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We know that the demand for experiential travel continues to grow - but what’s happening around Canada to respond to this shift? The answer is a lot! Nationally, the Canadian Signature Experiences program is going strong in its 6th year and continues to encourage export-ready businesses to raise the bar on their offerings. Provincially, there are a variety of different programs at work across Canada to support tourism industry businesses in developing authentic, engaging experiences that respond to what today’s travellers are seeking.
In February 2017 Tourism Cafe facilitated five
experiential travel workshops around PEI designed to introduce tourism businesses and experience providers to three key tools to help them develop an experience concept, cost and price the experience, and write a visitor experience statement to use in promotional and marketing materials. The workshop was followed up with individual coaching support from Tourism Cafe and the Tourism PEI team to help participants bring their concepts to market, resulting in the addition of several new additions to the Authentic PEI Experiences program.
Internationally recognized knitter and weaver, Margaret McEachern, owner of Knit Pickers, shares her passion with visitors to the island through a variety of experiences including Looms, Lambs and Lobsters, one of the enhanced experiences developed during the February workshop. Experience providers such as Margaret deliver valuable opportunities to visitors to connect with local people, culture and cuisine, while generating new sources of revenue for their businesses.
If you’re looking for helpful experiential travel resources to grow your business check out our resources page for toolkits, an easy-to-use experiential travel costing template (available in French & English) and case studies to learn from the successes of other businesses. Or connect with your regional or provincial destination marketing organization to find out what workshops and training are available in your area.