ECO-TOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE

TOURISM CONFERENCE

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

Vancouver, British Columbia

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Marketing and Media

To Create a Supportive Narrative

and Visual Approach in the

21st Century Tourism

and the Internet

Aboriginal Population

The Aboriginal population of Canada

is composed of:

- 700,000 First Nations,

- 300,000 Inuit and

- 200,000 Métis

as determined in the last 2006 census.

Indigenous population vs. the total population

New Zealand Maori account for 15%

Canadian Aboriginal account for 4%

Austalian Aborigene account for 2%

North American Indian (U.S) account for 2%

Aboriginal tourism industry in Canada

Aboriginal tourism industry in Canada

is young and characterized by:

1) Accommodations (lodges/hotels)

2) Golf courses and leisure activities

3) Casino operation

4) Shopping centres

Currently, growth is occurring for:

1) small & medium tourism enterprises

2) large scale development projects of

lodges/hotels, recreation & leisure

(golf courses) and experiential

product (relatively new).

Hôtel – Musée Premières Nations, Wendake, Quebec

ATC Challenge

Transform the website intended for

regional tourism associations into an

international tool intended for the

market and “internauts” while

addressing the issues of sustainability

and continued industry and association

information and exchange

Phase I : New format

• Focus on international market ready

product

• Update current research on Aboriginal

opportunities for international visitors

• Address industry and build toward an

interactive member self-managed site

Outstanding issues

Outstanding issues by Aboriginal

population

Quality

Authenticity

Brand

Phase II: Interactive members

• Fee for service and use

• Database of Aboriginal tourism

product

• Information exchange and interactive

discussion

Supportive Marketing Narrative

Challenges :

• International image of Aboriginals

versus contemporary reality

• Different approaches and level of

development by Canadian regions

• Inuit – First Nations – Métis

• Creating effective partnerships –

streamlined approaches

Visual approach

Challenges:

• 3 distinct peoples and histories –

very distinct symbols

• Modern internet use and flexibility

• Local growth and a hub for

Aboriginal tourism information

Frameworks

Aboriginal (International) and

Canadian (CTC)

Aboriginal marketing text within

Canadian brand

Find Trouver

Perceive Rémarquer

Quest En quête de

Explore Explorer

Insight Apercevoir

Respect Respecter

Share Partager

Indigenous Tourism website Seminar 2007

Nine (9) website Marketing Indicators*

A) The site has to be guest oriented ( not

so much host oriented or place

oriented): What is the guest experience

going to be?

* SOURCE: United Nations Tourism Workshop – Quebec City

B) Sales results: are the guest going to

come back?

C) Impact and feedback: how effective is

it and how to reevaluate the website to

make it effective?

1) Invitation

First hits elsewhere, First hits on front

page

2) Entry door

How many languages, Native languages,

Guests ‘connect’

3) AID: attention, interest, desire

Hits on the first and second pages, Guests

‘connect’ geographically (layered maps,

connections)

4) Smooth technology

Easy to maneuver, Interactive touch

and explore, Quick loading

5) Trustworthiness

Who you are (skills and knowledge),

Affiliation, Accreditation –

Testimonials, Design

Safety, Site surveys for the feedbacks,

Entry/Exit stats, Site survey, Post trip

survey

6) Product description

Sales generated, Feedbacks

7) Who for?

Target public

8) Context information

Maps, History, Who is operator,

Risks, dangers involved, What to

bring, etc.

9) Closing the sales

Speed of response, Quantity of

response, Quality of response,

verified through a monitoring

system, Post trip survey, Feedbacks,

etc, Number of re-bookings,

Recommendations

Site Strategies

To effectively promote life on earth and

cultural identity:

1) Lots of pictures, graphics and symbols

2) Are locally meaningful and authentic

3) Have universal resonance (or appealing

to your potential clients; e.g. cry of a

loon; wolf for Germans)

4) Avoid stereotypes (same symbol

overuse, exaggerated)

5) Use local language

6) Provide information about the

community, the area, wilderness,

remoteness

7) Highlight cultural/community diversity

8) Highlight rare, special or unique

(endemic) animals or plants (STAQ)

9) Show biodiversity as something

concrete, our way of living

10) Respects intellectual property (protect

what is sacred and do not sell out our

identities)

Aurora Village, Northwest Territories

Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, Siksika, Alberta

Cree Village Ecolodge, Moose Factory, Ontario

website Technologies and Tools

1) Use of multimedia tools : video clips,

flash animations, virtual tours

2) Internet search options: full text, key

words or structured search (by category,

dates, etc)

3) Ergonomics, navigability, links

4) Use of monitoring tools

5) Content Management System,

collaborative content, updatability,

postings

6) Graphic Design: use of simple structure

7) Indexability, quick referencing

8) Interactivity (email address, forums,

reviews of the products, user’s

feedback)

9) Google maps, mapping services

30,3809806,858Mon. May 12 –Sun. May 18

19,4686284,393Mon. Jan 7 –Sun. Jan 13

Average Per month

AveragePer day

SuccessfulRequests

2008 Timeline

70,8352,28515,976Mon. Aug 11 –Sun. Aug 18

N/A2,48917,364Mon. Jul 28 –Sun. Aug 3

ATC Website unveiled at Rendez-vous Canada May 24, 2008

Source: YouCanDoThat.Com, ATC Webmaster

• Internet is a strong supportive tool for

tourism and eco-tourism

• Important to start with a framework and

build toward the objectives

• Readers start with the internet tool and

then request more

• Place and face exist and are supported

by telephone and internet

communications

• Best sign of success – operators and

tourists are writing to say “thank-you!”

www.aboriginaltourism.ca

116 Lisgar Street, Suite 600Ottawa, Ontario

K2P 0C2

Telephone: (613) 235-2067Facsimile: (613) 724-7872

E-mail: info@aboriginaltourism.ca

Thank-you! Ekosi! Merci!