let's get this buggy going

8/13/2019 Let's Get This Buggy Going

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Lets

Get

this

Buggy

Going !



Table of Contents:

Exploring Experiential Travel on the Boomtown Trail 1

The Boomtown Trail 2

What is Experiential Travel? 3

Experiencing Experiential Travel 4 Experience #1 - A Victorian Culinary Affair 5

Experience #2 - Discover Your Terroir 7

Benets of Experiential Travel 11

Discovering the Value of Partnerships 13

Everyone is in the Tourism Business 15

Moving in the Same Direction 17

Next Steps 19



On April 29th and 30th, the

Boomtown Trail hosted a

symposium evaluating themerits of experiential travel.

Leaders from throughout

the region assessed the

value of adding to existing

sustainable tourism

initiatives, and determined

if the Boomtown Trail should

further invest in training for

its people.

Let’s Get This Buggy

Going! was a symposium,

as opposed to a training

session or workshop. The

intent was to bring travel

experts from industry and

government together with

Boomtown Trail community,

business, and political

leaders for an in-depth

discussion of the potential

for experiential travel.

Presenters were leaders

in their elds, that were

handpicked to ensure the

material presented was

of the highest caliber and

relevance. The symposium

welcomed representativesfrom Alberta Tourism, Parks

and Recreation; Travel

Alberta; the Chinook Country

Tourist Association; the

Gros Morne Institute for

Sustainable Tourism; Earth

Rhythms; and the Tourism

Café. The symposium’s

sessions and hands-onactivities walked participants

through the theory of

experiential travel, its

practical application, and its

place in the overall economic

development of the region.

Experiential travel is about

taking the tourist experiencebeyond sightseeing

and picture taking – it is

about engaging visitors in

ways that are immersive,

memorable, and personally

relevant. This is an extension

of our visitors willingness

to pay for experiences.

Experiential travel is not

a fad; it represents a new

layer of opportunity and thatbusinesses and destinations

can choose to embrace to

respond to demand, generate

new markets, revenues and

community pride.

The symposium itself was

experiential and illustrated

how participants could createsimilar experiences in their

own communities. Facilitators

challenged the group to

expand their traditional views

of tourism and develop the

mindset that everyone is in

the tourism business. The

importance of partnerships

was emphasized and

participants developed

an understanding of how

working together could not

only generate economic

growth for their region, but

develop strong communities.

Exploring Experiential Travel on the Boomtown Trail

1



The Boomtown Trail islocated east of the Queen

Elizabeth II Highway and

encompasses Highways

21, 56 & 9, reaching from

the town of New Sarepta

in the north to the town of

Bassano in the south. It has

25 municipal members; one

post-secondary institute,

the University of Alberta

(Augustana Campus); and

one Aboriginal member,

Metis Nation of Alberta

Region 3.

The Boomtown Trail’s name

is derived from the distinctive

style of architecture found

throughout the region.Known as “boomtown”

architecture, it is

characterized by a grandly

designed front covering

a more humble building

behind it. Almost every

community along the

Boomtown Trail featuresoriginal buildings from the

boomtown era, taking visitors

back to the origins of small

town Alberta.

The Boomtown Trail is

ofcially known as the

Boomtown Trail Community

Initiative Society and its

mission is that of regional

social and economic

development.

The Boomtown Trail

2



At the symposium,

Canadian experiential travel

experts Celes Davar of

Earth Rhythms and Nancy

Arsenault of the Tourism

Café explained the concept

of experiential travel. “More

than ever, people are

traveling their passions,”

according to Nancy, “Wehave become an experience

driven society. We now

pay to do things, not have

things.”

Introduced by B. Joesph

Pine and James H. Gilmore

in their 1999 book “The

Experience Economy,” thisconcept recognizes that

consumers want more than

goods and services, they

are looking for experiences

that will create lasting

impressions. Nowhere is

this more evident than in the

example of trendy coffee

shops that can charge

$5.00 or more for a cup of

coffee. Customers can easily

make a coffee at home for a

fraction of the price, but they

choose to go to the stylish

and comfortable coffee

shop, order the special

blend, watch as a barista

prepares their hot drink, andstep forward as their name is

called. This is all part of the

experience, an experience

that consumers willingly pay

for everyday.

The Boomtown Trail is well

positioned to be an active

player in the experienceeconomy. Its location

between two major urban

centres means that the

region has access to

over two million potential

visitors each year; and

they are gateway cities

for entering Alberta. The

trail has something unique

to offer: the rural lifestyle.

an experience that the

businesses along the Trail

can package and offer to

visitors. The Boomtown Trail

has already ventured into

experiential travel with the

Alberta Prairie Steam Tours,Dessert Theatres, and Walk

Among Us; and has seen

great success. It is now

ready to move forward with

experiential travel, and this

symposium created the

roadmap that will take them

there.

“This is some of the best stuff

I have seen in 30 years.”

- Ted Ritzer, Alberta Parks

What is Experiential Travel?

3



Symposium organizers felt

that the best way to show thebenets of experiential travel

was to have participants

actually experience it. The

effect was transformational

for all involved.

Experiencing Experiential Travel

4



The rst experience was

lunch at the Camrose

Heritage Railway Station andPark. This local museum

treated participants to a

traditional Victorian luncheon

and illustrated how a

museum can be combined

with historic characters

and a culinary experience

showcasing locally sourced

foods.

Volunteer servers dressed

in period clothing greeted

participants as they entered

the building. Beautifully

set tables complete with

fresh owers, a detailed

menu, and real china

teacups awaited guests inthe Tearoom. Local historic

character Sara Brown, wife

of an early local pioneer,

welcomed the group and

regaled everyone with stories

of pioneer life in the Camrose

area circa 1900. The stories

were real, entertaining, and

emotional as Sara told of the

joys and sorrows of pioneer

life in rural Alberta.

The menu on the table

not only informed guests

of the lunchtime fare, but

also highlighted the use of

locally sourced ingredients.

The servers were lively

and engaged guests with

questions and comments

about the venue, pointingout architectural and historic

details, and initiating

discussions that continued

well after the servers had left

the tables.

To connect the participants

to the core concepts of

experiential travel, they weredivided into groups and

sent to different areas of the

museum where they were

engaged in a new visitor

experience that could be

replicated with guests. This

gave people an opportunity

to explore areas of the

Experience #1 – A Victorian Culinary Affair

5



building that they would

not have otherwise seen,

prompting discussions

about how the building was

originally used and howlucky they felt to have this

exclusive experience.

The Victorian Culinary

Affair highlighted the need

for museums to provide

experiences, rather than

simply things to look at, in

order to be sustainable. Sara

Brown’s performance was

an example of storytelling

on the oral tradition and

is something that all

communities can do. She

was not a ctional character,

but an actual pioneer who

lived in the Camrose area. In

fact, one of Sara’s daughters

still lives in Camrose and

knows the volunteer who

plays Sara Brown’s character.

The lunch was more than a

meal; it was truly a culinary

affair. Everything was

made locally and wherever

possible ingredientswere sourced locally. The

menu was true to the era

it represented: herbed

tomato soup, salmon

canapés, cucumber and

cream cheese canapés,

current scones served with

homemade jelly, crustless

quiche, and for dessert

a rhubarb apple coconut

crumble with whipped

cream. The menu highlighted

the locally grown tomatoes

and cucumbers, the locally

produced eggs and dairy

items, and the locally milled

Sunny Boy Flour used to

make the Sunny Boy Bread.

It was a one-of-a-kind

experience, and participants

felt honored to have been

part of it.

6



This experience also

focused on a meal, but it

was so much more than food

and entertainment. Discover

Your Terroir showed the

importance of partnerships

in generating economic

growth and creating strong

communities.

Discover Your Terroir wasa full evening experience

including a locally sourced

meal, entertainment from

Boomtown Trail characters,

and a hands-on lesson

in sausage making. The

location for this experience

was Café Connections, a

local restaurant afliatedwith Open Door, a local

organization that meets the

needs of youth at risk in the

Camrose area.

The evening began with

beer sampling from a

local brewery and a warmwelcome from the Executive

Director of Open Door.

Participants met Malorie

Aube of Country Accent,

a business that promotes

good, healthy, and locally

grown food; and learned

that they were not only

going to dine on locally

made sausage, but they

were going to make some

themselves!

Everyone was brought into

the kitchen where they met

Nicola Irving of Irving’s

Farm Fresh, a local pork

supplier and sausage

maker. Nicola shared thestory of her family’s arrival

to the Camrose area and

the establishment of their

farming operation. Copies

of the sausage recipe were

distributed and as the

ingredients were brought out,

Experience #2 – Discover Your Terroir

7



Nicola shared the local origins

of each one. Participants were

not only interested in learning

where these ingredients came

from, but expressed surprisethat so many were locally

sourced. Many eagerly took

notes on where they could

purchase these items and

chatted with Nicola, and each

other, about where to shop

local in Camrose.

This was certainly a hands-on

experience and as ingredients

were brought out, participants

got busy chopping, food

processing, mixing, and

laughing. Making sausages is

not something most people do

in their day-to-day lives, and

the novelty of the experience

brought people together

in a way that simply eating

together could not.

The group was brought

back to the dining room to

eat and enjoyed a meal that

was prepared and served

by the youth of Camrose’sOpen Door. A detailed

menu was provided at each

place setting listed the food

being served and included

interesting tidbits about the

ingredients and origins of the

recipes.

After dinner, the group

was treated to a sampling

of the Boomtown Trail’s

Dessert Theatre. A unique

experience, the Dessert

Theatre was designed

to showcase Alberta’s

early pioneering history

in combination with our

province’s rural charm and

hospitality. While guests

indulged in a homemade

dessert, they enjoyed live

8



entertainment compliments

of the Boomtown Trail’s

historic character program.

Nora Smith told of her

life as Delburne’s rsttelephone operator in the

early 1900s, Irene Parlby

voiced her support for

women’s rights as one of

Canada’s Famous Five,

and James Gadsby shared

a few stories about his run-

ins with outlaw gangs in

the 1870s.

This experience was multi-

faceted and could not

have happened without

strong partnerships. The

entire program illustrated

the community-building

aspect of experiential

travel and showed how

everyone is in the tourismbusiness. Two local family-

owned businesses worked

together with a nonprot

and local volunteer actors to

create a memorable, one-

of-a-kind experience for

visitors. Hosting the event atCafé Connections supported

Open Door’s PEER

Connection program, which

gives youth at risk paid

work experience at the café.

It also gave Open Door’s

Executive Director, Randal

Nickel, an opportunity to

chat with the group and

share stories about how

Open Door is changing

the lives of youth at risk in

Camrose. This experience

demonstrated the harmony

between economic

development and community

development in action.

9



The two experiences,

created for the Symposium,

showed participants how

experiential travel works.

When they returned tothe conference room,

participants were

challenged in workshop

activities to identify just what

made these experiences

so successful. The group

identied what made these

activities experiential and

began thinking about how

this could be developed in

their own communities. By

the end of the symposium,

participants felt empowered

and knew they had the raw

materials needed to deliver

experiential travel, now they

just needed to package it

and deliver it to travellers.

“I have been to events that preached the

value of local food, but still did not serveit. Here at the Camrose Railway Station we

had bread made from Sunny Boy! How

much more local can you get?”

- Bill Cunningham, Deputy Mayor, Trochu

“I loved the hands-on, experiential stuff

they gave us. We all had to participate. It

really was a working symposium.”

- Brenda Campbell, Economic Develop-

ment Coordinator, Town of Irricana

10



The mandate of the

Boomtown Trail is regional

and socioeconomicdevelopment led by tourism.

Integrating experiential travel

into existing sustainable

tourism initiatives will

give the region an edge

in generating economic

growth and strong rural

communities. Studies show

that demand is growing

for experiential travel:

85% of tourism operators

rate experiential travel as

important or extremely

important to their business,

only 53% plan to offer it.

This presents an opportunity

for the Boomtown Trail to

take a leadership role in the

delivery of experiential travel.

The economics of

experiential travel havebeen studied and proven.

Jonathon Foster, Executive

Director of the Gros Morne

Institute For Sustainable

Tourism (GMIST) in

Newfoundland and Labrador,

shared the story of Atlantic

Canada’s tourism industry.

When the cod sheries

closed, the region had to look

to other economic drivers

and tourism was the answer.

The region moved from a

resource-based economy to

a tourism-based economy.

With a lot of work and

commitment to partnerships,

the region developed a

tourism industry that boastsworld-class arts and culture

experiences and has seen a

37% increase in new tourism

business over the past ten

years.

Ken Duncan, CEO of the

Boomtown Trail, identieswith Atlantic Canada’s

experience, pointing out that

rural Alberta is still feeling

the effects of many years

of drought, and Bovine

Spongiform Encephalaphy

(BSE) on the cattle industry.

These were then followed

by a signicant economic

downturn. “The crisis rural

Alberta has been in for

some time is worsening and

our region is not immune.

Populations are dwindling;

economic impacts of

energy and agriculture are

waning. Young people are

leaving and not returning. In

addition, the demographicsof an aging population loom

large.” This is, in part, why

the Boomtown Trail has

looked to tourism as an

economic driver.

Benets of Experiential Travel

11



The economic benets of

incorporating experiential

travel in a tourism-based

economy are clear.

Experiences reach a smallernumber of people than

traditional travel activities,

but generate a higher

return due to the higher

price that can be charged.

Experiences are based on

the commodities, goods,

and activities/services that

are unique to the region.

While experiences are a

distinct tourism product,

they also drive sales of

commodities, goods, and

activities/services. For

example, the sausage-

making experience offered

to symposium participants

was a customized activity

for the group: they hadthe opportunity to meet

with and talk to the pork

producer, learn about the

local ingredients used in the

sausage, and actually make

sausage together with a local

expert. At the end of the sausage-

making experience, participantswere asking where they could

purchase the sausages as well as

the ingredients.

The community benets stem

from the premise that everyone

is in the tourism business. The

symposium’s Discover Your Terroir

experience illustrates this point

well: with the exception of the

historic characters, the partners

were not from the tourism

industry. This experience was

created by small, locally owned

businesses and a local non-

prot. Partnerships are the key to

the successful development of

experiences, and partnerships

also create strong communities.

12



A consistent thread

throughout the symposiumwas the value of establishing

partnerships to deliver

exceptional experiences.

Successful partnerships can

involve traditional tourism

operators, local businesses,

and government. The group

was challenged to look at

their experiences throughthe “traveller’s lens” and

acknowledge that travellers

are not concerned with who

owns the company, they

are simply looking for a

meaningful experience.

Colleen Kennedy, Executive

Director of the Gros Morne

Co-operating Association in

Newfoundland and Labrador,

spoke to her region’ssuccess in developing

partnerships. The practice

of business-to-business

partnerships was a huge

change from the way their

tourism operators used to

work, but the benets have

proven that a new way of

thinking was needed.

Nicholas Wyslouzil of

Chinook Country Tourism

Association (CCTA) shared

how partnerships are

working in Alberta. CCTA

partnered with Travel Alberta

to obtain a sub-license to

use the Explorer Quotient

(EQ) customer proling

research, allowing them to

Discovering the Value of Partnerships

13



leverage the work that Travel

Alberta is already doing

to target specic traveller

types. Clustering has

allowed tourism operatorsto realize the benets of

“co-opetition” by working

together to reach their target

markets; for example, the

Belles of the Badlands

have come together to

promote ranch vacations

throughout Chinook Country.

The development of an

online booking system

for all businesses has

provided one-stop shopping

for visitors to purchase

event tickets, make

dinner reservations, book

accommodations, or even

secure a tee time at a local

golf course.

14



Closely tied to the

importance of partnerships,

is the concept that

everyone is in the tourism

business. This led to an

understanding that the

region’s infrastructure,

activities and programs

could be strengthened

by examining the visitor

experience with each type

of business. For example,

a nancial institution is

generally not considered to

be in the tourism business,

but the experience one has

at a local bank affects their

visit to, and impression of, a

community. This applies to

all aspects of a community,

whether it is a local grocery

store, gas station or evena clothing store. A shift in

thinking needs to be made

throughout the region about

the experience customers

are looking for, because it

is that very experience that

they will share with family

and friends when they get

home.

The two experiences

offered by the symposium

fully demonstrated the

concept that everyone is

in the tourism business.

Local businesses and nonprot organizations, as

well as traditional tourism

operators, worked together

in the creation of unique and

memorable experiences.

Participants saw rsthand

how this way of thinking, and

working together, can be

successful.

Everyone is in the Tourism Business

15



Boomtown Trail communities

need to understand

that experiential travel

helps everyone, not just

tourism operators. The

more experiential travel

opportunities that are

created, the more travellers

that will be attracted, and

this benets the entire

community. Clearly, this

work has more implications

than just tourism, it

impacts the economic and

socioeconomic health of theentire region.

16



Presentations from

Marty Eberth and Sheila

Campbell, representatives

from Travel Alberta and

Alberta Tourism, Parks and

Recreation, supported a

move to experiential travel

and explained how this

ts in with the work of both

government departmentsas Alberta works to meet its

goal of increasing tourism

revenue to $10.3B by 2020.

Marty Eberth shared

information about Travel

Alberta’s “remember to

breathe campaign

that focuses on creating“Goosebump Moments”

for travellers. Marketing

materials and workbooks

were shared with

participants to assist them in

the creation of Goosebump

Moments when developing

experiences. Marty also

described Travel Alberta’s

motivation for investing

in the Canadian Tourism

Commission’s EQ research.

They are using EQ to

target specic travellertypes and the Boomtown

Trail can capitalize on this

existing marketing effort.

By piggybacking on the

work that Travel Alberta is

doing, communities along

the Boomtown Trail can

adjust their own marketing

strategies to better meetthe needs and desires of

travellers that are already

coming to Alberta.

Moving in the Same Direction

17



Sheila Campbell also

supported a move to

experiential travel and

highlighted how this aligns

with three areas that

Alberta Tourism, Parks

and Recreation have

identied as priorities:

Culinary tourism with an

emphasis on meaningful,

high-quality culinary tourism

experiences; sport Tturism

that creates linkages

between sporting events

and the travel experiencesthat would appeal to family

members and spectators;

and event tourism through

the development of an event

planning manual and event

planning workshops.

18



This symposium was a

transformational experience

for participants it showed

participants how easily

they could apply the

principles in their own

communities. The realization

that some communities are

already doing experiential

travel meant that these

experiences can now be

packaged and marketed to

specic groups using the EQ

strategies. Most importantly,

the symposium alerted

the Boomtown Trail to the

value of participating in the

experience economy, with

experiential travel leading

the way.

Next Steps

Participants were challenged

to ask themselves if

experiential travel is

relevant to them and their

communities. If the answer

was yes, they were further

challenged to consider

how could they be a

catalyst for change. The

idea that everyone is in

the tourism business was

clear and it was agreed

that this message must be

delivered to businesses and

municipalities throughout the

Boomtown Trail.

The need, and demand, for

training became evident

during the symposium. From

the types of questions beingasked to the outright request

for training, it became clear

that the Boomtown Trail must

19



pursue training opportunities

for its people. The Boomtown

Trail will respond to this need

by investigating partnerships

with organizations such as

GMIST, the University of

Alberta, and government to

provide experiential travel

training.

The Boomtown Trail

recognizes that its residents

choose to live in this region

because they want to enjoy

a rural lifestyle, and what is a

lifestyle but a sum of all one’s

experiences? The Boomtown

Trail also recognizes that

maintaining this lifestyle is

critical to the future of the

region. The manner in which

this rural lifestyle is portrayed

will impact the region’s

ability to attract others tothe area, whether they are

travellers, potential residents,

or investors. The Boomtown

Trail is determined to build

its rural communities by

delivering the kinds of

experiences that peoplewant.

The Boomtown Trail is the

right organization to create

this strong future, with a

strong track record of both

ability and accountability. Its

program successes have led

to national and internationalrecognition, pointing to the

efcacy of its governance

and operational model.

Sustainable economic

growth can be achieved

by the Boomtown Trail, but

it will require a concerted,

collaborative investment in

the region as a whole. While

a signicant investment

in physical infrastructure

20



is necessary, a larger

investment in its people is

needed, especially for the

younger residents. To secure

a bright future for ruralAlberta, the Boomtown Trail

needs to support its people

now.

“After the symposium, we made contact with Christie Mason

(who played Irene Parlby) and our museum in Trochu is going

to pick her brain to develop our own character. We may even

do an event with Albert Parks at Dry Island Buffalo Jump.”

- Bill Cunningham, Deputy Mayor, Trochu

“I appreciated the real-life examples of how others have made

this work. Instead of just telling us to come up with ‘our own

unique ideas,’ they actually showed us how we could.”

- Brenda Campbell, Economic Development Coordinator, Town

of Irricana

21

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