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You know it's a good day at work when you hear the voices of your customers and learn about the positive experience they have had with your company. For most in the tourism industry, these are visitors who engage in your experiences. But for our team at the Tourism Cafe, our customers are destination partners who support the operators in their region to design, develop, price, and launch into market, new visitor experiences for their guests. When COVID-19 shut down the country, I was en route to deliver the keynote address to the provincial tourism conference in Saskatchewan. Well, that didn't happen, but something magical replaced it that I believe will have a much longer legacy with tourism businesses in Saskatchewan. I was invited to join the Achieving AWEsome program team to support 'Step 3 - AWEsome Actions' element that fast-tracks the experience design, development, costing and pricing to prepare them for piloting their experience with the Tourism Saskatchewan Industry Development team and take it to market. And a mega bonus of this project was working with my two sons during COVID! Luc Arsenault, a Jazz Pilot and Flight Instructor, was the e-course designer and bilingual narrator for two of the courses during his COVID-lay off. Marco Arsenault, my other son, a high school math and computer science instructor was the tech user-tester to ensure the course functioned as it should. Over the years, like the participants, we learned together, refined the program, and found ways to celebrate success. Now, as I hear the voices of our alumni in the program video produced, I'm bursting with pride at how much these wonderful tourism operators have achieved in my home province of Saskatchewan! I can't wait to get the list of participants who have been pre-qualified for the fall course, and to continue working with Denise Stroeder, Corrina Kapeller, and Brenden Branscombe at Tourism Saskatchewan.

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been around for a while, new uses and applications for AI in the tourism industry are rapidly increasingly. The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 by OpenAI, has significantly increased awareness of the power of this technology to enhance our everyday lives. This led me to dig into how AI is being used by tourism destinations and businesses to move visitors down the path-to-purchase and enhance the visitor experience. Research of this nature can take one down a rabbit hole but revealed some interesting and fun examples. It’s still early days in the world of tech-powered tourism using AI, the Metaverse and ChatGPT, but our industry is set to be revolutionized by these technologies. ChatGPT was a logical place to start to prompt for examples from destinations around the world where AI is being used at different points on the path-to-purchase and throughout the visitor lifecycle. With some additional human-powered research, the following examples emerged: Generating destination awareness and consideration Visit Denmark used AI and ChatGPT to script this creative marketing video aimed at enticing tourists to visit Denmark. Millennium Hotels and Resorts is creating brand awareness through its virtual presence in M Social Decentraland. They are the first hospitality group to open a hotel in the metaverse that allows players to tour the hotel with an avatar and win ‘surprises’ in the real world. Emirates Vacations recently embedded chatbot capabilities into its display ads, allowing potential visitors to input information asking about vacation options and getting travel package recommendations in return, increasing engagement by 87%. Supporting research, itinerary planning and booking The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas uses an AI-powered chatbot named Rose to provide personalized recommendations to guests, such as restaurant and activity suggestions, using natural language processing and machine learning to understand guests' preferences and make recommendations. Low-cost airline carrier Vueling is working to establish a metaverse sales channel offering users the opportunity to plan their travel, book carbon positive trips and use the tickets for actual seats on a Vueling flight. Pre-trip visitor information Qatar Airways has created its QVerse, allowing passengers to view the lounge, available amenities and services prior to flying, with an experience facilitated by a virtual hostess. Tokyo's Haneda Airport has been trialing an AI-powered Chatbot called ‘Bebot' to assist visitors with questions about airport facilities and flight information. This new application complements their existing in-airport robots that are used to provide visitors with directions, translation, and baggage handling questions. Enhancing the on-site visitor experience The Palais des Papes in Avignon, France enhances its visitor experience through the use of an augmented reality ‘Histopad’ that allows visitors to experience the rooms then and now, seeing each room as it was during the time of the sovereign popes. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam used data to analyse visitor flows, then adjust the museum’s design to reduce overcrowding, congestion and shift visitors to less-visited areas. Sharing memories to foster advocacy The Skyline gondola in Queenstown, NZ uses AI-powered cameras to capture visitors' experiences on its gondola rides and provide personalized video souvenirs. If you’re looking for ways to move visitors down the path-to-purchase, here are five ways that ChatGPT suggests using AI to achieve this goal: Personalized recommendations: AI can analyze visitor data to provide personalized recommendations for attractions, accommodations, and activities that match visitors' interests and preferences. By providing targeted recommendations, destinations can increase the likelihood of visitors making a purchase. Chatbots and virtual assistants: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide real-time assistance to visitors as they navigate the path-to-purchase. They can answer questions, provide information, and guide visitors to purchase opportunities. Dynamic pricing: AI can analyze visitor data to adjust pricing in real-time based on demand, availability, and visitor behaviour. This can help businesses maximize revenue by optimizing pricing to match visitor demand. Predictive analytics: AI can analyze visitor data to predict visitor likelihood of making a purchase and target relevant marketing messages and promotions, optimizing destination marketing spend and increasing yield. Recommendation engines: AI-powered recommendation engines can analyze visitor data to suggest complementary products and services that can enhance the visitor experience and encourage additional purchases, both increasing revenue per visitor and creating a more satisfying experience for the visitor. Suggested articles: Accenture. (2022, September 15). Why the metaverse really matters for travel. Retrieved from https://www.accenture.com/us-en/blogs/compass-travel-blog/metaverse-travel Olsen, B. (2023, 25 April). AI and the travel industry. What does it all mean? Retrieved from https://roadbook.com/travel/ai-technology-the-travel-industry/ Weed, J. (2023, 16 March). Can ChatGTP plan your vacation? Here’s what to know about AI and travel. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/16/travel/chatgpt-artificial-intelligence-travel-vacation.html

We are delighted to announce that Jolene Lammers has joined the Tourism Café team as our new Training Support Coordinator. Our online search generated hundreds of applicants within the tourism sector and beyond, and our entire team participated in the hiring process and final selection. She will be replacing Diana Gould who will plans to enjoy retirement to the fullest. Jolene is an experienced tourism professional with a secret cache of technical skills that are ideal for taking the lead on our day-to-day training activities associated with our learning management system, and participant and project support. Her industry knowledge spans destination development, stakeholder relations and communications, brand development, website, and social media management, and she was a Tourism Resiliency Advisor supporting businesses through the COVID—19 recovery activities. Throughout Jolene’s career, her technical knowledge has supported multiple companies, and this will now be a lead role with the Tourism Cafe. As one former employer shared “She is a can-do person, with a bubbly personality, a talent for problem solving, working with technology and helping others learn.” She will be departing the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association, for this new chapter of her career, an organization we have worked with for many years. As we prepare for this evolution in our relationships, CCCTA CEO Amy Thacker shared: “The tourism industry is at a pivotal time in staging for the future. As companies evolve and prepare for that future, many people in our industry are planning the next chapter of their career. We wish Jolene all the best in her new adventure and are happy that her talents will remain in the tourism industry.”

Tourism and coastline in St Johns Newfoundland Destination development and training in Newfoundland for a sustainable tourism future. Tofino, British Columbia and the beach Pet friendly travel in Tofino on Vancouver Island. Tourism and coastline in St Johns Newfoundland Destination development and training in Newfoundland for a sustainable tourism future. 1/6 DO WHAT YOU DO BEST, PARTNER FOR REST® TOURISM TRAINING Our award-winning reputation for designing and delivering creative, engaging, experiential training generates results. As professionally trained educators and instructional designers, we collaborate with organizations to define learning outcomes and design training that meets your needs. From short courses to multi-year programs, we bring decades of skill to designing, developing and delivering community-based programs and online training. Post-pandemic, we are responding to increased demand for unique blended programs with online and in community elements to optimize training investments and participant engagement. INQUIRE TODAY E-LEARNING COVID-19 permanently changed the opportunities for hybrid work. In support of this evolution, we launched “Tourism Connects ” to offer 'just-in-time' self-paced e-courses that provide easy access, on any electronic device 24/7. They range in length from 15 minutes to 2-hours, offering bite-sized learning, complete with downloadable resources. Best of all, our roster of available courses in English and French is continually expanding with topics that are tactical and actionable. GET STARTED DEVELOPMENT We offer comprehensive tourism development services to help identify and align strategic investments for the best visitor and destination outcomes. Anchored decades of experience, a visitor-centric approach and sound research methodologies we assist destination, organizations and individual businesses grow visitation and enhance revenues through focusing on what matters most - delivering memorable visitor experiences that provide a competitive edge. LET'S DISCUSS RESOURCES Enhance your skills and knowledge with a variety of training resources that we research, develop, and publish direct-to-market and with destination partners. Our templates, case studies, toolkits and articles are designed to strengthen the capacity of seasoned business professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, students, and volunteers. And, we are available to develop resources for your business! ACCESS HERE The Tourism Café Canada is an award-winning company specialising in tourism training and industry development. Customer-centric to the core, our methods are engaging, collaborative, transformative and tailored to meet your needs. We create meaningful change that helps drive new revenue and adapt to evolving visitor demand through our unrivalled energy and unique approaches. And, we strive to leave a legacy with the people, organizations, destinations and communities where we work. SOME OF OUR RECENT CLIENTS Destination Canada Corporate Logo Destination Canada Explore Edmonton logo Explore Edmonton Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism logo Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism Destination British Columbia Logo Destination British Columbia Tourism Saskatchewan logo Tourism Saskatchewan Leduc County Leduc County Canadian Ski Council Canadian Ski Council Tourism Nunatsiavut logo Tourism Nunatsiavut Indigenous Services Canada logo Indigenous Services Canada 1/1 ABOUT US The Tourism Café Canada is an award-winning training and industry development company specializing in tourism training, destination development and experiential travel. Our innovative, collaborative, transformative approach is rooted in decades of experience and gets results. ​ We are proudly Canadian and have enjoyed working all over our beautiful country. Plus, we love bringing our skills and expertise abroad having enjoyed project collaborations in Jamaica, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the USA, and South Korea. LEARN MORE

TRAINING The Tourism Café Canada is one of Canada’s leading tourism training companies with a national reputation for experiential travel training. We are professional educators with an award-winning, finely-tuned instructional design process that is highly collaborative, inclusive and engaging. Our agility in responding to an ever-shifting learning environment shows up in our work—we adapt, learn, and deliver training that optimizes your investment. ​ As professionally trained educators, we embrace innovation to deliver tourism industry training that makes a lasting difference. Whether in person or online, we are passionate about creating learning experiences that are fun, interactive and highly relevant. We inspire participants to think in new ways and deliver practical, tangible results for operators and destinations. ​ We help raise the bar on the visitor experience. Find out what we can do for you! CONNECT WITH OUR TEAM We design, co-create and deliver award-winning tourism training across Canada We would love to work with you! BLENDED AND IN COMMUNITY PROGRAMS ​ We’re known for our experiential training. We help people, destination and organizations think differently, inspire tourism product development that drives new revenue, attracts new markets, and develops staff and partner capacity. LET'S CO-CREATE PUBLIC SPEAKING ​ Bring our expertise into your event. We research and produce original materials for all our keynote addresses, plenary and break-out sessions, and bring diversity to panel discussions. We're professional speakers with decades of experience in Canada and around the world. BOOK US COACHING ​ We thrive on understanding your unique needs and through a collaborative coaching approach, guide you through a proven coaching process that is customized to optimize your time and desired outcomes. GET IN TOUCH BEST PRACTICES MISSIONS Ever wonder why some businesses thrive and others struggle? Our carefully crafted missions, aligned with your learning objectives, connect your audience to leading companies and tourism experiences so you can learn from the best. LEARN MORE Check out the award-winning SHiFT: Transforming products to experiences program designed and delivered for Travel Alberta with many collaborating communities, alumni, and partners.

E-LEARNING Innovative Tourism Training for Anyone, Anywhere We believe in co-creating tourism training with a lens of inclusivity, practical applications and innovation. Our Tourism Connects learning portal offers a selection of online courses available anytime, on any electronic device. Jump start you staff training on a wide range of topics focused on product, market and business development. ​ BLENDED COURSES ​ We live in a world where hybrid work arrangements have become the norm - why not extend that into your training. Our blended training offers two approaches to customizing training for your organization and respond to different budget and social connection needs. ​ (1) Online e-courses as a primer to engaging in-community training. (2) Online e-courses combined with online zoom sessions. ​ EMAIL US SELF-PACED COURSES Bilingual (English and French) online courses that can be accessed 24/7, at your convenience. Topics include: Designing Memorable Travel, Creativity is Crushing It, Costing and Pricing Visitor Experiences, Tap into Trends, Introduction to Packaging Travel, Testing your Visitor Experience, Policies, and three courses on Sustainable, Regenerative tourism. Enrol today @ Tourism Connects. LEARNING PORTAL INSTRUCTOR-LED Tap into decades of tourism expertise with in-person or online tourism training that is customized to meet your goals. Our award-winning approach to designing training optimizes peer-to-peer learning and strives to leave a legacy in every community where we work. Call us today to discuss your training needs for impactful, transformative tourism training. GET IN TOUCH IDEAS LABS Peer-to-peer, online facilitated discussions focused on the most pressing topics in tourism. Led by an industry topic specialist who shares their insights to ignite and facilitate dialogue, knowledge is shared, ideas incubated, and communities created. Plus, every session includes a document that captures the highlights for sharing online or through your membership. EXPLORE WE LOVE WHAT WE DO! RECENT E-LEARNING PARTNERS 1/1