Executive Director’s Message
As we move closer to the Holiday Season, my heart is filled with appreciation for you all, dear CITAP members, for your continued support and for all the friendships I have made during this busy and challenging year 2019. We can be proud of our success in bringing our Asia Pacific guests to Canada and providing them with exceptional experiences. Thank you!
Thank you to those who attended our CITAP Winter Function on December 3rd in Richmond. For members who were unable to attend, we will be posting the market updates by video on our website. Please join me in thanking our volunteers, who dedicate their time to make our events possible.
On behalf of our President, CITAP Executive, Board of Directors and Staff, we wish you, your families and friends a happy Holiday Season and a prosperous 2020.
Joe Volk
Executive Director CITAP
RTO Reports
Market updates are written by Receptive Tour Operator members and in this issue we have updates from the following markets: China, Korea, and Australia. Enjoy their anecdotal assessment of each of our primary Asia Pacific markets with a combination of overview, economy, and forecast. Read the full report on our Reports and Presentations page.
DMO Interview: Get to Know Emerson Velasco
CITAP is pleased to interview Emerson Velasco, Manager, Travel Trade, Ottawa Tourism
1. After your BA in Marketing, you chose to pursue graduate studies in Tourism. What attracted you to the tourism industry?
While doing my BA, I started working as a tour guide and became passionate about the tourism industry. It was a good experience to better understand the challenges on the ground, but I wanted to learn more about planning and organizing tourism activities, especially from a DMO standpoint. That’s how I decided to pursue my graduate studies in Tourism Development.
2. You’ve been at Tourism Ottawa for 8 months now – what did you identify as your greatest challenge when you took on the role of Manager, Travel Trade?
In my previous work experience, I was mainly involved in the European markets for the Travel Trade. My current position at Ottawa Tourism oversees the Asian markets. Getting to learn more about these markets is obviously a new challenge and I’m glad to keep learning every day. I had the opportunity to assist to a couple of events organized by CITAP this year which was extremely helpful to meet with clients and partners active in Asia.
3. You recently travelled to Japan. What did you enjoy the most about this trip?
Everything! From the Japanese hospitality to the food and technology advancements. The mission was also very well organized by Destination Canada in Osaka and Destination Ontario in Japan. I fell in love with this country and I look forward to going back soon.
4. You already speak 3 languages. If you had time to pursue a 4th one, what would it be?
I would love to add 3 other languages to the list: Mandarin, Japanese and Korean. I’m taking it one step at a time and hopefully I’ll increase my vocabulary in these languages, thanks to my job.
5. What would you say are Ottawa’s three greatest attractions?
We are lucky to have 7 of the 9 National Museums that tell the story of Canada from different perspectives. We also have the beautiful Rideau Canal which is the only World Heritage site in the province of Ontario with lots of activities to do like cycling along the Canal, canoeing or kayaking in summertime, or even skating on it in wintertime. Finally, all the Federal buildings and institutions like Parliament Hill or Rideau Hall give the opportunity to better understand the political structure of our country but also to proudly share all the values that make Canada so unique and amazing.
Get to know the CITAP Board of Directors: Lise Alain
Please meet List Alain, a CUS Director, Chair of our Communications Committee and President of LAT Multilingual, a Vancouver-based communications company specialized in multicultural marketing. We asked Lise a few questions…
1. Tell us a bit about LAT and why it made sense to join CITAP?
LAT Multilingual was founded over 20 years ago at a time when several brands (like Mountain Equipment Coop, Future Shop and Rogers Video) wanted to expand across Canada and needed French language translation. Over the years, our services evolved with the needs of our clients to reach more markets, and diverse demographics. I attended our first CITAP event in 2017, having become aware of the Winter Function through a DMO client. The affinity was immediately obvious. Like CITAP, we see our communication services as a bridge to the Asia Pacific for the Canadian tourism industry.
2. Has LAT always specialized in the tourism sector?
We started out helping retailers adapt their content for the Quebec market, then for Chinese customers in Vancouver. It was a natural evolution for us to develop an affinity with the tourism industry where communications need a higher degree of sophistication. Our clients’ menus, websites, brochures, newsletters and social media content needs more than straightforward translation. It needs to be attractive to the reader and be featured in the right way, on their preferred social platforms.
3. LAT has a subsidiary in Montreal called LAT Marketing. What does this company do?
LAT Marketing was founded in 2015 to promote tourism to Eastern Canada. Our team is based in Montreal and provides cross-cultural marketing adaptation from French and English to various languages. Headed by Wenyan Guo, the team is also very active in providing training to help the industry understand the Asian market and reach travellers from across Asia.
4. What are some of your company’s accomplishments that you’re most proud of?
When Canada declared 2018 as the year of Canada-China tourism, we identified a need for the tourism industry to learn more about Chinese travellers. So we developed a comprehensive China Ready program that has been very well received. We have so far provided training to New Brunswick, Quebec City and, most recently, our program was selected by Destination BC for their Chinese market training initiative and will be offered throughout the province.
5. Do you focus on certain markets or do you help clients reach any part of the world?
We have an extensive team of language professionals all over the world. We adapt content in most languages. We also specialize in supporting our clients with their social media content in various languages, which is important in the tourism industry. For the Chinese market, this includes providing marketing services on Chinese platforms such as WeChat and Weibo.
CITAP Membership Survey
The Canadian Inbound Tourism Association- Asia Pacific would like to receive your feedback to help us ensure CITAP continues to provide you with information and events that support your business.
The information collected will help us prioritize our initiatives over the next few years. This is your association and your participation is very important to us. We greatly appreciate your time in filling out this survey. Your responses will be kept confidential, and only shared with the Board of Directors.
2019 CITAP Winter Function
The 2019 Winter Marketplace & Gala was a resounding success with 145 at the educational seminars, 151 exhibitors, and 301 attending the gala dinner. We kindly ask for your feedback to help us make next year’s function even better. Please take a few moments to fill out our survey.
Thank you to our wonderful sponsors! This event would not be possible without your support and generous contributions each year.
We are thrilled to share the event photos with you! You may access the photo gallery here and the password is WF2019. Thank you to our official photographer for the event- Brad Kasselman of Coast Mountain Photography for taking amazing shots during the event.
Save the Date: 2020 CITAP Upcoming Events
2020 AGM: Coinciding with RVC, the AGM will be held on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 in Quebec City at the Hotel Chateau Laurier Quebec from 9am – 11am. A light breakfast will be included. This is your opportunity to become more involved, network with your CITAP colleagues & vote on any changes. Registration for the AGM will open in the New Year.
2020 CITAP Hidi Nishi Golf Classic: This event will be held Tuesday , July 21, 2020 at the Tsawwassen Springs Golf Course. Registration information will be posted in the spring.
2020 Winter Function: Will be held on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. Venue details will be announced in the New Year.
Members’ Corner
In this Members’ corner, you can share your latest news and updates with other members, or learn other members’ latest updates and news! In this issue, 15 organizations have shared their latest updates with us. Click below to see their updates.
