2012 Q1 Destination Report

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destination report Q1 2012

table of contents industry news ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 marketing & communications ..................................................................................................................................... 5

digital ........................................................................................................................................................ 6 media relations & promotions activity .................................................................................................... 8 travel trade.............................................................................................................................................. 11 corporate communications ..................................................................................................................... 12 key performance measures ....................................................................................................................................... 14

visitcalgary.com dashboard .................................................................................................................... 15 engagement dashboard .......................................................................................................................... 16 sports & events .......................................................................................................................................................... 17 convention sales (MCC) ............................................................................................................................................ 19 membership, corporate development & conference servicing .............................................................................. 21

membership ............................................................................................................................................ 23 conference & event servicing ................................................................................................................. 23 visitor services ......................................................................................................................................... 23

ii | Q1 2012 Destination Report

highlights our vision:

One innovative strategy, One powerful brand, One distinctive destination.

our mission:

Bring more people to Calgary for memorable experiences.

performance measurements

Sport/cultural event production Number of Events Room Nights Summer occupancy level - August Sales on visitcalgary.com Room revenue/packages Attractions revenue Visits to visitcalgary.com Partner contribution (co-op ad dollars from members) Attendance/participation at Tourism Calgary events Unpaid destination awareness media value Tourism Calgary membership (year-end)

2011 Actual

2012 Target

Progress YTD Mar 31, 2012

37 43,541 68.9%

32 35,000 71.9%

14 6,609 N/A

$100,547 $46,387 783,252

$140,000 $56,000 1,000,000

$20,223 $10,915 193,428

$536,000 7,298 $5,000,000 596

$700,000 7,850 $3,000,000 655

$205,000 460 $2,100,000 633

NOTE: The full list of key performance indicators for Leisure and Digital can be found on p 14. Industry News – In 2011, more than 12.7 million passengers travelled through Calgary International Airport, an increase of 1.1% from 2010. Domestic passenger traffic through YYC rose by 1.7%, while transborder (U.S.) traffic was up a more modest 0.6%. International traffic fell 2.1% in 2011. Calgary’s hotel occupancy started the year strong, climbing 6.6 percentage points in January, from 51.6% in 2011 to 58.2% in January 2012. Unfortunately, occupancy in February and March tracked closer to last year, resulting in a Q1 year-to-date occupancy gain of 2.4 percentage points, from 61.1% in Q1 2011 to 63.5% in Q1 2012. Marketing & Communications – The 2012 campaigns are underway with the completion of the first culinary-themed campaign and the coordination of the upcoming second summer-themed campaign. By this summer, Tourism Calgary and its 11 partners will have placed more than $650,000 of media into regional markets, driving traffic to the city during needs periods. Unique packaging with value offers along with the integration of all marketing channels has been a priority in 2012 to drive sales. The refreshed brand, which has now been fully incorporated into the 2012 campaigns, was launched to industry on March 12 and 13. Attendance at the sessions was strong, with 55 industry representatives attending. Media exposure was high in Q1 as Tourism Calgary and partners generated more than $2.1 million in media coverage. Highlights include: th  Eight-page feature on the 100 anniversary celebration of the Calgary Stampede in Canadian Geographic, worth $1.2 million  Extensive online coverage of the Calgary food scene in a variety of regional blogs reaching over 500,000  Six-page feature in Enroute outlining the music scene in Calgary  Nine-page feature in Good Times Magazine about Calgary Digital – Visitation to visitcalgary.com shows steady growth over Q1 of 2011 and revenue generated through the booking engine is ahead of target for the year. Compared to Q1 2011 the site saw an increase in visits (21.5%) and pageviews (11.8%). Online sales for the quarter show room sales at 108% of the prior year, and attraction sales up

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497% year-over-year. Social media growth remains steady, and one of our Twitter handles has already surpassed its KPI target for the year. Sports – With a total of 571,539 tickets purchased, exceeding the previous sales record of 453,282 tickets, the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship was a resounding success. It is estimated that an additional 18,000 hotel room nights were sold in Calgary from December 19, 2011 to January 5, 2012. A full economic impact report will be issued by Hockey Canada in June. 6,609 hotel room nights have been confirmed definite in 2012 (for current/future years through 14 sport, cultural and special events). The 2012 target is 35,000 definite room nights. In comparison, the 5-year annual average from 2007-2011 for room nights converted definite by Tourism Calgary is 25,668. Membership, Corporate Development & Conference Servicing – A great start to the year with 46 new members joining in the first three months. Membership at the end of March reached 633 members. th

Tickets are on sale now at visitcalgary.com for the 50 Anniversary Calgary White Hat Awards, to be held May 16, 2012 at the Jubilee Auditorium. This Awards Gala is one of the tourism industry’s most anticipated events – don’t miss it! Upcoming Events April 26, 2012 – Tourism Talks: Culinary Tourism – Saltlik Calgary May 3, 2012 – Digital 101 – Tourism Calgary May 8, 2012 – Membership Orientation Workshop – Tourism Calgary th May 16, 2012 – 50 Anniversary Calgary White Hat Awards – Jubilee Auditorium June 2012 – Meet the White Hat Award Winners – Date and Location TBA July 5, 2012 – First Flip Stampede Breakfast – Stephen Avenue August 29, 2012 – Tourism Calgary Golf Classic – Heritage Pointe Golf Club

2 | Q1 2012 Destination Report

industry news Hotel Occupancy - STR Average

Calgary Overall

Occupancy Rate Daily Room Rate RevPAR Occupancy Rate

Downtown Daily Room Rate RevPAR Occupancy Rate

Northeast Daily Room Rate RevPAR Occupancy Rate

Northwest Daily Room Rate RevPAR Occupancy Rate

South

Daily Room Rate RevPAR

FEB MARCH YEAR-TO-DATE 2012 %Change 2012 %Change 2012 %Change 64.6% 1.0% 67.8% -0.2% 63.5% 3.9% $153.05 6.6% $150.46 -0.8% $150.19 3.2% $98.82 7.6% $102.08 -1.0% $95.32 7.2% 71.1% $204.79 $145.62

7.1% 9.1% 16.8%

70.1% $202.78 $142.12

-1.7% -1.7% -3.4%

68.1% $199.60 $136.02

8.5% 3.0% 11.8%

63.0% $130.98 $82.52

-5.3% 3.2% -2.3%

68.9% $129.13 $89.02

-3.9% -0.1% -4.1%

64.5% $128.94 $83.14

-2.1% 1.5% -0.6%

66.1% $97.76 $64.62

-2.9% -1.0% -3.9%

70.2% $98.92 $69.42

15.8% 0.4% 16.3%

62.7% $98.06 $61.47

5.7% 1.3% 7.1%

52.7% $117.20 $61.72

1.4% 1.7% 3.1%

58.7% $121.22 $71.17

-2.3% 4.5% 2.2%

52.0% $117.54 $61.18

2.2% 2.0% 4.3%

Currency: CAD – Canadian Dollars Source: Smith Travel Research, Inc. Republication or re-use of this data without the express written permission of STR is strictly prohibited.

Calgary’s hotel occupancy started the year strong, climbing 6.6 percentage points in January, from 51.6% in 2011 to 58.2% in January 2012. Occupancy in February and March tracked closer to last year, resulting in a Q1 year-to-date occupancy gain of 2.4 percentage points, rising from 61.1% in Q1 2011 to 63.5% in Q1 2012. The downtown and northwest quadrants showed the greatest year-over-year occupancy gains in Q1 2012.

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Calgary Airport Authority Passenger Statistics by Sector

In 2011, more than 12.7 million passengers passed through Calgary International Airport, up 1.1% from 2010. Domestic passenger traffic through YYC increased by 1.7%, transborder (U.S.) traffic was up only marginally at 0.6%, and international traffic fell 2.1% in 2011.

4 | Q1 2012 Destination Report

marketing & communications 2012 Regional Campaigns Big Taste/Culinary Campaign Complete The first regional campaign for the year was in market February 13 to March 11. The focus was to drive visitation to the city to experience the great culinary scene Calgary has to offer including Downtown Calgary’s Big Taste culinary festival. This was the first campaign to feature advertising on the new brand platform. The advertising campaign ran for three weeks with culinary-themed packages available until March 31. This campaign was fully integrated and included: Regional Advertising  Online regional advertising featuring Calgary’s own Canada’s Next Top Chef finalist Connie Desousa and culinary packages that could be purchased immediately on visitcalgary.com  Culinary contest featured during the campaign for a personalized dinner for two at Charcut and a room night at Le Germain Features on visitcalgary.com  Home page banners  Culinary landing page featuring contests, video, packages, Big Taste information  Tourism Calgary produced culinary scene video  Eight culinary themed packages with dinners and hotel stays  Tickets for sale to Big Taste special functions  Culinary events in online calendar Integrated PR Initiatives  Blogger food tour in February, creating engaging online content to use on website and through social media  Culinary story pitches to regional media  Regional and national media tour in March Social Media  Promote packages, video, culinary contest, landing page and drive traffic to visitcalgary.com  Connect with culinary influencers and have conversations about the culinary scene in Calgary  Promote and post content from media tour activities and culinary stories  A new Tourism Calgary Pinterest page was launched Results  Total campaign impression reach = 2,723,264 impressions  Packages: Although no “food” specific packages were sold, campaign related tickets did remarkably well as food tickets outsold last year’s total tickets by more than 4 times  Accommodation: While there were no direct campaign accommodation sales from the campaign, the 72% increase over the previous year’s hotel sales suggests that it successfully drove traffic and general awareness, which impacted accommodation sales  Additional Peak 1 results can be found in the digital and PR sections of this report

Summer Campaign In Progress The second campaign for 2012 will feature Calgary’s diverse summer experiences. This will be the largest campaign in 2012, designed to drive traffic to Calgary in July and August. More than $560,000 will be invested into regional advertising that will feature 11 partners in three specific campaign flights. Campaign details are: Calgary Stampede Campaign - April 16 to May 13 Partners: The Calgary Stampede, Tourism Calgary, TDR Budget: $200,000 Mediums: TV, online, PR, social media, visitcalgary.com

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Summer in Calgary (General) Campaign - June 18 to July 16 Partners: Heritage Park, Calgary Tower, Fort Calgary, Glenbow Museum, Calaway Park, Calgary Attractions, Great Calgary Festivals, Globalfest, Tourism Calgary, TDR Budget: $196,000 Mediums: TV, print, magazine, online, PR, social media, visitcalgary.com Calgary Zoo Penguins Campaign - July 16 to August 16 Partners: Calgary Zoo, NE Hotel Quadrant, Tourism Calgary, TDR Budget: $174,000 Mediums: TV, print, magazine, online, PR, social media, visitcalgary.com Campaign Research Tourism Calgary will be testing the creative and messaging for the summer campaigns in regional markets in May. Results will determine what images resonate best with the regional markets and identify the types of packaging, pricing, and value add messaging that will create the greatest urgency for travellers to book a trip to Calgary now. Brand Rollout Four brand rollout sessions were held in the Tourism Calgary offices on March 12 and 13. Roughly 55 industry representatives attended from various areas including hotels, attractions, transportation, arts and culture, and events. Representatives from Travel Alberta and Tourism Calgary board and staff also attended. Reaction to the new brand was positive with many members offering to support Tourism Calgary’s new strategies for imagery, packaging, and linking websites.

digital The culinary campaign executed in Q1 resulted in strong growth in website traffic. Compared to Q1 2011, the site saw an increase in visits (21.5%) and pageviews (11.8%). Growth in Tourism Calgary’s social media channels continues to be higher than expected, with Facebook engagement already reaching 92% of its KPI target for 2012. One of our Twitter handles (@tourismcalgary) has already surpassed its KPI target for 2012, while the other (@calgary) has reached 96% of its target for 2012. Online sales for the quarter show room sales at 108% of the prior year, and attraction sales 497% higher than last year. The top 5 hotels for nights sold on visitcalgary.com from January 1 – March 31, 2012:  Greenwood Inn and Suites  Delta Bow Valley Hotel  Best Western Airport Inn  Sandman Hotel Calgary City Centre  Coast Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre 2012 Regional Campaign – Culinary Campaign Online support for the culinary campaign included a homepage banner, landing page, video and contest. The campaign was also supported through our social media channels. The contest was hosted on our site and received 1,167 entries – which is comparable to other recent contesting hosted on Facebook but at a much lower cost. This contest captured 343 new entries for our CRM database as well as updated information for 425 previous subscribers. The development of the online form used to execute this contest will allow us to do similar contests in the future in a cost effective manner. The campaign also featured dining packages from seven member restaurants, allowing visitors to package hotel stays with dining experiences. None of these restaurants had participated in packaging previously, and three new restaurants became members of Tourism Calgary in order to be included in these packages. While sales of the packages failed to materialize, having them on the site provided great exposure to our partners while showing visitors the depth of Calgary’s culinary offers.

6 | Q1 2012 Destination Report

The campaign’s goal to increase site traffic and sales by 25% was achieved, with traffic in the period of the campaign increasing 46% and sales up by 173% over the same time period the previous year. Traffic Patterns, 2012 vs 2011 (Feb 13 – Mar 15)

Mobile Site Development The downtown quadrant of the Calgary Hotel Association (CHA) provided funding to develop a mobile version of visitcalgary.com. The mobile version of the site, which optimizes viewing of the site on mobile devices, was completed in time for Tourism Calgary’s AGM on April 12, 2012. A mobile version of the site’s booking engine will be completed as part of the second phase of this project. To illustrate the need for this development, visits to visitcalgary.com in Q1 grew 21.5% over the previous year, while mobile visits to the site grew by 269% during the same time period. South Quadrant Landing Page The CHA’s South Quadrant has invested in the development of a landing page for the quadrant on visitcalgary.com. The site’s structure was developed in January and the page was launched in March. The page gives the quadrant a chance to create packages and content for the region, the first of which was the Day Out With Thomas package at Heritage Park which was launched in March. Meridian Reservation Systems The industry expressed some frustrations with Meridian Reservation Systems software and at the end of 2011 asked Tourism Calgary to provide a reevaluation of the system by the end of Q1. To assess the situation, Tourism Calgary spearheaded a survey of Canadian DMOs in order to investigate which tourism bureaus had booking engines and what software they were using. In the end, 33 DMOs responded and, after evaluating their responses and speaking with other organizations, it was concluded that Meridian continues to be our best solution. Rebranding The rebranding of visitcalgary.com was completed and launched in February. This was not a major overhaul of the site, but instead some tweaking to the aesthetics of the site to comply with Tourism Calgary’s new brand. Minor tweaks will continue in the weeks to come. Referrals An ability to report referrals from visitcalgary.com to our partners’ websites has been established. This will allow us to easily and accurately report back to the industry how much traffic visitcalgary.com sends to our members. In Q1, more than 25,400 referrals were sent from visitcalgary.com to partner websites. Social Media In Q1, Tourism Calgary’s social platforms saw positive growth with respect to engagement and new user activity. Facebook has seen a 10% growth in “Likes” in Q1, with our Twitter handles showing even more growth in followers, 23% for @calgary and 20% for @tourismcalgary.

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Community engagement peaked this quarter during the opening of the Penguin Plunge Exhibit at the Calgary Zoo, Calgary Stampede announcements, and various events and promotions as a part of the Culinary Peak. Highlights include the Charcut and Hotel LeGermain contest and blogger content from the YYC Steak Tour. Pinterest February saw the launch of Tourism Calgary’s Pinterest page. The page was developed to support the culinary campaign. Engagement in the site has been limited, but as the popularity of Pinterest continues to rise at a meteoric pace, we anticipate heavy engagement in the months to come.

media relations & promotions activity In Q1, Tourism Calgary in partnership with our members generated more than $2.1 million in media coverage. Highlights include:  

A nine-page feature on Calgary in Good Times magazine titled “ Come to Calgary” A six-page feature in Enroute magazine highlighting the Calgary Music Scene



A full culinary feature in the Globe and Mail on the Calgary beer culture

8 | Q1 2012 Destination Report



An eight-page feature in the March issue of Canadian Geographic showcasing the Calgary Stampede and Calgary partners, the result of a multi-year partnership between the Calgary Stampede and National Geographic supported by Tourism Calgary



Calgary has also been mentioned in several regional publications highlighting Calgary’s 2012 events, plus a Valentine’s Day in Calgary feature in the Edmonton Journal

In Q1, the Tourism Calgary PR team hosted seven press trips with participants from more than 17 media outlets. Highlights include:  Hosted a culinary bloggers press trip “The New Take on Steak” including the Food Network and Calgary Herald food experts. This partnership with key food influencers in the region generated buzz around Calgary’s food scene. The initiative reached over 400,000 readers in partnership with food influencers

 

Followed up with the second “New Take on Steak” tour, hosting culinary writers from UP! Magazine, Red Deer Advocate, Onlyhereforthefood.com, Globe and Mail, Culinaire Magazine and exposure on Vacay.ca Worked closely with the CTC and Stampede on an initiative with NBC. Tourism Calgary hosted the group to shoot a story highlighting Calgary’s western and culinary cultures

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A Tourism Calgary partnership with Vacay.ca and the 100-day countdown to the Calgary Stampede.



Supported a Travel Alberta press trip in partnership with KLM and WestJet telling the Calgary sports story in Germany and the Netherlands.

Additional exposure in Q1 included:  Day tripping segment on City TV’s Breakfast Television  A rerun of the CBS Eye on the Bay Segment featuring Calgary attractions, restaurants and hotels

In addition to the above, Calgary received some great media exposure garnering more than $3 million in media value in Q1:  The Harper visit to China with attention given to both the Calgary Stampede and Calgary Zoo  The Calgary Zoo’s Penguin Plunge opening  Other partner announcements; Calgary Stampede, Sled Island and Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo  LIVE! with Kelly in Banff, featuring Calgary partners and stories Marketplaces The Tourism Calgary PR team prepared for three key marketplaces taking place in Q2 (April/May): CMM, GoMedia and TMAC. Of special note was Tourism Calgary’s hosting of the closing event at Canada’s Media Marketplace in San Francisco on April 3: Canada’s Media Marketplace – Calgary Night Out Tourism Calgary hosted more than 300 top U.S.-based journalists representing travel and lifestyle outlets across broadcast, print, electronic, and online consumer and travel publications. The evening was a culinary-themed soiree highlighting Calgary's vibrancy – from a culinary and cultural vantage. Partners and activities included Calgary’s top chefs, the Alley Burger Truck greeting guests as they arrived, Oyster Shucking contests with Catch, a “pick your own greens” garden from Rouge and so much more. A live DJ and interactive art component also helped us tell the Calgary story. This event ensured that media are aware of Calgary’s breadth of story ideas and opens the door to future broadcast hosting and national publications. Event results will be included in the Q2 report.

10 | Q1 2012 Destination Report

travel trade Events/Activities Canada Corroboree in Australia January 31 to February 10. This is an important road-show for targeting agents, media and tour operators. Tourism Calgary has had the opportunity to speak to 794 travel agents highlighting the unique experiences in Calgary. This year we collaborated with the Calgary Stampede to execute large White Hat ceremonies, White Hatting more than 800 travel professionals and 92 Australia media in Melbourne and Sydney. Focus Canada China in Beijing March 19 to 21. Canadian tourism promotion has been very effective as business levels are up 21% year-over-year to Canada. Tourism Calgary had 53 pre-scheduled appointments and attended two trade dinners and two press conferences hosted by the CTC, Travel Alberta and the Calgary Stampede. China has also seen a significant breakthrough in the streamlining of the visa documentation process. Extensive document requirements are being replaced by a simple template that requires basic personal information. This new process will be in effect May 1. Product Development Trips (PDTs): This year we will see a stronger alignment to our strategy by targeting the following markets for our Calgary-initiated product development trips: U.S., U.K., China and Australia. We have currently secured 22 of the 30 possible key tour operator participants for the three Calgary Stampede PDTs this year.

Meetings Qantas Holidays launched their first ever Canada only brochure that included significant Calgary coverage. Our destination awareness benefitted significantly from their marketing campaign, earning more than $183,000 in media value. They will also be executing a large travel agent product development trip during the Stampede Centennial. In February, Collette Vacations product manager, Bethany Manchester, was in Calgary evaluating their 2013 product line. She met with Chinook Honey Company and intends to pilot Chinook Honey Company in the 2013 tour programs. This represents a new export-ready product for Calgary to enhance and diversify international itineraries. Titan Travel introduced a new Calgary Stampede tour program in 2011. Our 2012 joint marketing agreement (JMA) provided White Hats to confirmed passengers to help grow and develop their Calgary Stampede tour program. To date, the Calgary Stampede tour program passenger numbers are up 320%. This tour includes three nights in Calgary. Tourism Calgary launched a 2012 JMA with Travelbag (Stella Wholesale) which included a three-page spread in Travelbag’s customer magazine ‘Escape’ mailed to 100,000 of their top, highest spending clients. Also, a four-page ‘digimag’ will be distributed to 600,000 in April within a Canada-themed email.

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Adventure World campaign report showed some very positive results.  The advertisements had a total consumer reach of 6.8 million people through six publications  Website analytics:  25,989 unique visits  Average time spent on the Canada section at 2.52 minutes  72.47% were new visits to the site  Targeted campaign email – 4,148 unique opens (20% of recipients)

Results Tourism Calgary will complete nine joint marketing agreements (JMAs) in 2012. This is an additional two JMAs due to budget savings in other areas. Titan Travel is one of the additional 2012 JMAs that is already seeing strong early results. Canadian Affair 2012 JMA has launched. Initial reports shows flight sales in the month of January 2012 are up 10% year-on-year and so are the ground sales. This yielded the best Calgary January sales ever for Canadian Affair, even with a down economy in the U.K. The “Start Your Canadian Affair” TV ad featuring Calgary won the Most Popular TV Advert of the Year poll launched by CIMTIG. We are expecting to see an increase of 3% to 5% in volume for 2012. Our multi-tiered JMA with Anderson Vacations is estimated to increase booking to Calgary during the Stampede Centennial by 8% and for 2012 by 5%. A unique component was the Baxter Cover Contest that had Calgary on the cover of their popular travel agent publication. In the first day, Anderson Vacations reported they had 8 new reservations for the 2012 Centennial, including more than 35 room nights to Calgary. A Canada/Calgary U.K. consumer campaign went live on February 20. Initial reports show results are on pace to meet expectations. To date they have delivered 8,980,321 impressions and have generated more than 2,500 clicks. Our top creative is performing well with an impressive click-through-rate of 0.13%.

corporate communications New statistics were available through the Conference Board of Canada and Statistics Canada and the research and communications teams distributed the information through various channels: Calgary led the nation’s metropolitan centres in tourism spending growth in 2011 with an 8.1 per cent increase in visitor spending according to the Conference Board of Canada. Based on this forecast and information from Statistics Canada for 2010, visitor spending in Calgary is estimated at $1.3 billion in 2011. The latest data from Statistics Canada shows that the number of visitors to the Calgary area grew from 4.7 million in 2009 to 5.1 million in 2010. Tourism Calgary 2012-2014 Strategic Plan - The Strategic Plan was finalized and printed in time for the Tourism Calgary Open House. A digital version of the Strategic Plan is available at visitcalgary.com/reports. Tourism Calgary 2011 Annual Report – With input from the entire Tourism Calgary management team, the 2011 Annual Report was a departure from the previous year in both creative and written content. With more tourism marketing programs and campaigns to report on, the 2011 Annual Report is more results focused, creatively captures important industry testimonials and takes advantage of improved photographic assets. The report was finalized and printed in time for the April 12 Annual General Meeting. The 2011 Annual Report is available online at visitcalgary.com/reports and at the Tourism Calgary office in limited quantities.

12 | Q1 2012 Destination Report

Media Relations – In January the fact that Tourism Calgary was looking to incorporate “Calgary. Be Part of the Energy” as its slogan and a component of the new tourism brand became public. A substantial amount of media attention followed and over time through extensive interviews the full story was explained from a tourism perspective. On February 7, 2012 Tourism Calgary presented to the Calgary Herald Editorial Board to discuss the new slogan as well as Tourism Calgary’s strategic plan. Proactive media releases accompanied by reactive media relations with regards to Pandas coming to Calgary, the new Glacier Walk announcement, The Big Taste event, Tourism Calgary’s Open House, Speed Skating World Championship, the UFC announcement, Cultural Capital and Calgary Stampede announcements as well as managing reaction to the new slogan has had Tourism Calgary in the news on a regular basis in print, television, radio and online channels. The following press releases were issued in Q1: Jan. 6 Calgary bids farewell to the IIHF World Junior Championship teams Jan. 9 CNN International: Calgary is the #5 best place to visit in the world in 2012 Jan. 25 Essent ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championships to Garner Significant International Television Exposure and Economic Activity for Calgary Feb. 10 New Food Scene Explodes in Calgary, Alberta Feb. 16 Calgary Entertainment and Comic Expo draws in Marquee Names in 2012 Apr. 4 Calgary Calls on American Travel Journalists to Take Note Apr. 12 Tourism Calgary Annual General Meeting Highlights Year of Accomplishments Q1 2012 Business in Calgary articles: January - A record-breaking year for event tourism February - Five tourism trends for 2012 March - Taking the guess work out of marketing April - Big new numbers & the elusive international traveller Major Creative Projects – Outside of the Strategic Plan and Annual Report, the communications department has been heavily engaged in the brand development, brand guidelines and brand rollout process both from a corporate brand perspective and for the internal completion and timelines for many brand components. The team was also involved in the creative and editing process for the Tourism Calgary Visitor Guide as well as media partnerships, advertising copy and creative for the White Hat Awards.

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key performance measures Leisure Objective

Metrics

2011

2012 Target

YTD

Image (behaviour study)

Nil

Perception improvement in 3 key areas(cowboy, energy & redneck)

Results in Q4

Marketing Effectiveness Campaign Effectiveness

N/A

Results in Q3

$1.5M

Driving visitor intention (baseline TBD in Nov) $3M

11 $536,000 ($206K Industry/ Quadrants $330K)

15 $700,000 ($250K Industry/ Quadrants $450K)

13 $205,000

51.6%/63.9%/67.9%

54.6%/66.9%/70.9%

58.2%/64.6%/67.8%

2011 data available January 2012

TBD Q1

TBD

70.4%

73.4%

Results in Sept

2011

2012 Target

YTD

800,000 11,000 6,000 / 4,500

1,000,000 13,750 7,500 / 5,600

193,428 12,615 7,646 / 5,381

Partner Referrals (visitcalgary.com)

9,000

11,250

25,407

Online Room Night Sales /Revenue

720/ $110,000

900 / $140,000

146 / $20,223

Brand Perception

PR ad equivalency

$2,100,000

Industry Co-op Marketing Partners Co-op Marketing Partner contributions Room Night Indicator Monthly Occupancy - Jan/Feb/Mar Weekend Occupancy - 52 weeks -Fri/Sat/Sun Post Stampede Occupancy - 45 days, starting the Monday after Stampede week

Digital Objective Engagement Consumer

Metrics

Website Visits Facebook Followers Twitter Followers (2 handles) (@tourismcalgary/@calgary)

Leads Transaction *19,500K commissions

Online Ticket Sales / Revenue Joint Marketing Agreements

2,000 / $45,000 Incremental 1,056 (23,409)

2500 / $56,000 Incremental 1,170 (24,579)

276 / $10,915 TBD

Final report with recommendations to CHA by end of Q1

Report sent to CHA March 2, 2012

Conversion Measure conversion effectiveness on Meridian, include industry best practices and recommendations for 2012

14 | Q1 2012 Destination Report

visitcalgary.com Dashboard January 1, 2012 – March 31, 2012

ENGAGEMENT

SITE USAGE Q1 2012

Q1 2011

%

Pageviews

937,480

838,849

11.8%

Visits

193,428

159,165

21.5%

4.85

5.27

-8.04%

Pages/visit

Q1 2012

Q1 2011

Time on site

3:34

4:10

-14.3%

Bounce rate

43.45%

46.29%

-6.13%

% New visits

78.7%

73.53%

7.04%

REFERRING SITES

SOURCES

Google

62.3%

Search engines

72.0%

Regional

visitcalgary.com (direct)

12.2%

Referring sites

13.8%

Calgary

%

VISITS BY REGION % 36.4%

Google CPC

5.6%

Direct traffic

12.2%

Edmonton

7.3%

BingTSN

1.8%

Campaigns

2.0%

Lethbridge

1.3%

Facebook

1.5%

Saskatoon

1.2%

Regina

0.9%

KEYWORDS calgary things to do in calgary

OPERATING SYSTEMS

National

14.6%

Windows

64.7%

Toronto

3.6%

9.4%

Macintosh

16.0%

Vancouver

3.3% 1.1%

%

calgary tourism

3.5%

iPhone

7.2%

Ottawa

tourism calgary

2.8%

iPad

6.5%

London

1.0%

2.4%

Winnipeg

0.9%

calgary events

2.2%

Android

International

MOST USED PAGES Homepage

11.4%

%

Canada

73.8%

BROWSER

United States

10.4%

Explorer

38.6%

United Kingdom

4.5% 1.5%

/things-to-do/attractions

8.5%

Safari

26.4%

Australia

/things-to-do

3.6%

Firefox

16.8%

Germany

1.1%

/things-to-do/events-calendar

3.1%

Chrome

13.4%

Netherlands

0.7%

/things-to-do/arts-culture

1.6%

Android

2.4%

[Type a quote from the REFERRALS TO PARTNER SITES Mar 2012 YTD

9,266 25,407

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Dashboard - Engagement January 1, 2012 – March 31, 2012

LEAD TIME TO BOOK

SALES Hotel sales

Q1

YTD

Room nights

146

146

$20,223

$20,223

Revenue

41+ Days

22 bookings (21%)

0 Days

17 bookings (11%)

1 Day

13 bookings (8%)

5 Days

9 bookings (6%)

Attraction sales Tickets Revenue

276

276

$10,915

$10,915

TOP FIVE HOTELS (NIGHTS SOLD Q1)

Package sales

Greenwood Inn and Suites

Packages sold Revenue

35

35

$5,880

$5,880

49

49

Room nights

Delta Bow Valley Hotel Best Western Airport Inn Sandman Hotel Calgary City Centre Coast Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre

BOOKINGS BY TOP PROVINCES Province

Bookings

Nights

Revenue

216

62

$14,616.92

Saskatchewan

8

16

$2,685.26

Ontario

6

16

$2,741.33

Alberta

BOOKING ENGINE TRAFFIC

SOCIAL MEDIA YTD Feb

YTD Mar

12,180

12,615

@calgary

5,047

5,381

@tourismcalgary

7,194

7,646

Facebook likes

% 3.6% 6.6% 6.3%

Q1

YTD

Visits

15,640

15,640

Unique visits

12,188

12,188

Bookings

158

158

Conversion

77:1

77:1

FACEBOOK LIKES

FACEBOOK LIKES

BY REGION

BY CITY

Canada

85.4%

E-MAIL SIGN UPS %

% Calgary

16.0%

4.0%

Edmonton

9.1%

United Kingdom

1.0%

Saskatoon

4.7%

Mexico

0.7%

Regina

4.0%

Germany

0.6%

Winnipeg

3.3%

United States

16 | Q1 2012 Destination Report

Meridian visitcalgary.com

Q1 57 930

sports & events Tourism Calgary and Calgary Sport Tourism Authority Proud to Bring 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship to Alberta!

Al Coates, Executive Director, 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship and Marco De Iaco, Vice President, Sales, Tourism Calgary

Please see Tourism Calgary’s newest piece of commemorative artwork! The painting was created for a limited edition, 19-piece 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship Legacy Collection. The painting was given to Tourism Calgary and the Calgary Sport Tourism Authority as a gift and accompanied by the following plaque: “To Tourism Calgary and the Calgary Sport Tourism Authority, please accept this gift as a token of appreciation in recognition of your outstanding leadership in bringing the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship to Alberta and helping to deliver a world-class event.” - Hockey Canada By all accounts, the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship was a resounding success. Calgary and Edmonton successfully co-hosted a major international event for the first time! Fans, volunteers and officials across the province were engaged and enthusiastic about the experience. And, 1,155 volunteers and 14 communities across Alberta formally participated in the event, hosting a record 11 exhibition games and three selection camp games. For the tourism industry, the event produced an outstanding economic yield with tremendous profile during a low season period. The legacy for grassroots sport is significant, as the event posted a record profit of $21 million; with $1 million in legacy investment directly into programs in the Province of Alberta. The combined spending of event operations and an estimated 38,000 visitors at the 2012 World Junior Championship totaled $54 million, generating approximately $92 million in gross economic activity, of which $52.5 million occurred in 1 the city of Calgary. The net economic activity (GDP) is estimated at $51.5 million. A total of 571,539 tickets were 2 purchased for 31 games, exceeding the previous record of 453,282. To put this in perspective, the 2010 Winter Olympics (arguably the biggest ice hockey tournament ever) drew 491,444 fans across 30 games. In addition, visitation occurred during December and January, historically ranked as the two lowest months in hotel occupancy in 3 Alberta. As well, in a year-over-year comparison from 2010/2011 to 2011/2012, it is estimated that an additional 18,000 hotel room nights were sold in the city of Calgary from December 19, 2011 to January 5, 2012.

1 2 3

Preliminary Estimates – Hockey Canada will release an actual commissioned economic impact report in June of 2012 Ice Times, Vol. 16, Number 1, February 2012 – International Ice Hockey Federation Smith Travel Research – daily data of historical hotel performance

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Highlights: o 23 games were broadcast on TSN, with an average audience of 858,136 viewers o Canada vs. Russia semifinal had an average of 2,947,000 viewers o 12.4 million visits to the event website from December 31, 2011 to January 5, 2012 o 480 accredited media attended the event o $2 million in unpaid media generated o Public awareness in Alberta reached 84% on January 3, 2011 o 2.4 million friends on Facebook o For the first time, all 31 games were offered worldwide via webcast Winter Sport Event Strategy Tourism Calgary is pleased to have assisted in bringing three world championship events to Calgary in January and February, 2012. The Burton Canadian Open took place at Winsport’s Canada Olympic Park and featured top slopestyle and halfpipe riders competing for a piece of the $70,000 purse. This event is the second of four global stops in the Burton Global Open Series. Secondly, the Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix World Cup, also at Canada Olympic Park, featured mogul and aerial disciplines. The finals were aired on Sportsnet One (East, Ontario, West and Pacific). Finally, the Essent ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championship was held at the Olympic Oval where another world record was set in the facility, this time by Canadian Christine Nesbitt. Thirty international media were in attendance and the event received more than 100 hours of international broadcast coverage. 4

Sport Tourism Spending Spending associated with the Canadian sport tourism industry reached $3.6 billion in 2010, an increase of 8.8% from 2008. This compares to a 0.7% decrease in tourism demand for the Canadian tourism industry as a whole over the same period, thus continuing sport tourism’s trend of being one of the fastest growing industry segments within Canada’s tourism industry. The increase in sport tourism spending was driven by domestic sport travellers, while U.S. sport tourism demand remained relatively steady and overseas expenditures declined. The change in both domestic and U.S. sport tourism expenditures exceeded the growth rates of domestic and U.S. tourism in general, while overseas sport tourism spending reflects similar declines in the overseas Canadian tourism industry. Key Metrics, Year-to-Date 6,609 hotel room nights have been confirmed definite in 2012 through the support of 14 sport, cultural and special events. The 5-year average (2007-2011) is 19 events per year or 25,668 room nights.

4

Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance, based on Statistics Canada (2010) – February 15, 2012 press release

18 | Q1 2012 Destination Report

convention sales Q1 Bookings Report – as reported in the MCC Q1 Report, 2012 The “Bookings Report” provides a summary of new leads by quarter along with quarter and full-year-to-date (FYTD) comparisons with the previous year. The “Bookings Report” shows new leads brought into the system in the quarter and the status of each lead at quarter’s end.

Source: Meetings & Conventions Calgary, Quarter One Report, 2012 Total Leads: During Q1, MCC forwarded 50 leads representing 42,247 potential room nights compared to 56 leads representing 36,975 potential room nights in Q1 2011.

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Q1 Leads Activity Report – as reported in the MCC Q1 Report, 2012 The “Leads Activity Report” summarizes all lead activity with a status change in the quarter in the MCC pipeline. It combines the status (definite, tentative and lost) of new leads generated in the quarter.

Source: Meetings & Conventions Calgary, Quarter One Report, 2012 Definite Events: In Q1, 25 events representing 11,035 room nights went definite versus 19 events representing 6,454 definite room nights in Q1 2011. During Q1, one city-wide representing 2,770 room nights was confirmed.

20 | Q1 2012 Destination Report

membership, corporate development & conference servicing Calgary White Hat Awards

th

The 50 Anniversary Calgary White Hat Awards will be held May 16, 2012 at the Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets are available at [email protected] or by contacting Cindy Good at 403-750-2360. Deadline for ticket sales is May 7. This Awards Gala is one of the tourism industry’s most anticipated events, where we tip our hats to service excellence and announce the finalists and winners in 26 categories. You don't need to be in the service industry to attend, everyone is welcome! Individual nominee interviews were held at the Calgary Zoo and Sandman Hotel Calgary City Centre over a six-day period. In all, 436 nominees were interviewed by volunteers from the hospitality and tourism industry. Special thanks to all of the volunteers who donated their time, and to the Calgary Zoo and Sandman Inn Downtown/Moxies for generously opening their doors to assist us in interviewing the best and brightest talents in our industry. th

A special thanks to our 50 Anniversary Calgary White Hat Award Sponsors for making this evening possible: Presenting Sponsor: Sysco Calgary Platinum Sponsor: Calgary Hotel Association Media Sponsors: Calgary Herald, Global Calgary/Shaw Media, Where Calgary Magazine Gold Sponsors: Calgary Stampede, Smithbilt Hats, HMSHost, Penny Lane Entertainment Group, AVW-TELAV Category Sponsors: Big Rock, Calgary Airport Authority, Calgary Flames, Calgary Marriott Downtown, Calgary Transit, Calgary Tower, Chinook Centre, Delta Calgary Hotels, Fairmont Palliser, Hotel Alma, Imagewear a division of Mark’s, Mountain View Printing & Graphics, Sheraton Suites Eau Claire, The Westin Calgary, WestJet Supporting Sponsors: Alberta Laminations, Ambassador Limousine and MC Limo, AVISBudget Group, Calgary Zoo, CEO Productions, Christie Lites, CrossIron Mills, Delta Bow Valley Hotel, Deloitte, Flagworks Group, Frozen Memories, Mediaco, The Artist’s Picture Company, White Hat Hospitality Seeking Past Winners Since 1961, Tourism Calgary has been honouring the best and brightest from the service community in Calgary. Are you one of those stars? If you have won a Calgary White Hat Award or know someone who did in the 1960s, 70s or 80s, we want to hear from you. Email your name and daytime contact number to [email protected] or call our past White Hat Award Winners hotline at 403.750.2364 before May 3. We would love to reconnect with you and hear your story.

Glenbow Archives – M-8607-52-1

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Industry Events – Year-to-date Tourism Calgary’s 26th Annual Open House was celebrated by a record crowd and set a boisterous tone for the coming year. Special thanks to our presenting sponsor Air Canada, the Glenbow Museum and our fabulous food and beverage partners for assisting us to host the evening at the remarkable Glenbow Museum. Special guest speakers included Mayor Nenshi, Catherine Redekopp, Regional General Manager, Passenger Sales - The Prairies for Air Canada, and Kirstin Evenden, President & CEO, Glenbow Museum.

Tourism Talks: Explorer Quotient, Canadian Tourism Commission. February 15 and 16, Blackfoot Inn and Heritage Park. Hosted 55 attendees. Tourism Calgary’s Annual General Meeting was held April 12 in the Fairmont Palliser’s Crystal Ballroom. Tourism Calgary hosted more than 200 guests and celebrated a year of accomplishments for the entire Calgary and area tourism industry. At the meeting, Tourism Calgary released its 2011 Annual Report identifying the progress achieved in its key results areas. Special thanks to our keynote speaker Michele McKenzie, President & CEO, Canadian Tourism Commission and our sponsors The Fairmont Palliser, PSAV, and the Foothills Brass.

Upcoming Events Tourism Talks: Culinary Tourism - April 26. Saltlik Calgary. Special thanks to our mediator Donald House, Managing Director IDMG and Chair of the newly formed Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance. Thanks to our panel of experts including John Jackson & Connie DeSousa of CHARCUT Roast House; Paul Rogalski of Rouge, Tom Bornhorst, Dean for the School of Hospitality and Tourism SAIT; Mark Wilson Vice President - Hotel Arts Hospitality Group & GM - Hotel Arts / Kensington Riverside Inn. Digital 101 - May 3. Attendees will learn about the strategy behind the award-winning visitcalgary.com website, plus website traffic, marketing strategies, opportunities including video placement, engaging imagery and content, updating information, paid placement, and linkage strategy. An overview of Tourism Calgary's social mediums (Twitter & Facebook) and their value is included. Membership Orientation Workshop - May 8. Those interested in learning about Tourism Calgary's role, marketing opportunities, the benefits and value of membership, and how to take advantage of marketing resources should attend. th

50 Anniversary Calgary White Hat Awards - May 16. Jubilee Auditorium. First Flip Stampede Breakfast in partnership with Calgary Downtown, Calgary Economic Development, TELUS Convention Centre, and ATB Financial. The First Flip is being held on July 5, Stephen Avenue Walk.

22 | Q1 2012 Destination Report

Tourism Calgary Golf Classic – Presented by WestJet - August 29. Heritage Pointe Golf Club.

membership Membership is off to a great start to the year with 46 new members joining in the first three months of the year and revenue of $22,010 in the first quarter of 2012 compared to $13,650 in Q1 2011.  Membership at March 30, 2012 was 633 members.  The 2012 Member-to-Member Savings Program has 74 industry partners with offers valid to December 31, 2012.  Staff continue to conduct service calls, site visits/tours and meetings with members and key non-members regarding membership benefits, value, participation and marketing opportunities.

conference & event servicing 





Airports Council International (ACI) site inspection took place on March 5-7, 2012 bringing in the ACI meeting planners and logistical teams from Freeman Canada and U.S. The ACI Annual Meeting & Exhibition will take place September 9-12, 2012 with more than 2,000 delegates in attendance. Thank you to the support of YYC and Julien Deschutter for providing transportation during the site inspection. Tourism Calgary and Calgary Telus Convention Centre will be supporting an attendance building initiative in July 2012 for Take Pounds Off Sensibly (TOPS). This event is scheduled in Calgary for July 2013 with more than 4,000 delegates expected. Tourism Calgary and Meetings & Conventions Calgary will be working together to support an attendance building initiative at the International Association of Comprehensive Aesthetics 2012 Conference in July. This event is scheduled in Calgary for July 29-August 4, 2013, with more than 1,000 delegates expected.

visitor services   

 

Mini-maps featuring Tourism Calgary’s members were distributed to key hotel partners throughout the city. The annual Tourism Calgary member publications - Visitor Guide & Destination Planner - were both created and printed in Q1, and are currently being distributed domestically and internationally. A collaborative partnership was formed with Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation to enhance our presence at the Airport Visitor Centre location. Contract negotiations and planning are underway to add a new team for the summer, commencing the long weekend in May, to extend visitor counselling services to the International Arrivals Visitors Desk. Visitor Services launched a new online tracking form to collect information on the type of visitors being counselled at the visitor information centres. An Open House event was held for the Concierge/Front Desk community at our downtown Visitor Centre location to showcase visitcalgary.com and the services that Tourism Calgary’s counsellors can offer to this frontline community.

White Hat Ceremonies A total of 110 people received White Hats in Q1 including: Calgary Balloon Club Glenbow Museum Calgary Burns Club Convention All Manchester United Soccer Impact Society World Vision Danish Canadian Club Centre Street Church Fairmont Hotels Aboriginal Affairs Sister Catherine Computer Environment Control Saint Margerite School

Astronomical Society Japanese exchange students BW delegates Naval Reserve Little League Legal Shield Western Hospitality singers

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