| One of Canada’s most popular destinations is launching a campaign to lure visitors for this spring and summer.
To drive recovery efforts from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Destination Greater Victoria is investing more than $2.2 million to market Greater Victoria in spring and summer 2022, officials said.
This is Destination Greater Victoria’s largest marketing campaign investment ever and is designed to attract leisure visitors to book multi-night stays in the destination as travel restrictions ease.
Beginning March 1, 2022, and running to August 20, 2022, Destination Greater Victoria will engage its core expertise by marketing the destination to leisure travellers in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, Calgary, Toronto, Washington state and California, as well as secondary markets in BC and Alberta.
Visitation from diverse geographic source markets is important for the destination’s recovery, and the conversion of potential customers in these markets will be the key measurement of the campaign. Recovery within the Greater Victoria visitor economy has been very limited and uneven to date, with many segments still struggling to generate sufficient operating revenues. This campaign addresses key Canadian and US markets critical for a wide and deep recovery, supporting all segments to generate sustained business again.
Destination Greater Victoria will continue to focus on the Lower Mainland as a core market. However, this campaign’s reach is broader and aims to re-establish top-of-mind awareness and conversion in Washington state and California. US currency conversion makes Greater Victoria more affordable and an attractive place to visit for American visitors. Strategic partnerships with ferry operators FRS Clipper and Black Ball Ferry Line (MV Coho) will be integral to driving US visitation to Greater Victoria.
Victoria is often named one of the most popular cities in Canada for visitors from around the world.
This unprecedented marketing campaign was made possible by a variety of factors at Destination Greater Victoria. These include fiscal discipline and deep overhead cuts over the past two years, increases in visitation during summer and fall 2021, strategically investing Destination Greater Victoria’s restricted reserve, renewal of Destination Greater Victoria’s Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) mandate through to 2026, and a new, leaner organizational operating model moving forward.
“This campaign is Destination Greater Victoria’s most significant campaign ever and is carefully planned to help stimulate and drive recovery,” said Paul Nursey, CEO – Destination Greater Victoria. “These investments are orders of magnitude higher than for any pre COVID-19 year.
“Re-introducing Greater Victoria’s travel brand into key source markets such as Washington state and California, where competitive travel marketers within the United States have been very active for the past two years, will present some challenges; however, we are confident that Greater Victoria has a solid reputation to build upon. Our goal is to help stimulate recovery that is wide and deep for as many members as possible,” Nursey said.
“It is exciting to see Destination Greater Victoria initiate this marketing campaign after such a challenging time. The past two years have seen very uneven visitation with many businesses deeply affected by a loss of revenue. It is thrilling to see Destination Greater Victoria being able to focus once again on what it
does best – and that is telling our potential visitors about everything Victoria has to offer,” said Erika Stenson, Board Chair, Destination Greater Victoria.
“All of the extraordinary pieces that made our destination an attractive place to visit before the COVID-19 pandemic are still in place. This campaign will show we are still a first-class and highly-desirable vacation destination,” she said.
|
