2012-2015 penticton and wine country tourism business plan

2012 - 2015

PENTICTON & WINE COUNTRY TOURISM

BUSINESS PLAN presented Monday, March 26, 2012

2012 – 2015 PENTICTON & WINE COUNT RY TOURISM BUS INESS PLAN | page 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. A Fresh, Best Practice Approach for Tourism in Penticton 3

2. Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s Strategic Direction 3 2.1 Vision 3

2.2 Mission 4

2.3 Core Values 4

3. Governance & Accountability 4 3.1 Accountability to Our Stakeholders 4

3.2 Governance Structure 6

3.3 Management & Business Units 8

3.4 Operational & Administrative 9

4. Relationship Leveraging 10

5. Anticipated Funding Sources 11

6. 2011 – 2015 Destination Marketing Strategy 12 6.1 Marketing Priorities 14

6.2 Penticton’s Priority Tourism Products 14

6.3 Target Markets 14

6.3.1 Geographic Market (including Market Development Strategies) 14

6.3.2 Demographic Target Markets 16

6.3.3 Psychographic Target Markets (The Explorer Quotient™) 17

7. Evaluation & Measurable Outcomes 18

8. Allocation of Investment (Budget) 19

APPENDICES

CITY OF PENTICTON BYLAW – to come

LETTER OF SUPPORT – REGIONAL DISTRICT OF OKANAGAN-SIMILKAMEEN – to come

LETTERS OF SUPPORT – PENTICTON & WINE COUNTRY’S BUSINESS COMMUNITY

* Letters received to date attached; more anticipated by the time of our application to the Province


1. A Fresh, Best Practice Approach for Tourism in Penticton This business plan is aimed at creating a best practice, industry-led destination marketing

organization for Penticton’s tourism industry. It is the aim of this plan to facilitate the creation of a

not-for-profit society, herein referred to as “Penticton & Wine Country Tourism” that will deliver

tourism marketing and visitor services on behalf of the City of Penticton.

This business plan is the result of extensive secondary research, collaboration with Penticton’s

accommodation sector, and engagement with the broader tourism business community.

2. Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s Strategic

Direction Overall, Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s strategy sees long-term emphasis on the growth of

the leisure travel market. This focus should continue in order to increase Penticton’s share-of-voice

amongst the frequent independent traveller (FIT) market.

Focusing first on increasing brand awareness overall will allow Penticton to be more successful in

two other very profitable areas: sport tourism and meetings and incentive travel (MIT). Both of

these markets require focus and resources in order for Penticton to fully realize the potential of

the 2011–2015 Destination Marketing Strategy and for the strategy to deliver its intended results.

Recently, a proposal has been developed that would see Penticton & Wine Country Tourism

resourced to focus on sales to both the sport tourism and MIT market. The Tourism Investment

Partnership is a sustainable, long-term funding model for event tourism that would see a permanent

staff person added to Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s (PWCT’s) team and PWCT take over

the management of event funding from the City of Penticton, resulting in an overall increase in

events that drive shoulder season revenues for Penticton businesses.

2.1 Vision

Below are two imagined quotes from an average visitor to Penticton that illustrate the long-term

vision for Penticton as a destination. The above strategic direction is critical if Penticton is to attain

this future vision in the minds of consumers:

Penticton Now

“Penticton is a relaxing place to visit because of its slower pace, reliable warm sunny weather, the

sandy beaches and lakes, and because of its location in the middle of the Okanagan Valley wine region

where I can easily visit wineries. Penticton hasn’t changed much since the last time I visited and I kind

of like it that way, but it would be nice if there were more to do, better food options, and more choices

of places to stay.”

Penticton in the Future

“Penticton is a quaint small town that is ideally located in the middle of the Okanagan Valley where you

can count on warm sunny weather, sandy beaches and lakes with all sorts of water sports available,

sophisticated wine & food experiences, lots of options for family-friendly outdoor fun, and nice places to

stay. Penticton has really grown up and there are so many more things to do here during most of the

year but it has managed to keep the small town charm. Now, my trips to Penticton can take place

during most months and I stay a day or two longer.”


2.2 Mission

Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s mission is as follows:

Through continued advocacy and partnership with tourism stakeholders

measurably increase Penticton & Wine Country’s tourism revenues

through targeted, collaborative and effective tourism marketing.

2.3 Core Values

The foundation of Penticton & Wine Country Tourism as an organization rests on the following

core values:

Open and transparent operating principles

Full accountability

Consultative and collaborative

Research-based

Consistent and creative communications

3. Governance & Accountability Penticton & Wine Country Tourism is industry led, which means elected Directors set policy and

direction that is in the best interests of Penticton’s tourism industry. This governance structure is a

best practice in successful destination marketing organizations (DMOs) around the world.

3.1 Accountability to Our Stakeholders

As a result of being led by industry, Penticton & Wine Country Tourism is ultimately accountable

to all Penticton tourism business owners and operators. Penticton & Wine Country Tourism will

operate in a manner that is consultative and collaborative, valuing the input of tourism partners in

order to ensure the most profitable result. Consistent and creative communications are a

foundation of our relations with stakeholders.

Accountability to Penticton’s tourism stakeholders will take various forms and adapt over time,

such as:

Penticton’s Tourism Insider report, emailed monthly with an outlook on tourism as well as

key projects being undertaken by Penticton & Wine Country Tourism on behalf of industry

Annual presentations of marketing strategies and plans, with opportunity for input

Detailed financial reporting to the industry at Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s Annual

General Meeting, including a full annual report

Ongoing, regular site visits by Penticton & Wine Country Tourism (staff and Board

members) to Penticton’s tourism businesses: 2x annually

In future, Penticton & Wine Country Tourism hopes to invest in a stakeholder web portal,

which will allow stakeholders ongoing access to Board meeting minutes, tourism research,


Penticton’s five-year Destination Marketing Strategy as well as annual sales and marketing

plans

Penticton & Wine Country Tourism will also provide specific reporting back to our valued partners

- the City of Penticton and the Penticton Hospitality Association (PHA):

City of Penticton

Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s Bi-Weekly Review: emailed every two weeks to Mayor,

Council and City Administrative Officer (CAO), as well as the PHA Executive

Ongoing individual meetings: propose a regularly scheduled lunch with City Administrative

Officer and elected officials (as appropriate)

Quarterly Statistics Report: emailed and provided hard-copy, these reports would include

“to-date” figures such as:

o total room revenue

o occupancy rate

o revenue per available room (RevPAR)

o Visitor Centre visits, referrals and bookings (as available)

o unique visits to www.tourismpenticton.com – indicative of interest from new

visitors in Penticton as a travel destination

Annual Proof of Performance Report, presented in-person by Penticton & Wine Country

Tourism CEO and Board executive

Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s Board of Directors has an appointed position for a

City of Penticton staff member, who will have the responsibility of providing direct

reporting on the activities of Penticton & Wine Country Tourism back to the City of

Penticton

Penticton Hospitality Association (PHA)

Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s Bi-Weekly Review: emailed every two weeks to the PHA

Executive

o Also may consider a printed version for those accommodators not online

Ongoing individual meetings: propose a regularly scheduled lunch with PHA Chair

Annual Proof of Performance Report, presented in-person by Penticton & Wine Country

Tourism CEO and Board executive to the PHA

Quarterly Statistics Report: including same figures as above City of Penticton report,

delivered by email and possibly in hard-copy (as deemed appropriate)

Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s Board of Directors has an appointed position for the

Chair of the PHA, who will have the responsibility of providing direct reporting on the

activities of Penticton & Wine Country Tourism back to the PHA membership


3.2 Governance Structure

The role of the Penticton & Wine Country Tourism Board of Directors is to ensure the mission of

Penticton & Wine Country Tourism as an organization can be delivered upon by actively seeking

additional funding opportunities for tourism marketing, by advising on and approving overall

marketing direction, strategies and annual budget and by providing input and direction on broad

tourism policy issues.

Penticton & Wine Country Tourism will be governed by a Board of Directors comprised of 11

Directors elected by the tourism industry. Six (6) will represent the accommodation sector, five (5)

will represent the other sectors of the tourism business community (including one appointed City

of Penticton representative).

Appointed Directors:

City Staff Representative (1)

PHA Chair (1)

Elected Directors (half 1-year terms, half 2-year terms)

AHRT Collectors (Accommodators) (6, including the above appointed PHA Chair)

o Properties with rooms 76 and up (up to 2)

o Properties with rooms 26 – 75 (up to 2)

o Properties with rooms 4 – 25 (up to 2)

Wine/Agri-tourism (1)

Sport Tourism (1)

Attractions, Restaurants & Retail (1)

Conventions, Meetings & Events (1)

Future additional options: Airport Manager, Penticton Indian Band representative, Regional District of

Okanagan Similkameen representative, Global Spectrum representative, director(s) at large.

For the first year, Directors would be appointed for expediency. Half of the Board of Directors will

hold a one-year term and half will hold a two-year term. This will ensure continuity on the Board.

Seat Term Length

Appointed City Representative one (1) year

Appointed PHA Chair one (1) year

Accommodation, rooms 76 and up two (2) year

Accommodation, rooms 26 – 75 one (1) year

Accommodation, rooms 26 – 75 two (2) years

Accommodation, rooms 4 – 25 two (2) years

Accommodation, rooms 4 - 25 one (1) year

Wine/Agri-tourism seat two (2) years

Sport Tourism seat one (1) year

Attractions, Restaurants & Retail seat two (2) years

Conventions, Meetings & Events seat one (1) year

The Chair of the Board, the voting process for which will be determined in the bylaws for the

society, may call for a motion to be put forward if a quorum of six members is in attendance. The

annual marketing plan and budget will require the approval of both the Penticton & Wine Country

Tourism Board of Directors and the Penticton Hospitality Association (PHA) Board of Directors.

To be successful, a resolution must have a simple majority of those Directors in attendance.


The following voting process may be used if it is requested by an Elected Director who is an

accommodation representative and prior to the voting taking place. The following voting process

may be requested for any financial decision specifically relating to the Municipal and Regional

District Hotel Room Tax (commonly referred to as the “AHRT”):

a) Each Elected Director who is an accommodation representative and is present at the

meeting will have two votes;

b) Then, a simple majority of the Director’s votes must be obtained for the vote to succeed.

Bylaws

Bylaws will be developed by the Penticton & Wine Country Tourism Board of Directors, in

accordance with the Society’s Act of British Columbia and with the assistance of a governance

specialist.

Membership

Stakeholders will be voting members of Penticton & Wine Country Tourism if:

They hold an active membership in good standing with the Penticton

Hospitality Association (PHA). The PHA is an association of hotel/motels in Penticton

and area, and is currently only open those properties that collect the AHRT.

o Members of the PHA will elect the six (6) accommodation Directors to the Penticton &

Wine Country Tourism Board of Directors

They financially contribute Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s

advertising/marketing programs, including but not limited to participating in racking

offered through the Penticton & Wine Country Visitor Centre, offering contra

services/experiences to travel media, etc.

o This allows stakeholders to vote in elections/at the AGM

o This allows stakeholders to run for the Penticton & Wine Country Tourism Board

of Directors


PENTICTON & WINE COUNTRY TOURISM BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Tourism Media/Marketing/

Sales Staff

Visitor Centre Team Lead

Visitor Centre Staff

CEO

PHA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

3.3 Management & Business Units

It will be the goal of Penticton & Wine Country Tourism to be a preferred employer in the South

Okanagan. The organization’s commitment to producing results, engaging staff in an innovative and

creative work environment and to outstanding customer service will attract top talent.

* Note: all staff currently employed with Tourism Development Services and Visitor Information

Services will be rolled into the employ of Penticton & Wine Country Tourism.

As a result of ongoing research on our key market priorities, the following business units will be in

place within Penticton & Wine Country Tourism:

BUSINESS UNIT CUSTOMERS

Consumer Leisure Travel (Independent Leisure Travellers)

Media Relations Travel Media, Regional and Local Media

Visitor Services Local Residents, Out-of-Town Visitors

Sales to the trade/tour market are led by the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA).

Immediate Future Priority:

BUSINESS UNIT CUSTOMERS

Meetings & Incentive Travel and Sport –

Sales

* Potential future addition of including

film/television opportunities here.

- Meetings, Conventions & Incentive Travel (Meeting

Planners, Corporations, Associations)

- Sport Event Travel (Local Sport Groups, Sport Events

Rights Holders, Provincial/National Sport Organizations)

Organizational Structure of Penticton & Wine Country Tourism


3.4 Operational & Administrative

Penticton & Wine Country Tourism will continue to operate out of 553 Railway Street, with the

Penticton & Wine Country Visitor Centre on the main floor, and the tourism sales and marketing

offices on the second floor.

We would like to continue with the mutually beneficial relationship already in place with the City of

Penticton for IT/technical support, telephone and internet services, etc.

We anticipate re-acquiring the responsibility of payroll, benefits and accounts receivable/accounts

payable as soon as possible.

For other services not available to Penticton & Wine Country Tourism through the City of

Penticton, we would issue a Request for Proposals as needed and where appropriate.

The new Society being created will feature more appropriate fiscal dates for the cash flow of the

organization, of September 1 to August 31.


Federal Tourism Strategy/CTC Global

Mkg & Sales Plan

"Gaining the Edge" 2012 - 2016 Tourism

BC Strategy

TOTA Regional Strategy

City of Penticton Strategic Plan/2011 -

2015 Penticton Destination

Marketing Strategy

4. Relationship Leveraging Critical to our success moving forward is ensuring Penticton & Wine Country Tourism is well-

aligned with partners also responsible for growing the tourism industry across the country. Starting

first with the federal government and the Canadian Tourism Commission and working our way to

the municipal level, Penticton & Wine Country Tourism aims to be in a position to be fully

optimized and with the ability to leverage as much as possible.

Partner Alignment Approach: This figure depicts the alignment between our key tourism

marketing partners. Each partner has their own strategy and plan which, when fully optimized,

Penticton & Wine Country Tourism can plugin to and fully leverage dollars and marketing

exposure.

Canada’s Federal Tourism Strategy

Canadian Tourism Commission’s 2012 Global Sales & Marketing Plan

BC’s 5-Year Tourism Strategy

Thompson Okanagan Tourism’s Regional Strategy - soon to be released

City of Penticton’s Strategic Plan - soon to be released

Penticton & Wine Country’s 2011–2015 Destination Marketing Strategy

2012 Sales & Marketing Plan

http://www.tourism.gc.ca/eic/site/034.nsf/eng/h_00079.html

http://en-corporate.canada.travel/content/ctc_news/global-marketing-sales-plan-2012

http://www.jti.gov.bc.ca/tourismstrategy/documents/MJTI_TourismStrategyReport_FNL.pdf


Municipal Funding -

Tourism

23%

Municipal Funding -

Visitor Services

16%

Municipal/Regional

District Hotel Room

Tax (prev. AHRT)

47%

Visitor Centre -

Retail & Ticket Sales

4%

Visitor Network

Funding (Tourism

BC)

7%

Racking/Promotional

Services thru VIC

2%

Leveraged Funds

(Co-op

Marketing)

1%

Vacation Rental

Revenue

>0%

Vacation

Guide

Revenue

1%

5. Anticipated Funding Sources Below are the anticipated funding sources for Penticton & Wine Country Tourism and the Visitor

Information Centre in 2012:

Various additional revenue opportunities exist, most notably the addition of a Destination

Marketing Fee, an additional one per cent levy that would be collected by all participating tourism

businesses.

Municipal Funding – Tourism $ 189,980.00

Municipal Funding - Visitor Services $ 133,000.00

Municipal & Regional District Hotel Room Tax (prev. AHRT) $ 400,000.00

Retail Sales Revenue - Visitor Centre $ 28,000.00

Visitor Network Funding (Tourism BC) $ 55,000.00

Promotional Services (Racking, Availability, Tickets, Tour Sales) $ 31,000.00

Leveraged Funds (Co-op Marketing) $ 15,000.00

Vacation Rental Revenue $ 2,500.00

Vacation Guide Revenue $ 10,000.00

TOTAL ANTICIPATED FUNDING in 2012 $ 864,480.00


6. 2011 – 2015 Destination Marketing Strategy In 2010, Penticton & Wine Country Tourism commissioned a third-party consumer research study

in order to unearth consumer’s perceptions about Penticton as a destination. Doing so has allowed

us to distil Penticton’s key issues with relation to our competitive set, as well as identify

opportunities for growth.

The following issues were identified and represent the key areas the 2011–2015 Destination

Marketing Strategy addresses:

a. Penticton has been successful over the last few years in moving its image toward a

wine destination but Penticton cannot be complacent, as the competition for wine

tourists is expected to grow.

As wine tourism attracts couples who can travel throughout the year rather than relying on

families who are constrained by school holidays, wine tourism is an attractive segment. Other

destinations in BC are also targeting wine tourists. Notable are Kelowna and Osoyoos.

Kelowna continues to be better known than Penticton and has a much larger budget. Osoyoos

has invested in destination development and in marketing communications. Other destinations

such as the Comox Valley are also investing in wine tourism. For Penticton to continue to

compete in this segment, it will need to continue to invest in development that is attractive to

well-travelled, higher-income couples such as upscale boutique-style accommodation, gourmet

restaurants striving for excellence (good may not be good enough), food-related experiences,

and the feel of a quaint yet sophisticated small town.

b. Penticton has diversified its historical image as a family vacation destination while

still maintaining its family vacation base.

Penticton’s main appeal is still its beaches, lakes, and family outdoor activities. As this is a major

source of visitors, the family beach vacation should continue to be a mainstay for Penticton.

The visitors that come to Penticton for the family beach vacation tend to be repeat visitors and

do not need to be sold on the idea, although they may need to be reminded to ensure

Penticton stays top-of-mind. However, Penticton does need to diversify because family beach

vacations take place in July and August due to school holidays – for Penticton to be a thriving

destination, it needs to increase its business into other months of the year. (This is part of the

rationale for focusing on events that drive shoulder season revenue.)


c. Penticton is facing increased competition for tourists.

More communities are increasing their tourism budgets and forming DMOs over the last few

years. Larger DMOs that had focused their efforts outside BC have now turned their attention

to the markets on which Penticton has been focusing. If Penticton is to be successful in

maintaining its growth at the same rate as the BC average, it will need to continue to invest in

both destination development and marketing communications. Penticton needs to identify the

few areas where it can achieve a lasting competitive advantage and focus on those. With limited

budgets, Penticton would do well to focus on the “low hanging fruit” – the market segments

and product sectors that are relatively unique to Penticton, that Penticton does better than

others, and that are already associated with Penticton.

Destinations with larger budgets and destinations that now have marketing budgets are making

it more difficult for Penticton’s messages to reach the desired audiences. Penticton needs to

ensure it is able to achieve critical mass on those market segments that are important to it.

d. For tourism to really thrive, Penticton needs greater development from the

“supply” side of the equation and the “right” kind of development.

Marketing communications can take tourism only to a certain point. Intelligent development

can take tourism to the next level. This could mean businesses or organizations offering the

types of high-quality experiences that visitors seek, municipal policies that enable businesses or

organizations to develop the high-quality experiences that visitors seek, creating clustering of

tourism experiences, thinking about the aesthetics of the main visitor areas and incorporating

the needs of visitors when developing new infrastructure.

The “right” kind of development means, rather than development for its own sake,

development that preserves the small town feel of Penticton.


6.1 Marketing Priorities

As a result of consumer research, the following marketing priorities have been identified:

Primary

Leisure Travel (Independent Leisure Travellers)

Primary Niche

Sport Event Travel (Local Sport Groups, Sport Events Rights Holders, Provincial/National

Sport Organizations)

Meetings & Incentive Travel (Meeting Planners, Corporations, Associations)

Secondary

Trade/Tour Market (Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Other Wholesalers)

Sales to the trade/tour market are led by the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA).

6.2 Penticton’s Priority Tourism Products

These are the products that consumer research tells us are motivators for travel to Penticton,

and have the best chance of enticing travellers to book a trip to Penticton & Wine Country:

Broad-Based Motivators

(currently enough market-ready product and these experiences can motivate large numbers of trips

to Penticton)

Beach & lake vacations (including water-based outdoor adventure) and related festivals

and events

Wine & food vacations (including wine touring, food-related farm-based tourism such

as farmers’ markets and farm gate sales, cooking schools, high quality dining options)

and related festivals and events

Niche Motivators

(currently enough market-ready product and these product sectors can motivate smaller numbers

of trips to Penticton)

Meetings and conferences

6.3 Target Markets

6.3.1 Geographic Market (including Market Development Strategies)

PRIMARY BROAD-BASED The primary (broad-based and niche) would receive the majority

of resources available to Penticton & Wine Country Tourism due

to their expected contribution to overall tourism revenue growth

and seasonality objectives.

METRO VANCOUVER Digital and traditional media campaigns, search engine marketing,

media and public relations, website.

CALGARY AND

EDMONTON

Digital and traditional media campaigns (as affordable), search

engine marketing, media and public relations, website.


PRIMARY NICHE

MEETING PLANNERS IN

BC AND CANADA

Sales, sales support activities, website.

SPORTS EVENT RIGHTS

HOLDERS IN BC AND

CANADA

Sales, sales support activities, website.

SECONDARY

The secondary markets would receive a small percentage of

resources (time and budget) available to Penticton & Wine

Country Tourism and would be reached after the primary markets

were adequately addressed.

REST OF BC Reached through spill from activities targeted to Metro

Vancouver, media and public relations, website, and cooperative

activities with other tourism organizations such as Tourism BC

and TOTA.

REST OF ALBERTA Reached through spill from activities targeted to Calgary and

Edmonton, media and public relations, website, and cooperative

activities with other tourism organizations such as Tourism BC

and TOTA.

ONTARIO, MANITOBA,

AND SASKATCHEWAN

Media and public relations, cooperative activities with other south

Okanagan destinations, website, cooperative activities with other

tourism organizations such as Tourism BC and TOTA.

TERTIARY The tertiary markets would receive resources only if they were

available after the primary and secondary markets were adequately

addressed.

WASHINGTON,

REGIONAL US,

LONG-HAUL US

Media and public relations activities through media and online

channels, and website. Cooperative activities with other tourism

organizations such as other South Okanagan destinations, TOTA,

Tourism BC and the CTC.

US, EUROPEAN,

AND ASIAN TOUR

OPERATORS

Activities led by other tourism organizations such as other South

Okanagan destinations, TOTA, Tourism BC and the CTC, with

Penticton working through these tourism organizations and co-

hosting familiarization tours.


6.3.2 Demographic Target Markets

Penticton’s current and potential visitors cover a wide demographic spectrum1:

They are well represented among all age groups from 25 to 64

Equal male/female split

They have above average education, with most having at least some university

They have above average household incomes (at least $65K annually) but with those with

higher incomes having a greater propensity to visit Penticton (at least $100K), not because

Penticton is necessarily a preferred destination, but because they are frequent travellers

who tend to take more trips, with Penticton being one of these trips

They are medium to frequent travellers

They travel in adult only parties (60%) or in parties with children (40%).

It may be more useful to identify demographic characteristics of the main visitor segments such as

beach/lake vacationers and wine & food tourists2.

Beach/lake vacationers

More likely to be from Alberta than Metro Vancouver

While the range is from 25 to 64, there is a higher propensity for those in the 35 to 54 age

group to be beach/lake vacationers

Have children living at home

Have average household incomes

Have been to Penticton in the last five years and could be loyal repeat visitors

Are less frequent travellers than wine & food tourists

They are most interested in beach/lake vacations followed by visiting parks and natural

areas around Penticton, using Penticton as the base for outdoor adventure, visiting

wineries, orchards and fruit stands, and attending a wine festival.

Wine & food tourists

A higher propensity to be from Vancouver than Alberta

While the range is from 25 to 64, there is a higher propensity for those in the 35 to 54 age

group to be wine & food tourists

Have above average household incomes, with a higher propensity in the $100K+ category

Have been to Penticton in the last five years

Are frequent travellers and have been to other wine & food destinations worldwide

They are most interested in wine-related activities including wine festivals followed by

beaches/lake, orchards and fruit stands, walking or biking trips around Penticton, visiting

parks and natural areas around Penticton, and restaurants and gourmet food.

However, beach/lake vacationers and wine & food tourists are not mutually exclusive, as many who

go to Penticton for beach and lake vacations also visit wineries. And many wine & food tourists

also visit Penticton’s beaches and lakes.

Of course, there are other activities in Penticton and many other reasons for visitors to come to

Penticton. However, based on the Penticton 2010 Visitor Survey, there were only large enough

sample sizes for beach/lake vacationers and wine & food tourists to draw conclusions about target

groups for Penticton. (While a portion of the survey asked questions about outdoor adventure,

there were very few who had come to Penticton for outdoor adventure.)

1 Source: Penticton 2010 Visitor Survey. 2 Source: Penticton 2010 Visitor Survey.


6.3.3 Psychographic Target Markets (The Explorer Quotient™)

New to the tourism industry via the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is access to

psychographic data about visitors travelling in Canada, whether they’re travelling internationally or

domestically (Canadians travelling within Canada). Psychographic data allows us to better

understand our consumer’s behaviour types. This insight, combined with traditional geographic and

demographic data, is a potent combination of marketing intelligence.

The CTC’s proprietary psychographic profiling is called The Explorer Quotient™ (EQ™). EQ™

was developed in partnership with Environics Research Group and has gone beyond traditional

market research to find out exactly why different types of people seek out entirely different types

of travel experiences. The result is an award-winning tool that has the power to change the way

travel experiences are developed, marketed and sold. EQ™ is available exclusively to partners of

the CTC. Working directly with the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) Penticton

& Wine Country Tourism plans to incorporate explorer profiling into our 2012 efforts in order to

make the best possible choices when marketing to Penticton’s visitors and potential visitors.

For now, looking at the most prevalent explorer types that have been

developed through EQ™, Penticton & Wine Country’s best fit explorers for

2012 are likely as follows:

Cultural Explorers (13% of Canadian travellers)

Authentic Experiencers (12% of Canadian travellers)

No-Hassle Travellers (13% of Canadian travellers)

In future, Free Spirits (11% of Canadian travellers) may also be a fit for Penticton & Wine Country’s

product offering. This type of traveller tends to focus on high-end, luxury accommodation, of which

Penticton is presently low on inventory. Therefore, until new development occurs the Free Spirit

explorer type isn’t likely to be a focus for marketing efforts.

We will continue to stay in touch with TOTA as they develop methods for destination marketing

organizations to gain access to this valuable EQ™ market intelligence.


7. Evaluation & Measurable Outcomes

Evaluation of the success of Penticton & Wine Country Tourism will be based on numerous key

performance indicators (KPIs), including the following:

Measurable Outcomes:

Increase in total room revenue

Growth in Penticton’s overall occupancy rate

Growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR)

Growth in the number of travel enquiries:

o Number of visitors to the Penticton & Wine Country Visitor Centre

o Number of unique visitors to www.tourismpenticton.com – indicative

of interest from new visitors in Penticton as a travel destination

o Visitor Centre bookings (as available)

Value of leveraged dollars (partnerships regionally, Provincially etc.)

Media Relations ROI: investment made vs. value returned

Total number of impressions

* Additional tracking of overall tourism revenues is now available through Tourism BC. 2012 is expected to be a

benchmarking year with regards to measuring overall tourism revenues by collecting data on such as the total

number of golf rounds played, wineries visited, campground overnights, etc.

Objectives for 2012

Tourism to Penticton will grow at the same rate as tourism to BC (forecasted at 5% annual

growth from 2012–2016)

o Occupancy Rate – same rate as tourism to BC

o Room Revenue – same rate as tourism to BC

In May, June, September, and October, tourism to Penticton will grow by 2% higher than the

rate of tourism growth to BC

Visits to tourismpenticton.com will grow at 10% higher than the rate of growth of the annual

marketing communications budget

Investment to value ratio

o Target of $15 in earned media for every $1 invested in media relations

o Target of $3 value to every $1 invested in advertising

Total number of impressions

o Benchmark to be established in 2012


8. Allocation of Investment (Budget) Please see the below allocation of investment based on Penticton & Wine Country Tourism’s

current funding levels. Please also note that with this new, not-for-profit society structure, no funds

will be spent on administration fees of any kind.


APPENDICES

Letters of Support

2012-2015 penticton and wine country tourism business plan

Documents