Giving Canada's tourism industry a competitive edge

As Canada's national tourism marketing organization, the CTC leads the way in keeping Canada's tourism industry ahead of the pack while we work with our partners to inspire visitors around the world to explore Canada.

We rely on Canada's small- and medium-size tourism enterprises (SMEs) to deliver on our brand promise. Our resources provide support to help transform their tourism products into the extraordinary experiences that will keep visitors coming back for more.

Social media Read more > Close >

Social media is an important element of CTCs overall marketing strategy. The channels by which CTC interacts with customers include Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Flickr. Keep Exploring YouTube content includes more than 400 video spots, while Flickr includes over 600 photos. The CTC Keep Exploring Facebook community allows members to interact with CTC content on a regular basis.

CTC also uses these channels to communicate offers and specials as part of the overall move to convert followers into paying customers. In addition, CTC marketing campaigns have taken innovative approaches using streaming Tweets and Twit-pics about Canada in storescapes in US cities. In the media and public relations channel, bloggers and social influencers are targeted and a Twitter feed delivers timely story ideas specifically to this media community.

Read our Social Media Guidelines.

 

	Facebook - Become a fan
	YouTube - Subscribe to our channel
	Twitter - Follow us @ctccct
	Flickr - Check out new photos

Develop research and intelligence Read more > Close >

Our marketing and sales activities are built on the best tourism research and intelligence in the business.

Our reporting covers big-picture issues. Want to know which international markets are showing the greatest growth and why? We've got it covered. What are the long-term trends affecting Canadian tourism today? We've got the answers. What emerging markets show promise for Canadian tourism operators? We let you know.

In addition to global market research, we support SMEs in making better business, marketing and investment decisions. Our timely and relevant intelligence can help those businesses better target travellers, identify tourism business opportunities, take advantage of current travel trends and understand economic indicators that have a direct impact. 

The CTC's Explorer Quotient (EQ) gives SMEs a completely new way of finding and keeping their best customers.

Define target audiences Read more > Close >

Travellers are being deluged with offers and deals from every corner of the globe. So how do we give Canada's tourism industry a competitive edge? The more we learn about travellers—their values, interests and motivations for travel—the better we can market travel experiences to them. 

That's why the CTC has gone beyond traditional market research to find out exactly why people travel and why different types of travellers seek out entirely different travel experiences. The result is the innovative Explorer Quotient (EQ). It defines traveller types based on their values and motivations. It's helping tourism-focused businesses, large and small, find and keep their best customers.

Take the EQ quiz to discover your traveller type.

Differentiate travel experiences Read more > Close >

As Canada's national tourism marketing agency, we inspire visitors to explore the extraordinary travel experiences our country has to offer. So how does the CTC ensure Canada’s experiences can compete internationally?  

Our Experiences team works with partners large and small to identify travel experiences that bring Canada's tourism brand to life. We look for experiences that travellers dream about.

Our guiding principle is simple: A product is something you buy. An experience is something you remember.

It's not about simply paying for kayaking or visiting an attraction. We share travel experiences that engage all the senses. Like watching polar bears from the window of a tundra buggy in Manitoba. Or shucking oysters on Prince Edward Island. Or whooping it up, Acadian-style, at a summer kitchen party. 

To learn how to turn your tourism product into a world-class experience that sells, download our toolkits.

Market and drive demand in 11 geographic markets Read more > Close >

Our media and sales initiatives take Canada's most evocative travel experiences, animate them through Canada's tourism brand and share them with the world.

We market to the media, travel trade and consumers in 11 countries. That might mean inviting German media on a cross-Canada tour, or directing Australian ski fanatics to a website devoted to their winter passion. One day we might be beaming images of "wow" experiences on the side of a London building, while in Japan we're selling Canada at a huge travel-trade show. It's all designed to give Canada a distinct and powerful global presence.

Bringing Canada's tourism brand to life also means harnessing the power of the Internet, wireless, web technologies and emerging media. Our global consumer website is the destination for travellers looking for inspiration, travel experiences, events, videos, travel packages and more.

Our integrated global campaign blends the traditional with the new, using Bluetooth technology to beam willing consumers short video clips. We're also incorporating user-generated video content-15 seconds of "wow" experiences to share with the world.

German consumers can follow celebrity travellers as they journey across Canada on the Cleverwomen website. It provides access to fascinating and funny video episodes, travel blogs and first-hand accounts of visits to Canadian destinations.

Social media plays a significant part in our work, too. If people aren't posting on Facebook or YouTube, they're merrily Tweeting, Digging or engaging others in some other way, and the CTC is part of that conversation. Regular updates on news and story ideas can be found on both the CTC Media Centre website and Twitter. Or users can embed one of the many videos from across Canada available on the CTC's YouTube channel.

The travel trade can enjoy interactive sales tools as they become certified Canada Specialists. Meeting and convention planners can get expert advice online about world-class Canadian destinations at our Meetings, Conventions and Incentive Travel (MC&IT) website.

Measure results Read more > Close >

We don't just market Canada, we measure and evaluate CTC programs, as well as the strength of the Canadian tourism industry, using sophisticated tools, indicators and performance measures.

Are visitor arrivals up or down in our 11 geographic markets? How much money did our partners contribute to CTC marketing programs in 2010? How did our new campaign launch do in the market?

2010 results

Industry results

• Total tourism revenue: $74.1 billion, up 6.5% over 2009
• Total tourism export revenue: $14.8 billion, up 4.1% over 2009
• Tourism's contribution to Canadian Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $29.5 billion, up 1% over 2009
• Canadians directly employed as a result of tourism activities in Canada: 610,600
• Government revenues generated by tourism: $20.4 billion
• Long-haul average yield per night per international traveller: $129. 

CTC results

• Aided destination awareness: 33.9%
• Campaign ROI: 82:1
• Top spot for Canada on the world's most respected country brands list. The ranking comes from the Country Brand Index by FutureBrand of New York City, NY, a global branding firm that ranks countries across 30 distinct categories.
• Total partner contributions to CTC: $138.5 million

You can also read our Annual Report, or consult the latest statistics and figures.