Five Year STRATEGIC PLAN

2017-2021

Build a place where

people want to VISIT, and you’ll

build a place where people

want to LIVE.

Build a place

where people want to LIVE, and

you’ll buid a place where people want

to WORK.

Build a place

where people want to WORK,

and you’ll build a place where

BUSINESS has to be.

Build a place

where BUSINESS has to be, and

you’ll build a place where people want to VISIT.

The Destination Management

Cycle

The Destination Management Cycle from Maura Gast & DMAI

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TOURISM RICHMOND STRATEGIC PLAN 2017-2021

VISION The most connected West Coast destination for diverse and authentic experiences

MISSION Catalyst for innovation, destination development, sales and marketing to drive economic growth

BRAND POSITIONING Tourism Richmond provides visitors with the most Affordable, Accessible and Asian experiences than any other Canadian tourism destination. We can offer this

because of our price competitive accommodations and services, our proximity to YVR, downtown Vancouver and the US border, and the global profile of our

community. All of which we leverage as our destination strengths.

STRATEGIC CONTEXT Tourism Richmond utilized the DestinationNEXT Assessment Tool to develop the five year goals and objectives.

The DestinationNEXT Assessment – Trailblazers

The results of the DestinationNEXT Assessment completed by Tourism Richmond’s stakeholders placed the destination in the Destination Trailblazer scenario, with above average scores for destination strength and community support & engagement. This Industry plot shows the position of Richmond relative to the axis which is the average of the other 290 international destinations assessment results that have completed a DestinationNEXT assessment.

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Prior to the strategic planning session, the Board of Directors and other local stakeholders completed the comprehensive DestinationNEXT survey of the destination and organization. This resulted in 100 responses from a wide array of stakeholder groups from around the city. The following Stakeholder plot signals that there was good alignment amongst the various stakeholder groups that participated in the assessment.

DestinationNEXT Key Takeaways The following are the key takeaways from the survey that the participants felt were opportunities that the destination could improve on:

A Destination Trailblazer is defined as a destination that

has realized the benefits of its tourism vision and will work

to keep the community and marketplace engagement fresh

and relevant.

Large, famous attractions

Arts and cultural attractions

Unique and vibrant neighborhoods

Quality roads to handle congestion

Headquarter hotels

Not known for having things to do

Lack of public Wi-Fi

Meeting facilities

Destination Strength:

Opportunities for Improvement Community Support & Engagement:

Opportunities for Improvement

Labour relations

Lack of a tourism master plan for Richmond

Hospitality culture

Community Support & Engagement:

Opportunities for Improvement

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2012 and Beyond There has been significant tourism growth in Richmond as reported in the CBRE Hotels TRENDS publications, reporting Richmond as leading in hotel occupancy in Canada for three years in a row (as of July 2016 78.2%) . Our summer months are close to full or sold out and have resulted in moving our marketing efforts to the shoulder seasons. From 2007 to 2015 our MRDT has averaged a 6% increase annually, surpassing the 2012-2016 Five Year Strategic Goal of 5% annually. Our community’s physical relationship with YVR and Vancouver has contributed to this success as has the strength of our Richmond brand in our key markets. YVR is working hard to achieve an ambitious goal of serving 25 million passengers by 2020. Tourism Richmond has recognized that this will continue to have a direct impact on the growth of visitors to Richmond. This also provides new opportunities for Tourism Richmond to partner with YVR to support route development and build demand for metro-Vancouver and

British Columbia. The diverse population in Richmond is both a strength and weakness when marketing Richmond as a destination; providing exciting and authentic food and cultural experiences and visiting friends and family. Unfortunately engagement with this diverse community continues to be challenging when executing campaigns or engaging them as members. Convention meetings in Richmond continue to be an important segment for the community. The additional meeting space in the Sheraton Vancouver Airport hotel, now allows us to attract larger meetings. However this still limits us to meetings under 800 delegates with no space for tradeshows for these larger events. The Richmond Hotel Association (RHA) has been successful in gaining the support of the hotel community in agreeing to move from collecting a 2% Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) to 3%. The MRDT to be shared between Tourism Richmond, the City of Richmond and RHA towards destination marketing and destination enhancement initiatives will provide much needed support to grow tourism revenues in Richmond. Conducted first in 2013 and again in 2015, Tourism Richmond’s Visitor Volume studies have provided extensive information concerning visitors in Richmond. This research as well as DestinationNEXT, benchmarking with our Canadian peers annually since 2009 and economic impact studies in 2014 and 2016, assist Tourism Richmond with their ongoing decision making. Our overall Net Promoter Score (NPS) as rated by our visitors during the intercept surveys was extremely low. The comments however confirmed that our approach of promoting our “triple A attributes” (accessible, affordable and Asian) resonate well with our visitors. They did however articulate that Richmond is not a walkable city, that signage is lacking or difficult to read, traffic is congested, and there is a lack of iconic attractions. On September 10th, 2016, Tourism Richmond’s Board of Directors and senior staff met to outline a five year strategic plan. The following document outlines their Ideal Future and what it will take to achieve it.

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Ideal Future The Tourism Richmond Board prioritized a list of ideal futures after a facilitated discussion to generate the following list.

Ideal Future Level of Importance

Standard Deviation

1 City wide Wi-Fi 8.9 1.1

2 Develop a brand that is top of mind 8.8 2.3

3 Create a strong, effective Tourism/economic development/government collaborative network

8.7 1.5

4 Additional destination infrastructure is built 8.7 1.4

5 Economic development and tourism within Richmond working hand in hand 8.6 1.5

6 Move to a stakeholder/partnership operating model rather than a membership model

8.6 1.5

7 Industry works together as a collaborative effort. Everyone does their bit for the greater good.

8.4 2.6

8 Support for tourism business to deliver the best visitor experiences to increase our positive word of mouth

8.4 1.6

9 Destination info infiltrated in most popular digital content sources 8.3 1.1

10 Develop a specific relationship with YVR 8.2 2.0 Note: Level of Importance scale is from 1-10. Standard Deviation is a number that is calculated to show how much consensus there is amongst participants with a lower number indicating a higher consensus.

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STRATEGIC GOALS During this Strategic Planning session, the following four strategic goals must be achieved during the next five years to accomplish the vision.

Goal #1 Goal #2 Aggressive Sales & Marketing Destination Development Refresh the brand strategy Develop & implement a destination development plan Develop a digital strategy Influence the connect-ability of our visitors to the destination Develop a meetings & conference plan Participate as a stakeholder in the development Refresh the earned media strategy and funding of infrastructure based on needs

Goal #4 Goal #3

Organizational Sustainability Community & Partner Engagement Maintain a comprehensive KPI management program Increase public awareness and community Explore revenue diversification opportunities support for the value of tourism and the DMO Develop a Human Resources strategy Develop and implement a local Asian Review the policy & governance guidelines engagement strategy of the organization Pursue potential options to the membership model Pursue a network model Work with YVR to partner on air service development

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Goal #1 Aggressive Sales and Marketing

Objectives Lead Timeline 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Targets: Influence content in 5 travel influencers by 2018 and 20 travel influencers by 2021 Increase convention leads annually by 8% and increase room nights annually by 12% Increase travel trade room nights by 5% annually Increase hosted media and stories by 5% annually

A. Refresh the brand strategy

Tactics:

Identify destination product truths to leverage (i.e. Richmond has the best Asian Food)

Create new content to leverage Richmond strengths

Create and implement awareness and ownership of brand for all stakeholders

Update brand guidelines (refresh visual identity guide that matches new website)

Determine needs for templates/content for use by all departments for all target audiences

Audit and make recommendation for an updated brand

B. Develop a digital strategy Tactics:

Research digital landscape and identify best opportunities for greatest impact (content, technology, influencers)

Develop executions and resources (software and staff)

Educate – ensure all departments active on strategy

C. Develop a meetings & conference plan

Tactics:

Generate a multi-year international sales & resource plan to grow

targets and source new opportunities

Develop new sales programs with the Richmond Hotel Association

Marketing Marketing Sales

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to grow business leads and secure new business

o Determine roles and responsibilities

o Identify key markets and measurements

Partner with Destination Canada to generate new/incremental

quality international group business (delegates ≤ 800 delegates)

leads from: China and Europe (United Kingdom)

Partner and develop with Destination Canada on a Richmond

Agent Specialists program for all Travel Trade markets

o Review and update the current program

o Identify markets and measurements

o Execute outreach plan

Implement the Tourism Alliance program to increase new group leads and build brand ambassadors within the Richmond business community

o Develop program and marketing tools o Communicate program o Secure conferences

D. Refresh the earned media strategy

Tactics:

Expand Visiting Journalist Program o Confirm geographic key markets for leisure and business

travellers o Research travel trends and identify story pitches o Update media tools including photography and video o Identify partners opportunities

Develop and implement key influencer tactics o Research and identify current and emerging key

influencers o Develop strategies for pitches o Pitch and monitor media outlets

Ensure benchmarks and reporting of earned media is relevant and timely

o Review benchmarks

Communications

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o Confirm tracking mechanisms and timelines o Report results internally and externally

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Goal #2 Destination Development

Objectives Lead Timeline 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Targets: By 2018 a destination development plan is established By 2019 City Wide Wi-Fi 1.6 million visitors assisted via virtual visitor services by 2021 (20% of current annual visitors to Richmond 7.9M) NPS benchmarks for residents, visitors and delegates is determined in 2017 NPSs increases 10 points by 2019

A. Develop & implement a destination development plan

Tactics:

Determine the vision for the destination development plan

Determine strategic partners in destination development

Determine destination development plan timeline

Conduct process to hire a consultant to prepare destination development plan

Conduct research to determine destination development needs

Implement destination development plan

Establish projects with City of Richmond and RHA to grow DEI’s and tourism revenues

B. Influence the connect-ability of our visitors to the destination

Tactics:

Determine technology to communicate with visitors in destination

Identify a capital program that increases visitor experience in the destination

Develop and implement virtual visitor information/services plan o Identify and secure software and establish process o Resource and train staff for fulfillment o Create awareness plan and execute tactics o Launch, monitor, and adjust

Develop and execute convention delegate programs to engage delegates to ensure they leave as Brand Ambassadors.

o Identify products and services to build program o Finalize post surveys o Implement program and monitor

Destination Development Marketing

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Conduct an online survey (question) annually with the Richmond News to gage opinions from residents

C. Participate as a stakeholder in the development and funding

of infrastructure based on needs Tactics:

Identify and create partnerships to increase tourism infrastructure

Determine roles and responsibilities that assist in the growth of priorities for Richmond and it’s tourism objectives

Examine and source infrastructure and product needs that match the trends and interests of visitors

Destination Development

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Goal #3 Community & Partner Engagement

Objectives Lead Timeline 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Targets: NPS benchmarks for Asian residents, businesses and associations determined in 2017 Increase Asian NPS by 3% per year beginning in 2018 Partner in #1 new route development opportunity annually One tourism story each month in the Richmond News Tourism Richmond is an active participant in five community events/festivals each year

A. Increase public awareness and community support for the

value of tourism and the DMO Tactics:

Develop and communicate a value of tourism strategy to key audiences (Residents, Local Government and Stakeholders)

Expand the Tourism Richmond Service Awards program to further engage the industry and the community and celebrate the delivery of outstanding visitor experiences

Create and expand opportunities that communicate Tourism Richmond’s achievements and contributions to the community

Develop communications plan to reach and influence local residents and businesses to become Richmond brand ambassadors

o Identify issues and topics important to residents and businesses

o Develop relevant story ideas to engage locals

B. Develop and implement a local Asian engagement strategy Tactics:

Identify key influencers and work closely with them on developing the Asian engagement strategy

Develop and deploy a tool that measures local Asian engagement to determine benchmark to measure success

Implement value of tourism messaging to Asian residents and businesses through appropriate marketing mediums

Represent Tourism Richmond and the economic value of tourism at key local Asian festivals and events

Destination Development Destination Development

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Host public workshops and seminars at locations to reach out the Asian community (i.e. public libraries; community centers)

Work with Asian restaurants and hotels on a tourism ambassador program

Work with Asian media to promote the importance of tourism industry in Richmond and provide them with story starters that are relevant to the Asian community

C. Pursue potential options to the membership model

Tactics:

Implement plan to eliminate membership model and transition to a stakeholder model to represent the entire destination

o Develop plan for new model including changing bylaws o Gain membership approval for new model o Implement new model and bylaws

D. Pursue a network model

Tactics:

Grow the value of tourism message in BC with industry partners such as TIABC, DBC, TVAN, LMTA

Establish non-conventional partnership opportunities to expand opportunities and revenues

Establish a tourism centric committee with the City of Richmond, RHA, and other significant partners to grow tourism opportunities including infrastructure

E. Work with YVR to partner on air service development

Tactics:

Negotiate and confirm a formal agreement with YVR on air service program that drives new business to Richmond

o Identify route markets that align with Richmond in the agreement

o Confirm level and details of participation

Destination Development Destination Development Sales

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o Execute the agreement

Support the introduction of new air services through coordinated pitches in key targeted routes with partners

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Goal #4 Organizational Sustainability

Objectives Lead Timeline 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Targets: Increase ad revenue by 20% by 2019(compared to 2017),and 40% by 2021 Stakeholder model revenue exceeds 2016 Membership model revenue by 10% by 2019 Increase engagement against benchmark 5% every year 90% employee rating

Board completes all governance activities annually

A. Maintain a comprehensive KPI management program

Tactics:

Create and implement an NPS strategy for visitors, stakeholders, residents to measure their intention to recommend Richmond as a travel destination

o Identify benchmarks for visitors stakeholders residents

o Develop tracking framework o Implement and monitor

Develop and implement a comprehensive and reliable framework

for tracking the travel trade markets

o Research and develop opportunities to obtain data from

travel trade stakeholders

o Develop systems and resource tracking mechanisms

o Implement systems, monitor participation and report results

Establish Tourism Richmond as the go to resource for industry tourism data concerning tourism in Richmond

Visitor Volume Study completed & reported on to stakeholders biannually.

B. Explore revenue diversification opportunities

Tactics:

Develop revenue opportunities to support Stakeholder model o Create strategy and implement a plan for increased

Administration & Finance Destination Development

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advertising or partnership opportunities for TR marketing channels

o Increase private sector and in kind funding to support tourism initiatives

C. Develop a Human Resources strategy

Tactics:

Define & build a vibrant people culture

Ensure the compensation, training & development, employee engagement programs are competitive in the market place

Develop succession and resource plans for each department o Identify strengths and gaps o Create and execute training program

invest in people with continuing education and priority on keeping up with technology

Equip all staff with appropriate technology to achieve goals

Develop and conduct annual employee surveys

D. Review the policy & governance guidelines of the

organization Tactics:

Complete new Societies Act requirements

Establish & implement process & content for internal policies

Review & update the Governance Manual biannually

Administration & Finance Administration & Finance

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TARGET MARKETS Primary Markets

CANADA •Leisure

•BC with emphasis on Victoria

•Alberta with emphasis on Calgary

•Ontario to support Convention Sales initiatives

•Convention Sales

•Association

•Corporate

•SMERF

•Travel Trade

USA •Leisure

•Washington State with emphasis on Greater Seattle

•Northern California

•Convention Sales

•Association

•Corporate

•SMERF

•Travel Trade

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Growth Markets

CHINA • Leisure/Travel Trade

• Beijing

• Shanghai

• Xiamen

• Convention Sales

• MICE

UnitedKingdom •Travel Trade

•Convention Sales

Germany •Travel Trade

•Convention Sales