2015 Tourism Symposium & Annual General Meeting. 7:30am - 5:00pm April 23, 2015 Prince George Civic Centre Prince George, BC

Transcription

1 2015 Tourism Symposium & Annual General Meeting 7:30am - 5:00pm April 23, 2015 Prince George Civic Centre Prince George, BC

2 April 23, 2015 Room 103 *, Prince George Civic Centre EVENT AGENDA 7:30-8:30 Breakfast & Registration 8:30-9:15 Welcoming Remarks Rebecca Monsen, Chair Tourism Prince George Lheidli T enneh Elder Mayor Lyn Hall The Honourable Shirley Bond, MLA for Prince George - Valemount and Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training & The Honourable Mike Morris, MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie 9:15-10:00 Tourism Prince George Presentation - Erica Hummel, CEO 10:00-10:15 Networking Break 10:15-11:00 Clint Fraser - Acting CEO, Northern BC Tourism Northern BC Tourism 11:00-12:00 Stuart Ballantyne - CEO, 2015 Canada Winter Games Host Society Telling a Northern Story: The 2015 Canada Winter Games 12:00-1:00 Lunch & Networking 1:00-2:00 Concurrent Sessions (please choose one) Adventure Tourism Workshop (Room 208) Sport Tourism Workshop (Room 202) Meetings and Conventions Workshop (Room 103) 2:00-2:15 Networking Break 2:15-3:25 Keynote: Kevani Macdonald - Account Strategist, Origin Design + Communications Content Marketing 3:25-3:30 Thank You 3:45-5:00 Annual General Meeting (Room 208) 5:30-7:00 Networking Dinner at the Twisted Cork (pre-registration required) *All events take place in Room 103 unless otherwise specified.

3 EVENT WELCOME Rebecca Monsen, Tourism Prince George Board Chair Welcome to our second Annual General Meeting and Symposium hosted by Tourism Prince George. The expansion of the AGM to a symposium is to engage and provide value to our stakeholders. The last calendar year at TPGS has been a year focused upon foundational building. As a Board and as an organization, I am very proud of our achievements. Our new CEO Erica Hummel has just completed a year in our community and in her position. In January 2015 the 2% hotel tax that funds our marketing efforts was approved and we now have a clearly defined vision for the future. We have just recently filled all the vacant Board Seats and we are excited to be a part of the positive changes within our community and the tourism Industry. Thank you for taking the time to participate in our AGM. Erica Hummel, Tourism Prince George CEO On behalf of the team at Tourism Prince George, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2nd Annual Tourism Symposium & AGM. We hope you take the opportunity to actively participate in the sessions we have planned for you today and enjoy the networking opportunities with your colleagues in the tourism industry. I am looking forward to sharing our successes and future plans with you has been a year of growth and development for TPG as we prepared to host the nation at the 2015 Canada Winter Games. I would like to commend each member of our team for their outstanding efforts in building our programs, developing new partnerships and expanding our markets. In 2015, our efforts are focused on leveraging the many legacies of the Games and celebrating the city s 100 th Anniversary. We look forward to continuing our work with each of you in the months to come.

4 EVENT SPEAKERS Event MC: Scott McWalter - Marketing & Communications Officer, UNBC Scott McWalter, founder of the Hell Yeah Prince George Facebook Group, is a Marketing & Communications Officer at the University of Northern British Columbia, where he earned his Bachelor of Commerce (2008) in marketing and Masters of Business Administration (2014) degrees. In addition to being a life-long promoter of Prince George and fierce advocate for Northern British Columbia, he is also a Group Fitness Instructor at the Northern Sport Centre, Lead Organizer of the Prince George Terry Fox Run and Vice President of the British Columbia Indoor Soccer League, while sitting on the local SPCA Community Council and PG Triathlon Organizing Committee. Keynote: Kevani Macdonald - Account Strategist, Origin Design + Communications Content Marketing: For some time, marketers have been creating content. That s not new. But, is this content meeting objectives? Is it connecting with audiences? Is it distributed in the right channels? These are just a few of the questions we ll explore in this one hour seminar that s aimed at tourism marketers. We ll explore the 10 steps to developing an effective content marketing strategy and show real life examples that will give you what you need to get your plan in action. Kevani is a marketing strategist with over 13 years of marketing and advertising client service, strategy, and creative development experience. As a Whistler local, a keen snowboarder and mountain biker, and by managing clients such as Tourism Whistler, Red Bull and The North Face over her years with Origin, Kevani has built up an in-depth knowledge of action sports and tourism marketing. From her BA Honours in Design Marketing, and her six years working in boutique agencies in England, she has developed into a unique mix of creative thinker and logical planner. She is just as comfortable brainstorming major creative concepts, planning out the details of a brand activation event, or getting elbow deep in a complex media plan.

5 EVENT SPEAKERS Clint Fraser - Acting CEO, Northern BC Tourism Northern BC Tourism: A discussion of regional partnership programs and how Northern BC Tourism utilizes them to market the region as a travel destination. In his diverse role, Clint works with the board and team at Northern BC Tourism to achieve the overall vision and mission for the organization. Clint holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) from the University of Northern British Columbia and has held positions in the brewing Industry and Economic Development. He also spent time attending film school in Vancouver, and has experience in marketing to attract film production. Stuart Ballantyne - CEO, 2015 Canada Winter Games Host Society Telling a Northern Story: The 2015 Canada Winter Games: How the 2015 Canada Winter Games told a northern story to the nation about Northern BC, its people and hospitality. Stuart Ballantyne is a major sports and entertainment event producer with extensive experience in designing and executing large-scale spectator events. In August 2011, he left his position as COO of the Vancouver Giants Hockey Club to become CEO of the 2015 Canada Winter Games Host Society. Prior to joining the Giants, Stuart was the Project Director for Molson Canadian Hockey House, Hockey Canada House and the Event Manager for the Concord Place site during the Vancouver 2010 Games. He also spearheaded the 2009 World Police and Fire Games, the 2007 MasterCard Memorial Cup, and the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championships. In 2012 Ballantyne was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contribution to sport and the Canada Games movement.

6 1:00pm to 2:00pm Please choose one of the following sessions: Adventure Tourism Workshop, Room 208 CONCURRENT SESSIONS This session, facilitated by Community Futures, will introduce the concept of Adventure PG as a tourism development initiative and outline major objectives. A panel of leaders in Prince George s adventure tourism sector will share their projects and uncover some of the opportunities and challenges they have experienced along the way. Brainstorming activies will follow and future opportunities for growth identified. Sport Tourism Workshop, Room 202 Now that the 2015 Canada Winter Games have come and gone, the question is, what s next? How do we leverage the success of the 2015 Games for years to come? This workshop will feature panelists from the Otway Nordic Ski Centre, Tabor Mountain Ski Resort, and the Prince George Blizzard Speed Skating Club who will present their strategies for building off the momentum of the Games. Brainstorming activites will follow and next steps discussed. Meetings & Conventions Workshop, Room 103 Please join Jen Tkachuk, Meeting and Convention Sales Manager as she presents the TPG Meetings and Conventions Marketing Plan and Implementation Strategy as well as our existing partnership programs. Group actvities and brainstorming about next steps and discussion about what programs attendees would like to see moving forward will follow the presentation.

7 TOURISM PRINCE GEORGE BOARD & STAFF Tourism Prince George Board of Directors Rebecca Monsen (Chair), Treasure Cove Hotel Tracy Calogheros, The Exploration Place John Gibson (Co-Chair), Prince George Airport Authority Elke Hierl-Steinbauer (Secretary), Bon Voyage Motor Inn Young Nam (Treasurer), Esther s Inn Andy Beesley, Prince George Cougars Mary Jarbek, BC Restaurant & Foodservices Association David McQuinn, Coast Inn of the North Tracy Peterson, Ramada Hotel David Richinski, Sandman Hotel Myles Tycholis, City of Prince George Tourism Prince George Staff Erica Hummel, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (250) , hummel@tourismpg.com Annie Doran, Manager of Marketing and Communications (250) , doran@tourismpg.com Roya Compo, Manager of Training and Product Development (250) , compo@tourismpg.com Leanne Schinkel, Manager of Sport & Event Development (250) , schinkel@tourismpg.com Jen Tkachuk, Manager of Meeting and Convention Sales (250) , tkachuk@tourismpg.com Sherry McKay, Visitor Centre Manager (250) , mckay@tourismpg.com Liz Bennett, Assistant Manager Visitor Centre (250) , bennett@tourismpg.com Michael Stanyer, Marketing and Communications Coordinator (250) , stanyer@tourismpg.com

8 facebook.com/tourismpg twitter.com/tourismpg First Avenue Prince George, BC V2L 2Y3 Canada phone: or fax: