Good afternoon,

I work for the National Capital Commission in Ottawa, ON, in the area of visitor services.

We are currently exploring a new visitor services model and I am therefore doing research on certain best practices and other information relative to the tourism industry.

In order to make the most of our efforts in developing this new model and utilize human resources and new technologies accordingly, it would be beneficial to gain further knowledge with respect to:

• The visitor trip cycle: from pre-trip planning to getting more information in situ, etc.
• How Canadians are planning their visits (or vacations) today.

I have done much research and have compiled basic statistics from trusted and reliable sources, including Statistics Canada, which contribute to understanding visitor preferences with respect to new technologies. However, I still need an overview of the "new" stages of the visitor trip cycle.

If the CTC has some documentation or research that could help, I would be most appreciative.

Sincerely,

Cynthia

Hello Cynthia,

It sounds like you have made more than a solid start in your research. For our part, I can point you toward two invaluable Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) docs. And, no, I’m not just saying that!

Our Global Marketing & Sales Plan 2012 refers to our Advance Path to Purchase framework, and spotlights the differing influences and barriers along that path. The framework puts prospective customer’s needs, perceptions and behaviours at every stage into sharper focus and should help with your analysis of the visitor cycle.

As for Canadians and vacations, although we no longer have a mandate to market domestically, our Research department has just published its latest Global Tourism Watch summary for Canada. This report delves into what triggers Canadian outbound travel, leading to insight into the types of travel influences that stimulate Canadians to hit the road at home.

Closer to Ottawa, have you contacted Kathryn Forgacs, Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation’s sharp-as-a-tack research manager? She may be able to dig out some more figures for you.

Hope this all helps—best of luck with the new model!

Best,

Tourism BizWiz

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