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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Tourism industry faces future

New attractions boost confidence

By: Martin Cash

Posted: 04/12/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Colin Ferguson

MANITOBA'S tourism industry is facing substantial market challenges in the coming summer season, but its members have an unprecedented roster of exciting new attractions to look forward to and build on.

Currency rates that make Canada more expensive for American travellers and heightened rivalry from U.S. states that are encouraging their residents to stay put are additional pressures in what is always a competitive market.

Travel Manitoba's new CEO, Colin Ferguson, said Monday, "There are lots of challenges ahead. But we have a diverse tourism industry in Manitoba and we're trying to get people to understand and recognize what there is to offer."

Industry players heard about one strategy to do that at Travel Manitoba's annual tourism conference that ends today: develop ways to enhance experiential tourism by getting deeper into the stories behind the various attractions.

Keynote speaker Nancy Arsenault spoke about sharing the Manitoba story.

"Elements of a great story align with elements of great visitor experience," she said at the conference attended by about 130 tourism industry members.

Not many of them have direct connections to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy or the new Richardson International Airport terminal, but officials say the entire industry can leverage benefits from those multimillion-dollar developments.

Helen Halliday, general manager of Delta Winnipeg and a board member of Travel Manitoba, said the industry needs to keep reminding the public and funding agencies about the interconnectedness of the industry and the ultimate value of the tourism industry to the provincial economy.

(The industry generated $1.2 billion in total receipts in 2009, about three per cent of provincial GDP.)

But also, she said, it needs to work together in a smart way to get the most out of the interdependencies.

"Our industry needs to be in a situation where we're not just thinking about ourselves," she said. "We need to look at the greater good to make sure we are truly planning a united front."

Despite the challenging marketing conditions last year, Manitoba experienced its first year-over-year increase in U.S. visitations in a decade.

Ferguson noted the Conference Board of Canada is forecasting a 4.2 per cent increase in tourism spending in Manitoba this year, about 75 per cent of which comes from domestic Manitoba consumers.

An internal survey conducted by Travel Manitoba indicated 85 per cent of industry members expect their revenue to stay the same or grow this year.

The annual conference serves as a professional development opportunity. Among other things, there was a session on managing the new risks involved in the growing area of experience-based tourism.

Georges Beaudry operates a campground on the Roseau River called Oroseau in an area that offers all sorts of outdoor experiences. He refers to it as a user-initiated adventure area.

But Beaudry said his efforts to develop more revenue sources from outdoor experiences at the campground have been hindered by the costs and challenges of getting insurance.

At a session with an underwriter from Premiere Insurance of New Westminster, B.C., one of the few insurance companies in Canada that provide insurance to adventure tourism attractions, Beaudry was somewhat encouraged.

"At least I found out there was someone out there who will listen," he said.

Simon Le Line of Premiere said like any other contracts, the one with an insurance company is something that can be negotiated.

"The best thing to do is to talk to the broker," he said. "If you are adding activities, you should tell your insurance company because it doesn't necessarily mean rates will go up."

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 12, 2011 B5

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