimated economic impact to the city of approximately $250 000. For more information on the Clelia II, please visit http://www.traveldynamicsinternational.com/

Seven Days with the Giant Update

This incredibly succcessful 2008 liesure marketing campaign, focusing on the affluent outdoor experience seeker in Canada and the US midwest will be wrapping up May 31st 2008 with the winner selected in the first two weeks of June. The campaign, with a high quality grand prize package, served to increase web visitation to http://www.visitthunderbay.com/ by over 41% over the same period in 2007.

The campaign has also served to create a new standard for public private marketing partnership in the Province with Ontario Parks and is being used as a model for other communities to follow. AS a result of the success, Tourism Thunder Bay will be creating a new and enhanced "Seven Days with the Giant" program in 2009.

If you have not yet done so, Industry partners and consumers are encouraged to enter the contest at either http://www.visitthunderbay.com/ or www.OntarioTravel.net/outdoors before May 31, 2008.

Meetings and Convention News

Tourism Thunder Bay recently had the opportunity to meet with over 400 delegates at the Northwestern Ontario Mining Symposium held at the Valhalla Inn in March 2008. With mining exploration at record levels in the region, efforts are being made to attract more corporate business to the city in the form of meetings and conferences related to the industry.

Other segments of the corporate market Tourism Thunder Bay continues to focus on are Education, Health Sciences and First Nation organizations who have offices in Thunder Bay. By providing convention marketing tools to local groups, the aim is to increase the number of Provincial and National meetings in the city.

Skal International

Tourism Thunder Bay is pleased to be a member of SKAL International, a growing organization of travel and tourism professionals. Involvement within the local chapter provides Tourism Thunder Bay with opportunities to build stronger industry relationships, understand developments, issues and concerns of travel industry partners and communicate new Tourism Thunder Bay programs.

On Monday January 28th,2008 ,Skal International Thunder Bay, hosted an evening of celebration at the Victoria Inn and Convention Centre to celebrate the induction of local SKAL Member and owner of the Best Western Crossroads Motor Inn, Norm Bevilacqua as the 2008 SICAN President . Bill Rheaume Past President of SICAN 2007 presented President Norm with the Skal Canada Chain of Office on behalf of Skal International Canada. Norm is an enthusiastic advoate for Thunder Bay and for the regional tourism industry.

Skal is the only international organization which brings together all branches of the travel and tourism industry. Representing the industry’s managers and executives, Skal members meet at local, national and international levels in an environment of friendship to discuss subjects of common interest. The original club was started in Paris in 1932 In 1934,the Association Of International de Skal Clubs was formed.

The basic unit of the Skal Club is the local Club.In Canada there are 17 Local Clubs with a membership of approximmately 900.These 17 local Clubs comprise Skal International Canada.(SICAN). Skal International Thunder Bay received its Charter On October 1st ,1981 under the first President Brian Whitefield.Skal International Thunder Bay celebrated its 25th Anniversary on October 1st,2006. Since 1981,the spirit of friendship and co-operation within the local Club,generated may co-operative programs and exchange of ideas.The Club is proud to have received the coveted "Club of the Year" award (Canada) on three occasions 1998,1999 and the most recent for the year 2003.

The members of the Skal Thunder Bay are very proud of Norm and wish him success as President of Sican.

Visit the Skal website at http://www.skal.org/.

Ontario's North

Tourism Thunder Bay Manager Paul Anthony Pepe was recently appointed as Chair of Ontario's North, a tourism marketing partnership involving the City of Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, Sudbury, North Bay, Timmins, Ontario Tourism Marketing Parthership Corporation(http://www.tourismpartners.com/), FedNor (http://www.ic.gc.ca/) and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund (http://www.nohfc.ca/).

The organization works on pan Northern tourism marketing initiatives focusing on Leisure and Group travel, travel trade and media that benefit all of Northern Ontario.

Media Update

Lake Superior Magazine has provided editorial on the National Marine Conservation Area, the arrival of the MV Clelia in 2009 and the "Seven Days with the Giant" campaign. Visit http://www.lakesuperior.com/ to learn more about the magazine.

The Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce features updates on some of Tourism Thunder Bay's latest marketing initiatives in the May 2008 Newsletter. Visit http://www.tb-chamber.on.ca/ for more information or look for it in an upcoming edition of the Chronicle Journal

Upcoming Industry Events

Northern Ontario Travel Intentions Web Presentation

Monday May 5, 2008,

1:30 PM

To log into the audio component call 1-866-234-0247 and use participant code 123745

Test your web browser at www.livemeeting.com/cc/bellconfpro/join?id+check

For web inquiries, email webconfsupport@bell.ca or call 1-866-861-2121