TRAVEL TRADE MARKET READINESS PROGRAM REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Growing Global Travel Trade Sales for Atlantic Canada

Transcription

1 TRAVEL TRADE MARKET READINESS PROGRAM REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS Growing Global Travel Trade Sales for Atlantic Canada Invitation The Client On behalf of the tourism industry in Atlantic Canada, the Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick (TIANB) is seeking proposals from qualified consultants with demonstrated travel trade experience to develop a pan-atlantic Travel Trade Market Readiness Program. The assignment will be completed in two phases. Phase I is the development of the program, including scanning trade readiness programming, surveying stakeholders, conducting a gap analysis, and developing a curriculum platform. Phase II will include launching the pilot program, program refinement, and communication to industry. The four Atlantic Provinces, Tourism Atlantic ACOA, and TIANB have partnered to lead the development of a new pan-atlantic Travel Trade Market Readiness Program. TIANB is facilitating this process and is a membership-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing leadership and direction, making tourism and hospitality the leading and most viably sustainable industry in New Brunswick. It is directed by a volunteer 10-member Board of Directors which represents all geographic regions and both linguistic groups of New Brunswick and is managed by a full-time Executive Director. Additional information on TIANB can be found at Background In Canada, tourism generated $88.5 billion in revenues in 2014, of which 19.4% or $17.2 billion was derived from international markets. As an economic sector, tourism generated more than 627,600 jobs for Canadians and sustained more than 170,000 tourism businesses. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany are Canada s most lucrative international origin markets. More recently, China emerged as Canada s (and the whole world s) number one growth market. In Atlantic Canada, tourism generated $4.69 billion in revenues in 2014, of which 15.2% or 712 million was derived from international markets. Tourism directly supported 9,596 Atlantic Canadian businesses and provided full-time equivalent jobs for 56,883 Atlantic Canadians. The Northeastern United States and the United Kingdom have traditionally

2 been Atlantic Canada s most lucrative international markets. China is now Atlantic Canada s fastest growing market. The Conference Board of Canada is forecasting positive growth for Atlantic Canada in tourism in the short term ( ). Annualized growth in visitation, driven largely by overseas arrivals, is expected to reach 2.5% and annualized growth in revenues is forecast to be between 4% and 7%. Globally, tourism generated US $1.5 trillion (9.8% of total world GDP) in export revenues and 277 million jobs (1 in 11 jobs) in Over the past six decades and despite occasional shocks, tourism has experienced continued expansion (3.3% annual growth) and diversification to become one of the world s largest and fastest-growing economic sectors. Tourism now accounts for 6% of the world exports and 30% of service exports. In order to enable Atlantic Canada s tourism industry operators to assess and benefit from both current and new markets, it is important to understand the planning and purchasing behavior of consumers in these international markets. The job of influencing leisure travelers has never been tougher. Now more than ever, content must inspire so that travelers not only imagine themselves having an experience in Canada, but also plan their itinerary and book their trip here. For this reason, DC deploys our marketing strategy in direct-to-consumer, travel trade, and media relations channels. Each channel has its own best practices and target audiences at different points of the path to purchase. When done right, great content has a long shelf life, as audiences excited about our content will share their experiences with others. Through a strong understanding of the audience, content and channels, we can ensure content reaches travelers at the points in their planning where it will have the greatest impact. Destination Canada 2016 Global Marketing and Sales Plan Like Destination Canada, the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership and each of the Atlantic Provinces implement tourism plans in strategic markets to promote the region through consumer-direct, travel trade, and media relations activity. The travel trade channel provides an important opportunity for provincial marketing organizations (PMOs) and trade-ready industry partners to leverage the brand strength, customer base and marketing budgets of influential travel trade partners. Each of the Atlantic Provinces invests significant human and financial resources to generate visitation and

3 revenue growth through the travel trade channel. Crucial sales relationships are managed through the delivery of business-to-business channel activity that includes trade show/marketplace attendance, inmarket sales calls and events, marketing promotions, destination training, and familiarization (FAM) tours. The Evaluation Report of the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership Marketing Agreement shows that travel trade marketing activity in the US and UK leveraged $2.1M in incremental marketing investment and generated over $12M in related sales for the region. As with all areas of tourism marketing, the travel trade channel is evolving. Travel trade marketing is complex; varies by both geographic and client target markets; requires certain business practices; needs a longer lead-time to generate results; and, is developed through strong client relations and partnerships. Assignment On behalf of the tourism industry in Atlantic Canada, TIANB is seeking proposals from a multi-disciplinary team of qualified consultants with demonstrated expertise in curriculum development and travel trade experience to invent and pilot a Travel Trade Market Readiness Program. International tourism experience will be considered an asset. The assignment will be completed in two phases. Phase I is the Travel Trade Market Readiness program curriculum development. Subject to a favorable performance review, the consultant must be committed to completing Phase II of the Travel Trade Market Readiness Program, which will launch the pilot program, conduct program refinement, and communicate to industry. This pan-atlantic program is required to enable tourism industry operators to fully understand the business model of the travel trade and assess the opportunity of selling to this influential segment, particularly in international markets. This program will provide both market and channel expertise. The priority geographic targets for this program will focus on select overseas markets in Europe and Asia, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and China. However, other key tourism markets such as the United States will also be included. With support from the tourism industry associations and regional destination partners, this in-depth program will be made available for

4 Atlantic Canadian accommodations, attractions, and experience providers. This pan-atlantic program will build regional collective capacity to access new markets and generate new sources of revenue for the tourism sector. It will also ensure Atlantic Canada is taking full advantage of existing market opportunities. As the Atlantic Provinces share in many of the itineraries made available through the travel trade distribution network, it is important to work together to leverage resources and generate optimal results. However, recognizing that each of the Provinces have different market priorities and industry partnership initiatives, it is also critical that each program partner be allowed to customize the content, delivery and industry support to align with their provincial priorities. Scope of Work Immediately upon award of contract, the consultant will meet with representatives of TIANB and other stakeholders (the Steering Committee) to review the consultants proposal and discuss expected outcomes. During this meeting, the consultant may inquire about any documentation available that may be relevant to this assignment. A schedule for regular progress reports and project updates will be developed to ensure the timely completion of the assignment. Phase I - Program Development This phase will build program content that is aligned with the best industry standards. Scan of trade readiness programming in competing destinations/best practices: Examine trade-readiness programming in select destinations to assess and potentially adopt their model for: developing market and channel expertise, training and marketing supports for industry stakeholders, promotion to the travel trade, measurement, and evaluation of program results. Case studies should be prepared on these destinations and submitted/presented to the Steering Committee. Survey of select travel trade clients, industry operators, key stakeholders:

5 To provide a greater understanding of the opportunities and current challenges in growing Atlantic Canada s sales through the travel trade channel and to identify market trends and expectations: interview and survey regional and national based receptive tour operators, along with key account tour operators from the United States, Europe and Asia; interview and survey industry operators who are successfully selling through the trade channel and those who have decided against targeting this channel in order to benefit from their learnings and experiences; and consult with Destination Canada to examine their assessment of and approach to the travel trade channel and identify their recommendations for growth. Conduct a gap analysis within Atlantic Canada: From the findings of the activities outlined above, prepare a SWOT analysis of Atlantic Canada s product, experiences and marketing. This review will help to identify areas of focus for program content and also for market development. Introduce the program concept at Atlantic Canada Showcase buyers (tour operators) breakfast, taking place October 4, 2016 in Fredericton, NB. Consultant will be responsible for developing the buyer s breakfast program and using it as an opportunity to garner feedback from captive buyers. Development of curriculum platform: Create curriculum that outlines, by market and by trade segment, the requirements and expectations working with the travel trade. The content will consist of a tool kit that provides expertise on topics such as: market insights, definitions, best practices, case studies, worksheet examples, travel trade marketing tactics, testimonials, and partnership opportunities. The curriculum platform will be presented and discussed with the Steering Committee for input. Phase II - Implement Travel Trade Market Readiness Program Upon acceptance of the Trade Readiness curriculum by the Steering Committee, the consultant will pilot the model. This phase will ensure the program content is introduced and tested prior to being formally launched to all industry operators

6 Deliver the pilot project: The content and implementation plans will be shared with approximately 12 industry operators from around Atlantic Canada (3 industry per province), together with a minimum of 3 receptive tour operators (regionally and nationally based), and the travel trade managers from Destination Canada s European and China markets. The testing of this pilot project should ensure the level of content is appropriate, market specific, and user-friendly. This review will also identify any program content gaps. A template review document will be created to provide both quantitative and qualitative measures. Program refinement based on results of pilot project and industry feedback: Program adjustments will be made and training modules will be finalized following the findings from the pilot before a formal roll-out of the program to industry within Atlantic Canada. Communicate new program to industry: Market the availability and benefit of this program to industry. Implement a coordinated communications plan that provides consistent messaging and ensures industry in each province are aware of this opportunity. Communications planning will allow for each province and the tourism industry associations to tailor communications that best meets their needs. Develop training supports for program partners- i.e. Program Champions: Provide training for travel trade leads in each of the provinces to support program objectives. Measurement and evaluation: Include quantitative and qualitative evaluation measures to determine the success of the program in achieving visitation and revenue growth for Atlantic Canada s tourism sector. It is expected that following this project, the trade readiness program could be rolled out at the provincial level and customized as required. Budget The level of effort for Phase I of this assignment is estimated at up to $90,000 - inclusive of taxes, travel, and all other costs and expenses.

7 Upon the successful development and defense of the Travel Trade Market Readiness program (Phase I), the consultant will begin the introduction of the Trade Readiness Program (Phase II). The level of effort for Phase II of this assignment is estimated at up to $65,000 - inclusive of taxes, travel, and all other costs and expenses. These phase allocations may adjust as the program development evolves. Timing The consultant must be prepared to begin work on Phase I of the project immediately upon award of contract (on or about August 24, 2016). Taking into consideration the scope of work, Phases I and II must be completed in less than two years from the contractual starting date. A multi-year approach is proposed to establish a best in class trade readiness program. The following timelines and budget are proposed: Timeline August, September, 2016 Deliverable Consultant Contracted for Program Development Deliverables. Consultant meeting with program partners to review timelines, program implementation and deliverables. September, October, 2016 October 4, 2016 October, February, 2017 March, 2017 April, June, 2017 July, August, 2017 September, February, 2018 March, 2018 Design and implement survey(s) and competitive scan. Develop training toolkit content. Introduce program to travel trade attending Atlantic Canada Showcase s buyers breakfast and engage with this captive audience to gather feedback. Deliver Pilot Program to select industry partners. Gather program feedback and initial program results-partners, clients, industry participants Provide recommendations for final pan- Atlantic program. Finalize program adjustments. Train the trainer sessions for provincial program ambassadors. Provincial partners provide ongoing program implementation. Deliver Final Reports for Pilot Project and

8 Year 1 Program evaluation, including analysis and recommendations. Contracting Authority Submissions to undertake this assignment must be received by the undersigned contracting authority either by or mail on or before 5:00 p.m. Atlantic Time on August 17, Late submissions will be returned unopened. Proposal should be addressed to: Ron Drisdelle, Executive Director Tourism Industry Association of New Brunswick 500 Beaverbrook Court, Suite 300 Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada E3B 5X4 Any questions on this RFP must be made in a written format and Q&A will be shared on the TIANB website: