I do a few things that cannot be classified as work. Not many but a few. One of those things is visit a history forum All Empires Well I do more than visit; I am one of four administrators there. We are a large group of people from around the world that discuss or debate, depending on the day, things historical. Check it out, We would love to meet you.
PS. I'm Dawn there too.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Travel Habits of Albertans
from: •Alberta Leisure Travel Intentions Study - Top-Line Report, Spring 2005 - May 2005 (12 pages)
- 1,405 respondents completed an 8-minute survey from March 11 to March 27, 2005
-More than forty percent of Albertan Travellers are planning at least one trip to the Canadian Rockies (43%) while slightly less than one-third are planning to visit Edmonton and Area (32%), Calgary and Area (30%), or Alberta Central (29%) during the next six months. Twenty-two percent are planning a trip to Alberta South, while 11% are planning a trip to Alberta North.
-Over half (57%) of all trips that Albertan Travellers expect to make in the next 6 months will be a weekend in duration, while more respondents are planning to take trips 3 to 7 nights in length (18%) compared to 2004 (11%). Consequently, the average length of trips planned by Albertan Travellers has increased compared to 2004.
-The top information resources used to plan leisure trips include: the Internet in general (40%), word-of-mouth (21%), the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) (21%), and previous experience (15%).
Those are some interesting stats. Although from a 2005 report, the person I spoke with at Travel Alberta said that they haven't change significantly. From this we can deduce: 1. Our websites and search rankings are oh so important. 2. The Crowsnest Pass could either be classified as Alberta South or Canadian Rockies either way we are not getting our share of those travellers.
So the real question that arises in my mind; what can we as operators do to bring more visitors to their own backyard? To my way of thinking we have a good start. We all have websites, most of which are linked together. We have our holiday home group site. Our community has several sites. We have some community brag books. We reefer, we network, etc. etc. etc. Now is when the questions start: are our sites optimized to get the best search results? Is it easy for the client to find what they are looking for? Are we taking advantage of all the free advertising we can? Are we members of associations that produce results? Do we have marketing plans for our businesses or perhaps for the group?
On that note, a few years ago I attended a marketing workshop conducted by Travel Alberta. At this meeting we were introduced to a software package that was developed for hospitality businesses to produce a marketing plan easily. It was a great little piece of work which I have used and come back to again and again. Marketing plans like business plans help to solidify your thoughts and give you direction when you find yourself floundering or even just slightly lost. And while we are on the topic check out the Travel Alberta industry site they have all kinds of stuff to help us out. I have contacted Travel Alberta to see if we can get more copies and will keep you posted when I have more info.
- 1,405 respondents completed an 8-minute survey from March 11 to March 27, 2005
-More than forty percent of Albertan Travellers are planning at least one trip to the Canadian Rockies (43%) while slightly less than one-third are planning to visit Edmonton and Area (32%), Calgary and Area (30%), or Alberta Central (29%) during the next six months. Twenty-two percent are planning a trip to Alberta South, while 11% are planning a trip to Alberta North.
-Over half (57%) of all trips that Albertan Travellers expect to make in the next 6 months will be a weekend in duration, while more respondents are planning to take trips 3 to 7 nights in length (18%) compared to 2004 (11%). Consequently, the average length of trips planned by Albertan Travellers has increased compared to 2004.
-The top information resources used to plan leisure trips include: the Internet in general (40%), word-of-mouth (21%), the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) (21%), and previous experience (15%).
Those are some interesting stats. Although from a 2005 report, the person I spoke with at Travel Alberta said that they haven't change significantly. From this we can deduce: 1. Our websites and search rankings are oh so important. 2. The Crowsnest Pass could either be classified as Alberta South or Canadian Rockies either way we are not getting our share of those travellers.
So the real question that arises in my mind; what can we as operators do to bring more visitors to their own backyard? To my way of thinking we have a good start. We all have websites, most of which are linked together. We have our holiday home group site. Our community has several sites. We have some community brag books. We reefer, we network, etc. etc. etc. Now is when the questions start: are our sites optimized to get the best search results? Is it easy for the client to find what they are looking for? Are we taking advantage of all the free advertising we can? Are we members of associations that produce results? Do we have marketing plans for our businesses or perhaps for the group?
On that note, a few years ago I attended a marketing workshop conducted by Travel Alberta. At this meeting we were introduced to a software package that was developed for hospitality businesses to produce a marketing plan easily. It was a great little piece of work which I have used and come back to again and again. Marketing plans like business plans help to solidify your thoughts and give you direction when you find yourself floundering or even just slightly lost. And while we are on the topic check out the Travel Alberta industry site they have all kinds of stuff to help us out. I have contacted Travel Alberta to see if we can get more copies and will keep you posted when I have more info.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Travellers Choose Sleep over Sex
A Great Night`s Sleep Trumps Great Sex according to Westin'S Sleep study
This study was released in August 2009 and tells Us something we should already know: what beds we put in our accommodation rooms are of the upmost concern. Should we all run out and upgrade our beds? Is bedding just as important as the bed it's on?
In my opinion yes if our beds are not at least mid grade they should be upgraded and yes the bedding is just as important. Much of the hospitality industry is about perceptions and feelings and if you can make a good impression with how the room looks (hence the bedding upgrade) and feels you are more than half way to giving the guest what he or she wants: To leave your place feelinggood great.
This study was released in August 2009 and tells Us something we should already know: what beds we put in our accommodation rooms are of the upmost concern. Should we all run out and upgrade our beds? Is bedding just as important as the bed it's on?
In my opinion yes if our beds are not at least mid grade they should be upgraded and yes the bedding is just as important. Much of the hospitality industry is about perceptions and feelings and if you can make a good impression with how the room looks (hence the bedding upgrade) and feels you are more than half way to giving the guest what he or she wants: To leave your place feeling
Harvest of Memories
On Sept 26 I had the pleasure of catering the annual fund raising dinner for the Crowsnest Museum. The "black and white" event was sold out and it appeared that everyone had a good time. According to Wendy Zack, the curator, the museum made out well. The event included a buffet dinner (I love doing these ones where they give me a lot of freedom to create) that we tried out some new dishes for, coconut curry chicken, a dill and cucumber salad, tomato basil salad, and a cinnamon swirl loaf. They did a silent auction as well as a live auction and then had dancing afterwards. It seemed to be a night that all the locals came out, mixed and mingled. Generally just having a good time and supporting a worthy cause.
Speaking of that Cause, when was the last time you visited our local museum? They truly do an amazing job for a small town museum with little funding and mostly volunteer labour. Take a look at their website Crowsnest Museum. and drop by to visit - it's informative and rather well done
.
Speaking of that Cause, when was the last time you visited our local museum? They truly do an amazing job for a small town museum with little funding and mostly volunteer labour. Take a look at their website Crowsnest Museum. and drop by to visit - it's informative and rather well done
.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
To get things rolling
There are a good number of accommodation operators here in the Pass. One section of these operators have chosen to ban together and work cooperatively to promote there facilities and the Pass in general. Of course I'm referring to Crowsnest Pass Holiday Homes. The group is headed up by the tireless Sue Moser and our website can be found at http://www.crowsnestpassholidayhomes.com/ We have 16(I think) members that promote their own as well as the groups accommodations by way of websites, referrals and joint marketing. We don't just promote our properties though, we include events, local attractions, other related operators, and just about anything a traveler could need to get here and have an enjoyable stay. We are always looking for new ways and means to promote. Check it out.
Here's to new beginings
I tried this blogging stuff years ago and never did get very far. I thought maybe it was time to try again. My hopes for this are to create a place to share experiences, ideas, and general information relating to the tourism industry, hospitality and even life in the Crowsnest Pass. Perhaps we can make new connections with people and keep in touch with those we already know.
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