Canada has a new, heart-felt tourism slogan.
The new slogan, “For Glowing Hearts,” was officially unveiled this week at Destination Canada’s Rendez-vous Canada event in Toronto, an annual tourism extravaganza that brings together thousands of sellers, buyers and media folks to celebrate Canadian tourism – and book new visits to bolster our economy.
Destination Canada, the national tourism marketing agency, has tapped into what it means to be Canadian and evolved its brand to inspire even more international travellers to visit Canada. The tagline For Glowing Hearts, which was inspired by the national anthem, and a distinctive heart-shaped logo, rooted in the country’s bold red and white iconography, are elements of an evolved brand architecture designed to create strong emotional connections with travellers, officials said.
Rendez-vous Canada panel in Toronto.
“Travellers today want more than an experience – they want to be transformed; they want to be moved,” said Ben Cowan-Dewar, the man behind the brilliant Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs golf courses that have transformed part of Cape Breton and Chairperson of Destination Canada’s Board of Directors. “The brand evolution is driven by the belief that travel should change you and Canada will leave a lasting mark on your heart. It is how we share our passion with the world.”
The brand evolution follows a five-year period of transformation for Destination Canada in becoming a more digitally focused, data-driven organization. Extensive market research and industry consultation helped shape the latest journey of the Canada travel brand. In a competitive global marketplace, Destination Canada is moving Canada from more than a destination on a map to an invitation to connect with Canadians, the land and local culture. In 2018, Canada welcomed a record-breaking 21.1 million international travellers to the country. Of that number, Destination Canada’s work is attributed to 1.39 million arrivals, $1.76 billion in international tourism spending and more than 13,000 Canadian jobs.
Destination Canada President and CEO David Goldstein said “For Glowing Hearts” wasn’t his first choice.
“It works on the domestic front” because Canadians understand how the slogan mimics the words to “O, Canada.’ “But I was worried that international travellers wouldn’t know what it means.”
The show floor at Rendez-vous Canada in Toronto.
Other options in the final four of slogan choices were “Follow Your Wild,” “Feed Yourself” and “Wide Open.” But Goldstein said “For Glowing Hearts” tested best with international travellers.
“It speaks to our openness, it speaks to our inclusiveness, and it speaks to our people,” he said.
“We’re going to … create a movement that overcomes apathy and drives international travellers, Canadians and the tourism industry to embrace our destination with passion and with glowing hearts,” Goldstein said.
Speaking Wednesday at a media event, Goldstein said there are challenges for Canadian tourism to deal with, including economic issues and geopolitical factors, but that visitation to Canada has increased by roughly six per cent a year for the last five years.
Rendez-vous Canada in Toronto.
“This is a place where you can be who you want to be,” he said.
Destination Canada will roll out the brand in its 10 leisure and five business events markets in the coming months. Leveraging the tag line, logo and concept of transformational travel, inspired by a pride for being Canadian, elements of the brand will be used to inspire Destination Canada’s content across digital and print platforms.
One of the goals of Destination Canada, the federal government and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) is to increase visitation to Canada as a whole in the spring, fall and winter. They also want to get more visitors to explore smaller, lesser-known destinations outside of the big three – Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.
(I posted a blog on some of those great places just the other day. You can find it here.)
The St. John’s Newfoundland booth at Rendez-vous Canada.
I’m not sure tourism slogans – or any slogan or logo – matter all that much in the long run. There are a handful of truly inspirational ones that connect with folks, but most travellers don’t care a fig whether we say “Keep Exploring” or “Discover Our True Nature” or “Come to Canada Because We Need Tourism Dollars And Justin Trudeau Is A Lot Nicer Than Donald Trump.”
Still, given the troubles and divisiveness in the world right now, the idea of “glowing hearts” perhaps conveys a certain image of Canada that will resonate with international travellers.
