Manitoba Tourism Strategy Progress Report 2022-23
Acknowledgement 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 • The tourism industry is vital to the success and growth of Manitoba’s economy. Tourism contributes to annual tax revenues, drives job creation, innovation, infrastructure improvements and enhances the quality of life for residents. The revised Manitoba Tourism Strategy will ensure that Manitoba’s tourism sector emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic stronger than ever.
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Background • The Manitoba Tourism Strategy focuses on collaborating to build a stronger and more resilient tourism industry. • The strategy is: • A partnership between Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, the Government of Manitoba and Travel Manitoba, • Championed by a steering committee of industry and government stakeholders, and • Integrated with sub-strategies, including Indigenous, Francophone and Northern tourism. • This progress report reflects progress made on the strategy from April 2022 to March 2023.
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Vision: Manitoba is a must-visit, four season destination generating sustainable economic growth by delivering inspiring and authentic experiences in its unique, rural and wild settings. Mission: Travel Manitoba will support the recovery of tourism’s contribution to the provincial economy by leading the marketing of Manitoba as a tourism destination and by fostering a competitive and sustainable tourism industry.
Photo: Churchill Wild
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Target to grow visitor spending 50% by 2030 2019 LEVELS
2030 LEVELS
10.6
12.8
million visitors
million visitors
$1.6
$2.5
billion in visitor spending
billion in visitor spending
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STRATEGIC GOAL #1:
Lead Brand & Market Positioning
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Manitoba’s Brand • Manitoba’s destination brand continues to position the province as an attractive destination and highlight additional destination differentiators and authentic, transformative experiences to drive significant market demand. • These include: • Indigenous and Francophone events and cultural exchanges, • Manitoba’s world-class winter experiences and northern experiences, and • Signature fishing, paddling and lakeside relaxation experiences offered by Manitoba’s unique river systems and lakes.
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Amplify Manitoba’s brand nationally and internationally. • In 2023, Travel Manitoba launched the refreshed brand, Canada’s Heart is Calling, at an industry event held on January 9, 2023 at the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg. • The refreshed brand is being used to lead national and international marketing initiatives under a common voice, which includes a new: • Visual identity, • Brand playbook, and • Partner brand toolkit.
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Amplify Manitoba’s brand nationally and internationally. • A “Building the Brand” video was created to highlight the journey. • Five commercial spots were produced featuring local Manitoba artists, with five additional spots customized for social media and featuring user-generated footage. • New spots were created specifically for the winter campaign and for northern lights. • The Hunt Fish MB identity, along with the Travel Manitoba corporate identity, were also refreshed to align with the new consumer brand. • Marketing collateral, digital infrastructure, and Travel Manitoba’s flagship Visitor Information Centre at the Forks were all refreshed to align with the new brand and establish a storefront for a new line of consumer merchandise. Manitoba Tourism Strategy » Lead Brand & Market Positioning
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Stimulate recovery and showcase Manitoba’s unique offerings. • Launched a successful Spring Summer campaign showcasing Indigenous experiences, festivals and events, and world-class winter and water-based activities through the general leisure campaign. Leisure Campaign Digital Results: • 79.6 million impressions 858,798 clicks and 6.4 million video views • 147,546 business leads to partners
Manitoba Tourism Strategy » Lead Brand & Market Positioning
Indigenous Content Digital Results: • 4.4 million impressions • 49,277 clicks and 501,212 video views • 0.7 per cent clickthrough rate
Festival, Events, Arts & Culture Content Digital Results: • 5.6 million impressions • 189,492 clicks • 3.53 per cent clickthrough rate
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Stimulate recovery and showcase Manitoba’s unique offerings. • Launched a successful Fall Winter campaign showcasing Indigenous experiences, festivals and events, and world-class winter and water-based activities through the general leisure campaign. Leisure Campaign Digital Results: • 86.3 million impressions • 810,000 million clicks and 4.1 million video views • 85,710 business leads to partners
Manitoba Tourism Strategy » Lead Brand & Market Positioning
Indigenous Content Digital Results: • 3.6 million impressions • 35,849 clicks and • 0.74 per cent clickthrough rate
Festival, Events, Arts & Culture Content Digital Results: • 4.8 million impressions • 101,865 clicks • 2.1 per cent clickthrough rate
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Stimulate recovery and showcase Manitoba’s unique offerings. • Collaborated with Tourism Saskatchewan and Destination Canada on a joint campaign through the Prairie Angling Program to recover hunt fish travellers from U.S. markets. The campaign focused on a number of targeted media outlets and influencers in addition the traditional digital, social, print and out-ofhome channels. Campaign Digital Results: • 85.5 million impressions • 169,500 clicks and 6.03 million video views • 20,900 fishing licences sold Manitoba Tourism Strategy » Lead Brand & Market Positioning
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Stimulate recovery and showcase Manitoba’s unique offerings. • Rebuilt and relaunched the Master Angler App. Backend structure of app was completely rebuilt in a new coding language to bring the app up-to-date with latest phone technology and continue to be available to users in both the Apple and Google app stores. Greater user security was also added, as well as a land acknowledgement. • This unique incentive program continues to inspire anglers from Canada and the United States.
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Stimulate recovery and showcase Manitoba’s unique offerings. • Published and distributed: • 200,000 copies of the 2022 Road Trip Guide, • 250,000 copies of the 2023 Inspiration Guide, and • 75,000 direct mail lures promoting travel to Northern Manitoba.
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Stimulate recovery and showcase Manitoba’s unique offerings. • Collaborated with the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce to offer the spring 2022 Tourism Rebate Incentive Program (TRIP). • In 2021 and 2022, close to 33,000 Manitoba residents participated in TRIP, driving $7.8 million in direct sales to hotels and attractions across the province and directly improving occupancy rates.
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Stimulate recovery and showcase Manitoba’s unique offerings. • Showcased northern lights to international travel trade buyers at Travel Manitoba’s sponsored luncheon at Rendez-vous Canada. Twelve Manitoba operators attended alongside Travel Manitoba and Tourism Winnipeg. • Developed an inspiring program incorporating video, storytelling and dance. The luncheon was attended by 1,100 buyers and sellers. Photo: Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Support ongoing place branding initiatives. • Expanded the place brand program by supporting the development of new brands for Dauphin and Winnipeg.
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Support Winnipeg and Brandon as Manitoba’s leading destinations for national meetings, conventions, festivals and events. • Brandon secured 33 conventions, meetings and event bids. • Winnipeg secure 58 conventions, meetings and event bids for a total economic impact of $27.4 million. • Two major tourism conferences were held in Winnipeg in 2022-23. • Winter Cities Shake-up 2023: In partnership with Tourism Winnipeg, Travel Manitoba hosted an international winter cities conference in Winnipeg in February 2023. The conference brought together urban planners and designers, entrepreneurs, business people, artists, cultural and community organizers, and people who live in winter cities together to learn how to take advantage of all winter has to offer.
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Support Winnipeg and Brandon as Manitoba’s leading destinations for national meetings, conventions, festivals and events. • International Indigenous Tourism Conference: Manitoba hosted the International Indigenous Tourism Conference from March 8 to 10, 2023. The event was attended by 1,100 delegates. Registrants had the option to participate in a number of pre-conference Indigenous tourism experiences and workshops, showcasing Manitoba’s tourism sector. All the experiences were carefully selected to highlight local Manitoba storytellers and Indigenous tourism business with modern and ancient culture. Travel Manitoba’s media and influencer relations team and travel trade team worked with ITAC to host preconference familiarization tours for key accounts in media and travel trade. The four-day tour included Indigenous stories and experiences in Churchill, such as northern lights viewing, dogsledding, artisan talks and more.
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LEAD BRAND & MARKET POSITIONING
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Develop ongoing brand alliances with global product players to elevate Manitoba’s destinations. • Travel Manitoba participated in media buys with the following brands and media: • • • • • • •
Air Canada WestJet Matador Flipboard Foodism and Escapism Avenue Calgary TripAdvisor
• • • • • •
United Airlines Canadian Geographic Canadian Living CIAO Magazine Rogers and Bell Media CBC
• Travel Manitoba engaged several local brands as part of the brand refresh. Travel Manitoba worked with Patent 5, Wilder Goods and LOT.Ceramics to create co-branded merchandise.
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STRATEGIC GOAL #2:
Advance Destination Management
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Improving Supply Strength • Today, a growing number of destination leaders are advocating for a stronger role in destination management, which speaks to the industry investing time and resources in community-driven destination development to improve the enabling environment for tourism to thrive. • To compete, the public and private sector must continue to invest in the development of signature experiences and the adaptation of businesses and experiences to be successful. • Travel Manitoba has provided support to many communities to advance destination management.
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ADVANCE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Support ongoing place branding initiatives. • Conducted a Gap Analysis and Destination Area Assessments for 12 communities including the Neepawa, St. Boniface, Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Clear Lake Country, Dauphin, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Gimli and Morden-Winkler place brands. • Destination Area Assessments were supported with funding by Prairies Economic Development Canada’s Tourism Relief Fund and conducted by Probe Research, Twenty31 and Barnes Sinclair.
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ADVANCE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Ensure the tourism industry has access to advice and training on a variety of topics. • Created framework, content plan and video case studies for a web-based industry resources portal in 202223. The site will be launched in spring 2024. • Offered three training programs to industry, including: • Grant Writing 101, a customized workshop offered in collaboration with Decipher Services Inc. and Travel Manitoba. • Experiential Tourism Development Workshops, a series of workshops provided by a variety of operators with informative, small group, virtual workshops to inspire them to develop new products and services or to refine existing experiences. • Dialogic Interpretation Training, a multi-day session training that provided participants with tools to design and implement dialogic public programs meant to foster deeper conversation about human rights issues. The training was delivered in March 2023 by the International Coalition for Sites of Conscience.
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ADVANCE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Increase the number of market- and export-ready tourism businesses in Manitoba. • Travel Manitoba launched the Tourism Innovation and Recovery Fund (TIRF) in 2022. • Awarded $1.023 million in funding to 50 businesses across Manitoba over the 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal years. • Over $270,000 was awarded to 14 Indigenous-owned or operated projects. • Over $222,500 was awarded to 10 Francophone-owned or operated projects. • Over $260,000 in partnership dollars were earned as a result of funded projects. • Funded projects resulted in 43 new market-ready Manitoba tourism products and five enhanced or diversified existing tourism products.
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ADVANCE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Increase the number of market- and export-ready tourism businesses in Manitoba. • In late 2022, Travel Manitoba launched a second funding program with support from Prairies Economic Development Canada. The Winter Tourism Development Fund (WTDF) resulted in 18 organizations gaining access to over $1.1 million in funding. Over $167,000 in funding was awarded to two Indigenous-owned or operated projects. • Funded projects resulted in 10 new market-ready Manitoba tourism products and eight enhanced or diversified existing tourism products.
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ADVANCE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Increase the number of market- and export-ready tourism businesses in Manitoba. • Travel Manitoba is in the process of developing an automated business assessment tool to evaluate tourism readiness. Much of the work was completed on this project in 2022-23. The baseline count of the number of market-ready tourism business is 840.
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ADVANCE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Advance initiatives to improve Manitoba’s provincial and national parks. • In partnership with Manitoba Parks, Travel Manitoba initiated and financed a comprehensive study conducted by MNP, HTFC Planning and Design and Prairie Research Associates and developed the report “Evaluating the Tourism Potential of Manitoba Parks”. • In December 2022, the Government of Manitoba released the report. • Recommendations to Manitoba Parks included: • Expand operating seasons for provincial parks, • Expand parks’ facilities and amenities, and • Add new experiences and attractions, including unique winter, Francophone, Indigenous and water-based experiences.
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ADVANCE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Develop a province-wide events strategy. • Program planning is underway, and Travel Manitoba will be meeting with partners to discuss roles and expectations. It is proposed that Travel Manitoba would lead the coordination amongst organizers and partners on many major event bids.
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ADVANCE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Advance the improvement of direct air access. • According to the Winnipeg Airport Authority, over three million people flew in and out of Winnipeg’s Richardson International Airport in 2022, which is more than double the number in 2021. • However, the recovery is largely being driven by domestic travel. The number of domestic travellers through the airport was 73 per cent of 2019 numbers, while trans-border and international travellers lagged significantly behind at only 35 per cent of 2019 levels. • Direct air access continues to be reduced compared to pre-pandemic levels. The number of direct flights, particularly from international and U.S. markets, are still well below pre-pandemic levels, which is having a direct impact on the number of visitors coming into Manitoba directly by air. • Travel Manitoba’s President and CEO, Colin Ferguson, participated in four Winnipeg Airport Authority community consultation sessions to provide input on restoring previous direct flights and review new destination opportunities. Manitoba Tourism Strategy » Advance Destination Management
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ADVANCE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Advance the improvement of direct air access. • WestJet launched a new non-stop flight between Winnipeg and Los Angeles three times per week, with operations starting on October 31, 2022. • Travel Manitoba, Economic Development Winnipeg and Destination Canada partnered with WestJet to promote the new direct flight. In conjunction with the targeted marketing push to promote the flight, Travel Manitoba hosted a sales mission in L.A., introducing Manitoba industry partners to local tour operators and travel advisors. • The Government of Manitoba is providing the Winnipeg Airports Authority with $4.8 million to support efforts to secure more direct flight services to strategic business and popular leisure destinations. • Travel Manitoba has an ongoing partnership with Calm Air which promotes travel to Northern Manitoba.
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STRATEGIC GOAL #3:
Foster Collaboration & Build Support for Tourism
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Tourism is a Key Economic Driver • A whole-of-government approach is necessary for the industry to remain competitive, maximize visitor experiences and achieve growth. • Travel Manitoba continues to collaborate with government departments and agencies to ensure a common collaborative approach with the tourism sector. • A whole-of-government approach enables critical provincewide destination improvements to areas such as roads, wayfinding, digital connectivity, park season extensions, and park amenities and services.
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FOSTER COLLABORATION & BUILD SUPPORT FOR TOURISM
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Collaborate with Tourism Winnipeg. • Travel Manitoba and Tourism Winnipeg collaborated on a number of initiatives throughout the 2022-23 fiscal year: • Planned and hosted the biannual Manitoba Tourism Conference, held on September 12-13, 2022. Over 200 industry representatives attended the conference. • Planned and hosted the Winter Cities Shake-up 2023 in February. • Promoted WestJet’s new direct flight from Los Angeles.
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FOSTER COLLABORATION & BUILD SUPPORT FOR TOURISM
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Ensure a whole-of-government approach to tourism. • Travel Manitoba continues to advocate for a whole-ofgovernment approach to tourism. In the 2022-23 fiscal year Travel Manitoba worked collaboratively with a number of provincial government departments on a regular basis to advance tourism initiatives, including: • Sports, Culture and Heritage, • Natural Resources and Northern Development, • Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations, • Environment and Climate, • Transportation and Infrastructure, and • Economic Development, Investment and Trade.
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FOSTER COLLABORATION & BUILD SUPPORT FOR TOURISM
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Ensure of whole-of-industry approach to advocacy. • Presented at the Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters Association (MLOA) Annual General Meeting. • Provided a supportive advocacy role to Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development as they worked with MLOA to pilot overnight on-ice accommodations on Lake Winnipeg. The success of this project led to an expansion of the program to allow more operators to participate on more lakes and waterways in the upcoming 2023-24 hard water season. • Travel Manitoba provided advocacy support to Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development as it engaged with both the MLOA and the Manitoba Wildlife Federation on: • The new proposed Manitoba Recreational Angling Strategy aims to modernize management tactics and bring Manitoba to the forefront in north America in regards to fish management; • The Manitoba Waterfowl Modernization Project which aims to reduce overcrowding across the province by limiting freelance non-resident hunting licenses to a seven-day draw license system; and • Raising awareness about aquatic invasive species. Manitoba Tourism Strategy » Foster Collaboration & Build Support for Tourism
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FOSTER COLLABORATION & BUILD SUPPORT FOR TOURISM
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Ensure a whole-of-industry approach to advocacy. • Sponsored the Snowmobilers Association of Manitoba’s (Snoman) Annual General Meeting in Brandon and the Canadian Power Toboggan Championship in Beausejour in 2022. Travel Manitoba continues to work with Snoman to support snowmobiling as a recreational and tourism activity with both marketing and research support.
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FOSTER COLLABORATION & BUILD SUPPORT FOR TOURISM
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (cont.) Ensure a whole-of-industry approach to advocacy. • Surveyed industry to evaluate programs and support decision making, including: • Hunt Fish industry survey • Industry workshop evaluation surveys • Tourism funding program evaluation surveys • Arts and Culture Tourism Summit evaluation survey • Travel Manitoba and Tourism Winnipeg Tourism Conference evaluation survey • Travel Manitoba industry survey
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FOSTER COLLABORATION & BUILD SUPPORT FOR TOURISM
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Leverage Destination Canada to drive future opportunities for Manitoba. • Formed a partnership with Destination Canada and Tourism Saskatchewan to support the Prairie Angling Program which focused on building back the drive-to and fly-in fishing from U.S. markets. The results were positive with more than 80 per cent recovery of pre-pandemic non-resident angling licence sales in 2023. Travel Manitoba has secured funding to continue the Prairie Angling Program into 2023-24. • Invested in a joint Destination Canada northern lights campaign with Travel Yukon and Northwest Territories Tourism. The campaign is set to launch October 2023. • Invested in a co-op campaign with Destination Canada and Expedia.
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FOSTER COLLABORATION & BUILD SUPPORT FOR TOURISM
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Create public awareness on the province-wide value of tourism as a key employer and dynamic career. • Collaborated with the Manitoba Tourism Education Council, Manitoba Hotel Association and the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservice Association to run an advertisement campaign to address the significant labour shortage facing the tourism and hospitality industry. Digital Campaign Results: • 2,055,049 impressions • 13,144 clicks • 0.64 per cent click-through-rate • 45 applications submitted to tourism or hospitality jobs on MTEC’s results as a direct result of the campaign Manitoba Tourism Strategy » Foster Collaboration & Build Support for Tourism
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS Create public awareness on the province-wide value of tourism as a key employer and dynamic career. • Created a tourism education campaign in partnership with Red River College Polytechnic, St. Boniface University, Manitoba Institute of Technology and Trades and Assiniboine Community College to promote a longerterm recruitment funnel for tourism industry workers. Digital Campaign Results: • 2,897,132 impressions • 604,310 unique web visitors • 23,740 clicks • 478 business direct leads to partner • 0.98 per cent click-through-rate Manitoba Tourism Strategy » Foster Collaboration & Build Support for Tourism
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FOSTER COLLABORATION & BUILD SUPPORT FOR TOURISM
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Advocate for improved access to cost affordable insurance for tourism sector. • Travel Manitoba provided the department of Sports, Culture and Heritage briefing materials on the impacts of the rising cost of commercial insurance on tourism operators.
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FOSTER COLLABORATION & BUILD SUPPORT FOR TOURISM
ACCOMPLISHMENTS Advocate for regulation and taxing of the sharing economy. • Advocated for regulation and taxation of short-term rentals in line with hotels, hostels and other accommodations. The Manitoba government now requires PST to be charged on short-term rentals and the City of Winnipeg has introduced new regulations that require anyone listing a short-term rental to obtain a licence and pay the city’s accommodation tax.
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Conclusion • Considerable progress has been in advancing the Manitoba Tourism Strategy. • 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, four season destination generating sustainable economic growth by delivering inspiring and authentic experiences in its unique urban, rural and wild settings.
Photo: @pauleppic
Manitoba Tourism Strategy » Conclusion
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