Manitoba Francophone Tourism Strategy - Progress Report - English

Manitoba Francophone Tourism Strategy Progress Report As of March 31, 2023

Indigenous Tourism Strategy » Progress Report

Introduction LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT •

Manitoba encompasses Treaty 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Territories and communities who are signatories to Treaties 6 and 10. Manitoba is located on the ancestral land of the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline and Nehethowuk Nations and is the Homeland of the Red River Métis. Northern Manitoba includes lands that were and are the ancestral lands of the Inuit.

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Introduction FRANCOPHONE COMMUNITY Manitoba is home to the largest Francophone community in Western Canada.

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The St. Boniface neighbourhood in Winnipeg, as well as 17 rural Francophone communities, boast unique and historic architecture, thriving businesses, rich history and lively cultural activities, providing tremendous potential for tourism development.

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Introduction STRATEGY BACKGROUND •

In 2019, representatives of the Francophone tourism sector provided input in the development of the Francophone Tourism Strategy. That same year, an advisory committee was established to lead the strategy’s implementation in coordination with Travel Manitoba.

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The strategy’s launch was delayed due to the pandemic and later updated to reflect the need for COVID-19 recovery.

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In 2022, the strategy officially launched. The strategy provides a framework to advance the development and marketing of Francophone tourism in Manitoba.

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This progress report demonstrates progress made on the strategy as early as 2019 and extends through its formal launch in April 2022 to March 2023.

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VISION Manitoba is a must-visit destination for travellers from all over the world thanks to the notoriety, discoverability and accessibility of Francophone tourism experiences.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES • • • • • • Indigenous Tourism Strategy » Progress Report

Sustainable, equitable and responsible tourism approaches Share responsibility and leadership Agile, transparent and accessible communications Innovative and open culture to address challenges Respect for Francophone and Métis perspectives and diversity Decision-making based on sound research 5

Introduction STRATEGY TARGETS •

Increase visitation to Francophone experiences and communities.

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Increase visitor spending in Francophone experiences and communities.

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Return to 2019 visitor spending levels by 2024.

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STRATEGIC GOAL #1

Foster Collaboration & Build Support For Tourism Indigenous Tourism Strategy » Progress Report

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Accomplishments IMPLEMENT STRATEGY •

Travel Manitoba has organized and funded two advisory committee meetings per year since 2019.

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Meetings were held every six to eight months and included full translation services.

Indigenous Tourism Progress Report & Build Support for Tourism Manitoba Francophone Tourism Strategy Strategy »» Foster Collaboration

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Accomplishments CONDUCT AN ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY •

In July 2021, Travel Manitoba completed the economic impact study which found: •

Tourism spending related to Francophone experiences contributes between $4.8 million and $12 million to Manitoba’s GDP. Francophone tourism supports between 91 and 214 full-time jobs in Manitoba.

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Francophone tourism organizations are offering high-quality experiences, but increased investment is needed to expand their operations, encompass a broader range of activities and services, and enhance both attractions and infrastructure to improve the overall cultural offerings.

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The Francophone tourism ecosystem in Manitoba has several strengths and assets that stakeholders can rely on to ensure their success and develop new markets.

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Accomplishments ESTABLISH FRANCOPHONE ENGAGEMENT PLAN •

Comité Riel is a group of tourism organizations and representatives across the Riel district working together to improve collaboration.

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The committee met 12 times between 2019-2022, to increase collaboration and pave the way for major tourism initiatives in St. Boniface that align with the Francophone Tourism Strategy.

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In early 2023, the Comité Riel was renamed the St. Boniface Tourism Action Committee (CATSB) and convenes four times per year.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ESTABLISH FRANCOPHONE ENGAGEMENT PLAN TOUR RESULTS •

Ô Tours, a division of Entreprises Riel, provides bilingual receptive tour services and expertise in Francophone products and activities across Manitoba. Three tours were developed in partnership with a variety of local partners, including: • Bon Appétit Saint-Boniface: culinary tour in partnership with five stakeholders.

• Manitoba Agricultural Tour: multi-day group tour in partnership with 24 stakeholders.

• Saint-Boniface Dark Tour: 2-hour guided walking tour.

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Bon Appétit St. Boniface 2019

6 tours

64 participants

2020

7 tours

91 participants

2021

4 tours

36 participants

2022

No tours (post-pandemic challenges)

2023

2 tours

16 participants

Manitoba Agricultural Tour 2022

1 tour

30 participants

St. Boniface Dark Tour 2022

8 tours

121 participants

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ESTABLISH FRANCOPHONE ENGAGEMENT PLAN •

Ô Tours supplies French language guide services to Manitoba's tour operators who do not currently have a French language service offer.

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This extends the sector’s reach to national and international Francophone travellers and supports businesses in expanding their own offer. Since 2019, 112 tours have been conducted with 11 tour operators.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

BUILD SECTOR SUPPORT FOR FRANCOPHONE TOURISM •

Travel Manitoba developed a Stakeholder Engagement Plan in 2022-23 to communicate the value of tourism to governments, business leaders, chambers, sector associations and media. The plan will be implemented in 2023-24.

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The Cell Fi (cellule de financement) is an online service created by Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba (CDEM) to meet the demands of municipalities, community groups, volunteers and entrepreneurs that are struggling to identify and obtain funding for their projects. The program was created in 2020 to assist partners with identifying funding sources and support them in writing grant applications.

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In 2022-23, 18 tourism businesses and 70 jobs were created or maintained as a result of these types of initiatives.

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Accomplishments MONITOR PERFORMANCE OF STRATEGY INITIATIVES •

The Francophone Tourism Advisory Committee meets at least twice a year to monitor Francophone Tourism Strategy performance. A review of performance and results is included in every meeting. Travel Manitoba coordinates the meetings.

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In February 2023, three major projects were identified as a priority over the next three to five years, including: • Improve the look and feel of St. Boniface as a neighbourhood, • develop Centre Culturel Franco-Manitobain (CCFM) as a tourist destination, and • develop summer festival opportunities.

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Tourisme Riel/Entreprises Riel collaborates with Comité Riel and the strategy advisory committee to support initiatives and keep partners informed.

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STRATEGIC GOAL #2

Lead Brand & Market Positioning

Indigenous Tourism Strategy » Progress Report

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Accomplishments IDENTIFY TARGET MARKETS THROUGH EXISTING AND NEW RESEARCH •

New audiences and visitor profiles have been identified through PRIZM and are now being leveraged, including: • French-speaking audiences are being targeted with content about Manitoba experiences.

• Anglophone audiences are being targeted with content about French culture in Manitoba.

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New intelligence on target markets is ongoing and new tools have been identified, including: • Hypertargeting is being used to leverage larger audiences to collect data on individual visitors in order to deliver interest-based content to specific segments.

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Accomplishments ALIGN MESSAGING AND MARKETING INITIATIVES WITH THE CANADA’S HEART IS CALLING BRAND •

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In 2023, Travel Manitoba unveiled its refreshed brand Canada’s Heart is Calling to English and French audiences.

Initiatives to reach French consumers, included: • Distributing the media release in French.

• Developing and publishing brand awareness video, print, radio, digital and social media ads in French.

• Publishing the digital brand platform, manitobabrand.com, in French.

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CAMPAIGN RESULTS 1

French print ad

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Occurrences of a French TV ad

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Outdoor digital billboards

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Occurrences of a French radio ad

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ALIGN MESSAGING AND MARKETING INITIATIVES WITH THE CANADA’S HEART IS CALLING BRAND •

Travel Manitoba provides annual funding to Tourisme Riel to support marketing initiatives.

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Travel Manitoba published a Francophone Tourism Marketing Plan (in English and French) with initiatives for 2022-23.

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Travel Manitoba collaborated with CDEM and Tourisme Riel to develop an integrated marketing approach.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ALIGN MESSAGING AND MARKETING INITIATIVES WITH THE CANADA’S HEART IS CALLING BRAND •

Travel Manitoba coordinated travel media and influencer relations activities, including scheduling in-person meetings, relationship building, FAM tours, GSA sales and media efforts.

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Travel Manitoba partnered with Festival du Voyageur and St. Boniface Museum to publish winter and summer Francophone content.

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Travel Manitoba collaborated with Francophone content creators to promote cultural experiences: • One local creator developed winter content and fulfilled a summer content partnership with St. Boniface Museum.

• One Francophone Instagram content creator visited Winnipeg in winter.

• Three Instagram content creators visited Festival du Voyageur.

• One culinary reviewer attended Festival du Voyageur.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ALIGN MESSAGING AND MARKETING INITIATIVES WITH THE CANADA’S HEART IS CALLING BRAND •

Travel Manitoba earned French media mentions about Manitoba’s Francophone attractions twice in France’s Le Figaro newspaper.

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Travel Manitoba hosted Destination Canada’s strategic planning session and VIP FAM tour for the European contingent in October 2022 which included six French attendees.

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Travel Manitoba attended Showcase Canada in the United Kingdom in November 2022 and met with 15 French tour operators/agents.

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Travel Manitoba attended Rendez-vous Canada in May 2022 and met with 18 French tour operators/agents.

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Travel Manitoba attended Canada XPO and met with 19 French tour operators/agents.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ALIGN MESSAGING AND MARKETING INITIATIVES WITH THE CANADA’S HEART IS CALLING BRAND •

Tourisme Riel launched a new website for the St. Boniface place brand at passionethistoire.ca.

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Tourisme Riel developed brand assets for Passion & Histoire: • Merchandise including clothing, mugs, accessories and stationery • St. Boniface pamphlets and postcards • St. Boniface map pads of the Riel region • Staff uniforms, sandwich boards and tent canopies Tourisme Riel and other Francophone attractions partnered with Travel Manitoba and Tourism Winnipeg to promote and enhance the visibility of Francophone tourism. Nearly 50 marketing initiatives took place between 2019 and 2023.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ALIGN MESSAGING AND MARKETING INITIATIVES WITH THE CANADA’S HEART IS CALLING BRAND •

Tourisme Riel used the St. Boniface place brand, Passion & Histoire, with the Canada's Heart is Calling brand to promote Francophone tourism: • St. Boniface place brand on website platforms.

• Use of the St. Boniface place brand on materials for travel trade and media events such as Salon du VR in Montréal.

• Featured place brand and Manitoba brand on printed materials including brochures.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ALIGN MESSAGING AND MARKETING INITIATIVES WITH THE CANADA’S HEART IS CALLING BRAND •

CDEM launched two consumer facing websites: • bonjourmanitoba.com (September 2022) • jeudisfranco.com (Spring 2023)

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CDEM distributed a monthly bilingual e-Newsletter to industry partners and consumers.

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Accomplishments DEVELOP FRANCOPHONE CONTENT AND ASSETS •

Travel Manitoba published monthly blog posts in French (19 total) and continue to expand bilingual content on travelmanitoba.com.

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Travel Manitoba published French print and radio ads in Spring Summer and Fall Winter campaigns, including: • Two Spring Summer and three Fall Winter print ads.

• Ten Spring Summer and 12 Fall Winter radio ads.

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Travel Manitoba printed French versions of consumer publications including a digital Manitoba Road Trips Guide (Summer 2022) and 1,000 print copies and digital version of Inspiration Guide (Winter 2023).

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Travel Manitoba developed videos content featuring: • An Indigenous and Francophone-owned business, La Brasserie Nonsuch, in an industry snapshot video.

• Indigenous and Francophone-owned business, Borealis Beading, in a partner spotlight video.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

DEVELOP FRANCOPHONE CONTENT AND ASSETS •

Tourisme Riel published regular blog and vlog content, including: • 45 Francophone blog spots (2020-22) • Six Francophone vlog spots (2021-22)

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Tourisme Riel distributed monthly bilingual e-Newsletters covering tourism activities in the Riel region.

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Tourisme Riel completed video projects, including: • “At the Heart of Manitoba’s Francophone Community”, a documentary produced in 2018 in both English and French.

• “Discover Summer in St. Boniface” in 2019.

• Virtual Canada Day in St. Boniface in 2020.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

DEVELOP FRANCOPHONE CONTENT AND ASSETS •

Tourisme Riel and CDEM collaborated to secure summer photo assets by hiring various local photographers for rural attractions, as well as local attractions and events.

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In July 2022, Tourisme Riel collaborated with Envol 91 to create a podcast about Francophone tourism in St. Boniface.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

DEVELOP FRANCOPHONE CONTENT AND ASSETS •

From 2020-22, CDEM published and promoted 42 blogs on social media and increased use of Instagram Reels (14 total) resulting in over 43,800 views. Social media audiences have grown by: • 2,400 followers on Facebook • 1,480 followers on Instagram

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CDEM created new videos for culinary, winter and Francophone events as well as industry training webinars on: • Enhancing Parks • Instagram Stories • TikTok • Communication Strategies • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) • Virtual Experiences (seven total)

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Accomplishments LEAD INNOVATION IN THE DELIVERY OF VISITOR SERVICES • CCFM hired Solstice Canada consulting firm to complete a profitability analysis of the St. Boniface Welcome Centre which was submitted to the Province of Manitoba. CCFM has begun to implement several of the recommendations made in the report, including renaming the centre Atrium de la Francophonie.

• The analysis, along with the feasibility study and business case, a four-page analysis on the Atrium de la Francophonie and letters of support from the community, will be used to leverage investment for Francophone tourism.

• Entreprises Riel developed a class D budget and worked with the CCFM to support the development of the feasibility study and business case.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

LEAD INNOVATION IN THE DELIVERY OF VISITOR SERVICES • Friends of the CCFM received funding from the Winnipeg Foundation to help develop a capital campaign plan.

• Work to leverage municipal and provincial support is underway.

• Entreprises Riel is a member of both the Construction Committee and the Fundraising Committee for the Atrium de la Francophonie.

• Entreprises Riel commissioned a design plan and conceptual drawings with the help of a local architect.

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Accomplishments ESTABLISH DIRECTIONAL SIGNAGE STRATEGY • Entreprises Riel successfully advocated for the inclusion of a bilingual signage requirement within the City of Winnipeg’s Provencher Boulevard planned development overlay.

• A total of 23 businesses have since adopted bilingual signage.

• Bilingual Passion & Histoire sandwich boards have been offered to St. Boniface businesses.

• Entreprises Riel and the City of Winnipeg entered into a management agreement for the south landing of the Esplanade Riel to ensure all signage is French or bilingual. A Francophone presence at the gateway of Provencher Boulevard is also present in the form of a permanent banner.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ESTABLISH DIRECTIONAL SIGNAGE STRATEGY • The Association of Manitoba's Bilingual Municipalities (AMBM) is working on a bilingual directional highway signage project for rural bilingual communities with a goal of completing and installing 10 signs by 2024.

• In partnership with Trails Manitoba, CDEM supported various groups in accessing financing to implement bilingual signage on hiking trails.

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Accomplishments IMPLEMENT MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS STRATEGY • Tourism Winnipeg led and continues to lead the business development efforts for the attraction of business events to Winnipeg.

• Current efforts are focused on rebuilding the event pipeline for future events.

• Based on recent forecasts, business events will lag in the recovery and are expected to reach 2019 levels in late 2025.

• In 2022, Tourism Winnipeg’s business development team invested in the geographic markets of Ottawa, Toronto and Montréal along with sector-focused alignment with international missions in life sciences, agribusiness, tech and advanced manufacturing.

• The value proposition for Winnipeg as an ideal host for conventions includes our Francophone community not only from a linguistic perspective but the cultural and historical experiences.

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Accomplishments DEVELOP NEW VISION FOR PROVENCHER BOULEVARD • Entreprises Riel and Provencher Biz worked in collaboration to complete the Streetscape Enhancement Master Plan in 2021. Phase one and two of the plan have been completed: • Phase one included the completion of three alleyway art installations in 2022.

• Phase two included south side sidewalk rehabilitation work.

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Phase three and four are underway, and include: • Branded bike racks and a bike repair tool on Esplanade Riel.

• Electrification of the boulevard to add lighting.

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Work is also progressing with the business improvement zone and the City of Winnipeg on a major infrastructure redesign project of Provencher Blvd to include protected bicycle lanes.

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STRATEGIC GOAL #3

Advance Destination Management Indigenous Tourism Strategy » Progress Report

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Accomplishments ASSESS FRANCOPHONE TOURISM PRODUCTS •

In 2021, Travel Manitoba completed phase one of a sector-wide assessment of Manitoba’s tourism businesses.

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Phase two is underway with the goal of developing an automated tool to assess Manitoba’s tourism-readiness, including real-time reports.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

SUPPORT EXISTING BUSINESSES' PANDEMIC RECOVERY EFFORTS

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Travel Manitoba invested in Destination Area Assessments (DAA) for 12 destinations in Manitoba including St. Boniface.

• The DAA for St. Boniface highlighted the inventory of products, attractions, and assets in the community. The report also included a SWOT analysis and proposed formal development recommendations that carry the potential to further promote the place brand, Passion & Histoire.

• The DAA was presented to stakeholders in December 2022.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

SUPPORT EXISTING BUSINESSES' PANDEMIC RECOVERY EFFORTS •

Travel Manitoba digitally published all tourism strategies in French.

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Travel Manitoba provided bilingual materials and services at industry events and training opportunities (i.e. Manitoba Tourism Conference).

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Travel Manitoba provides annual funding to CDEM and Tourisme Riel to support tourism development initiatives.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

SUPPORT EXISTING BUSINESSES' PANDEMIC RECOVERY EFFORTS

• Travel Manitoba provided experiential tourism training in English and French thanks to funding support from Prairies Economic Development Canada.

• In 2021, Travel Manitoba provided funding through the Tourism Innovation and Recovery Fund. Francophone tourism projects were given priority consideration for funding.

• Over $222,550 in funding was awarded to Francophone tourism projects • 22 per cent of funding recipients were Francophone • 36 per cent of program applicants were Francophone

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Tourism Innovation and Recovery Fund Francophone Recipients Organization

Community

Borealis Beading

Ste. Genevieve

Prairie Berry Farm

Glenlea

Prairie Vélo

Winnipeg

Voyageur Houseboats

Pinawa

La Brasserie Nonsuch Brewing

Winnipeg

Prairie Gal Fishing

Gimli

Papillon Creations

Winnipeg

J’em Bistro

St Pierre-Jolys

Wilderland Adventure Company

Winnipeg

Musée St. Boniface Museum

Winnipeg (St. Boniface)

(Funding awarded September 2021, all projects completed by March 31, 2023)

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ASSESS FRANCOPHONE TOURISM PRODUCTS • In partnership with Tourisme Riel, CDEM worked to develop a summer initiative called les Jeudis de la francophonie. The initiative drives visitation to Saint-Boniface and assists merchants, attractions and vital public spaces to regain visibility after the pandemic and encourage further development of activities and events.

• Thirty-four vendors participated in 11 markets for a total of $8,729 in retail sales.

• Visitation grew to 3,611 domestic and 100 international visitors.

• Jeudis returned in summer 2023 with nearly twice as many activities compared to 2022.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ASSESS FRANCOPHONE TOURISM PRODUCTS • CDEM supported 20 Francophone businesses in submitting applications to Travel Manitoba’s Tourism Innovation and Recovery Fund.

• CDEM managed a Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) project of $215,000 funded by Prairies Can from April to September 2021.

• As a result, this project had an economic impact of $3 million, supported 29 businesses and maintained or created 87 jobs.

• The also funding allowed CDEM to host 13 training sessions with 200 participants.

• Invested a total of $550,000 in 23 tourism projects over 2022-23.

• 18 businesses were supported or created.

• 70 jobs were maintained or created.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

ASSESS FRANCOPHONE TOURISM PRODUCTS •

CDEM hosted seven training sessions with 100 participants.

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CDEM supports Community Development Corporations (CDCs), municipalities, working groups and entrepreneurs to develop, increase or elevate the current Francophone tourism offering with coaching, training, and support with funding requests, evaluations, and more.

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New tools and resources were developed by CDEM that reflected the realities of the pandemic such as how to turn an experience into virtual content.

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Accomplishments DEFINE AND ADDRESS FRANCOPHONE TOURISM LABOUR NEEDS •

As the pandemic put a severe toll on enrollment in tourism-based programs, Entreprises Riel held several conversations with Travel Manitoba, Tourisme Riel, the University of Saint-Boniface, Manitoba Tourism Education Council, Red River College, and many other Manitoba-based tourism education partners to develop recruitment and training strategies for the industry.

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This has led to the development of a campaign to recruit new students for Manitoba's colleges and universities that offer tourism-based education.

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Tourisme Riel successfully advocated that both campaigns be made bilingual.

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Discussions are ongoing regarding participating in a “Yes Winnipeg” recruitment initiative called “Destination Canada Forum Mobilité” which will be held in France and Morocco to recruit bilingual workers.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

DEFINE AND ADDRESS FRANCOPHONE TOURISM LABOUR NEEDS •

Travel Manitoba, in collaboration with the Manitoba Tourism Education Council, Manitoba Hotel Association, and the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association ran a campaign to address the significant labour shortage facing the tourism and hospitality industry.

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Phase one: Launched a tourism recruitment campaign May 4 and ran until mid-June of 2022, including two French print ads featured in La Liberté.

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Phase two: Launched a tourism education campaign in February 2023 to drive enrollment in tourism education programs and ultimately support the tourism industry’s post-pandemic employment recovery, including one video and two print ads in French.

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Accomplishments (cont.)

DEFINE AND ADDRESS FRANCOPHONE TOURISM LABOUR NEEDS •

CDEM launched a pilot project running recruitment fairs in Côte d'Ivoire with intentions to expand into Morocco and Cameroun for recruitment of bilingual professionals.

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Conclusion • CDEM, Entreprises Riel and Travel Manitoba have made considerable progress in advancing the Manitoba Francophone Tourism Strategy. Employment and GDP have started to rebound from the devastating effects of the pandemic. The number of authentic market- and export-ready tourism products continue to increase and progress continues to be made in the development of Francophone content and marketing assets and the promotion of Francophone tourism experiences through blog posts and videos.

• The strategy will continue to be regularly reviewed and adapted as circumstances warrant and as progress is made towards achieving the vision of Manitoba as a must-visit destination for travellers from all over the world thanks to the notoriety, discoverability and accessibility of Francophone tourism experiences.

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Appendix A FRANCOPHONE TOURISM ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Normand Gousseau, Chair, Entreprises Riel Barbara Hacio-Kirby, Tourisme Riel Jocelyne Fournier, Tourisme Riel Erwan Bouchaud, CDEM Sylvie Foidart, CDEM Natalie Thiesen, Tourism Winnipeg Colin Ferguson, Travel Manitoba Angela Cassie, Travel Manitoba Jackie Tenuta, Travel Manitoba Elise Wood, Travel Manitoba Teresa Collins, Francophone Affairs Secretariat Michel Trudel, Francophone Affairs Secretariat Ginette Lavack, CCFM Michelle Gervais, CCFM Festival du Voyageur

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Cindy Desrochers, Musée St. Boniface Museum Jean-Michel Beaudry, Société de la francophonie manitobaine Arianne Mulaire, L’Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba Paulette Duguay, L’Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba Christian Dandeneau, Elzéar-Goulet Métis Council Justin Johnson, Association of Manitoba’s Bilingual Municipalities Sylvie Laurencelle-Vermette, St. Boniface Chamber of Commerce Jacques Desaulniers, Maison Gabrielle-Roy

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Photo by Liz Tran

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