Forwarded by our provincial tourist partner.
As a tourism stakeholder in the region I thought you might be interested in this excerpt from the April RTO4 newsletter.
Our regional Destination Marketing Partners, Visit Guelph, Elora/Fergus Tourism, Wellington County, Waterloo Regional Tourism Marketing Partnership, St. Jacobs Country, the Perth County Visitors Association, Stratford Tourism Alliance and Huron Tourism deserve significant credit and thanks in getting the project to this point. They are the front line of tourism development and marketing in your respective regions and all are active and contributing partners to the RTO model.
March 20/2013
Regional Tourism Organization 4 Inc., 519-271-7000
Excerpt from April Newsletter… over a Quarter Million Dollars in direct sales
More than 200 stakeholders from across the region representing all sectors are now active on the Regional Reservation System representing more than 300 properties or products!
Over the summer of 2012 the Reservation System was implemented and owner/operator sites went live; media drivers were tested through a multi-point campaign that included television, newspapers, on-line digital, outdoor and radio. Throughout the campaign, the experiential “ilike” sites were tested and the results have led to numerous modifications and improvement.
From Sept to the end of March the Regional Reservation System has posted over a Quarter Million Dollars in direct sales with all of that income going directly to stakeholders, no commissions no sales cost! And this was just the test period!
Rolling in to the April launch for our 2013/14 season, the RTO’s goal and strategy remain clear and focused. The Goal is to increase tourism revenue by 25% by March 31, 2015. The strategy is to increase overnights in regional accommodations by reaching further afield with experiential marketing and packages and to convert day-trippers to overnights.
Theatre, outdoors, Canadian small towns, agri-culinary and motorsports all represent segments where the region is strong and can cut through the tourism marketing clutter in Ontario with compelling messaging. Once we have the consumer’s interest and attention, the next step is to drive them to an internet tool, a website, where they can safely and securely purchase from the variety of compelling experiences the region has to offer.
I encourage you to check out betterweekending.ca and see what’s happening right now!
In other news, the RTO4.ca “business to business” web site has been redesigned from the ground up! Its features include a fully responsive format that accommodates smartphones and tablets, and has a members-only downloads area for registered Tourism Operators. It’s free to register, so sign up today for the latest in regional tourism development news, upcoming campaigns, reviews and opportunities.
In closing, let’s have a great season! I look forward to meeting more of you in person over the next few months.
RTO4
CEO
Regional Tourism Organization Four Inc.