2024 Travel Manitoba Indigenous Marketing Plan - English

2024

Travel Manitoba Indigenous Marketing Plan

Indigenous Tourism Manitoba is home to 63 First Nations communities and is the Homeland of the Red River Métis. The Manitoba Indigenous Tourism Strategy identifies Indigenous tourism experiences as an important part of visiting Manitoba and that these experiences have high potential to be recognized as iconic Canadian tourism products that capture the attention of visitors from around the world. Travel Manitoba collaborates with the Indigenous Tourism Association of Manitoba (ITM) for partnership and marketing.

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Indigenous Tourism TARGET MARKETS Primary • Cultural Explorers • Authentic Experiencers

Secondary • Free Spirits

GEOGRAPHIC MARKETS Primary • Manitoba • Canada

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Secondary • United States (short-haul) • Germany • United Kingdom • Australia 3

Indigenous Tourism Initiatives INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC), Indigenous Tourism Association of Manitoba (ITM), and Travel Manitoba (TMB) will continue collaborating to develop, curate and promote authentic Indigenous experiences in Manitoba. The following strategy outlines the coordinated efforts across all three organizations.

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Indigenous Tourism Initiatives INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

ITM Website • Travel Manitoba will support ITM in their development of a consumer-facing indigenoustourismmanitoba.ca website by providing referral links, campaign support, and brand amplification

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Indigenous Tourism Initiatives PUBLICATIONS

Inspiration Guide • Travel Manitoba’s annual inspiration guide features a dedicated section highlighting Indigenous tourism experiences.

Over 250,000 are produced.

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Indigenous Tourism Initiatives DIGITAL MARKETING

Website • Travel Manitoba’s website features a dedicated section showcasing Indigenous tourism experiences.

Manitoba Explorer App • Launched in fall 2022, the Manitoba Explorer app features Indigenous attractions on several trails and already has over 5,500 subscribers to the app.

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Indigenous Tourism Initiatives DIGITAL MARKETING

Blog • We endeavor to cover Indigenous tourism experiences throughout the year on our blog and regularly refresh existing Indigenous blog content as it is posted to our seasonal campaign pillar landing page.

Social Media • Travel Manitoba promotes Indigenous tourism experiences throughout its annual content calendar and on multiple channels.

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Indigenous Tourism Initiatives CONTENT MARKETING

Travel Manitoba will create a content marketing strategy in collaboration with ITAC and ITM to align efforts.

Indigenous Content Creators • Travel Manitoba and ITM will continue to develop an inventory of Indigenous content creators to support the development of authentic content.

Video • Travel Manitoba will build upon its series of ‘Adventures to Understanding’ videos with new chapters featuring market-ready experiences. Videos will also be updated with the new ITM branding and incorporated within Travel Manitoba’s leisure market campaigns and paid digital media.

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Indigenous Tourism Initiatives ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

Spring Summer & Fall Winter Campaigns • Travel Manitoba features Indigenous Tourism Experiences as a campaign pillar. A dedicated landing page is created with paid media driving traffic to those pages throughout the campaign.

Canada’s Heart is Calling • The recently refreshed Manitoba brand features Indigenous artists and 30-second commercial

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Indigenous Tourism Initiatives TRAVEL TRADE

Travel Manitoba’s sales activities include prospecting, in-person sales meetings, relationship building, familiarization (FAM) tours, and General Sales Agent marketing efforts. Travel Manitoba will continue to partner with Destination Canada to leverage resources.

Sales & Marketing Activities • Travel Manitoba continues to include key Indigenous attractions, businesses, and individuals throughout its itineraries and product promotions.

Target markets include Canada, United States, Germany, United Kingdom, and Australia.

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Indigenous Tourism Initiatives TRAVEL MEDIA AND INFLUENCER RELATIONS

Travel Manitoba’s travel media and influencer relations activities include prospecting, in-person meetings, relationship building, familiarization (FAM) tours, and GSA sales and media efforts. Travel Manitoba will continue to partner with Destination Canada and the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada to expand reach and leverage resources.

Business Development • Travel Manitoba will identify key

media marketplaces and events to promote Manitoba to travel journalists, bloggers, TV shows, travel influencers and content creators.

FAM Trips/Media Trips • Travel Manitoba will continue to

host travel media and influencers from its target markets on curated customized itineraries to encourage and create earned media articles and content.

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International Indigenous Tourism Conference Manitoba successfully hosted the 2023 International Indigenous Tourism Conference and will continue to support and participate in the event, alongside Indigenous Tourism Manitoba and local tourism partners.

ITM’s Annual Provincial Conference Building on its inaugural conference in 2023, ITM will continue to host an annual conference. Travel Manitoba will support and promote the event.

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