VICTORIA – September 2015’s tourism industry numbers confirmed a strong summer that saw significant growth in hotel rates and revenue per available room, and following its 2015 Quarter Three Board of Directors meeting, Tourism Victoria released its 2015 Quarter Three (Q3) attributable business results today.
“Tourism Victoria remains committed to building business for the destination and our members, especially as we transition from the peak summer season,” says Paul Nursey, President & CEO, Tourism Victoria. “Key to Tourism Victoria’s strategy is developing a vibrant shoulder and off season, driving incremental visitation and economic impact for the region year-round. We are pleased to report that ticket sales at the Visitor Centre and heightened marketing, sales and PR activities are working to ensure visitor traffic remains consistent throughout the region.”
- Q3 Industry Results Confirm Conclusion of Strong Summer
- Chemistry Consulting’s September 2015 Victoria Tourism Bulletin confirmed an excellent summer season for tourism, showing a 3.4 per cent increase in average occupancy over the same month last year. Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) and Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR) increased 15.7 per cent and 20.6 per cent respectively. Year-to-date sees occupancy up 3.9 per cent, ADR up 9.4 per cent and RevPAR up 15.6 per cent.
- Visitor Centre Ticket Sales Grow More Than 130% Year-to-Date
- Through the sale of tickets at Tourism Victoria’s Visitor Centre, the organization helps generate economic impact for member businesses in the local community and is pleased to report a 41.6 per cent increase in ticket sales in September over the same month last year. Year-to-date, the Centre has seen a 139 per cent increase over 2014 through more traffic in the Centre, additional cruise ships throughout the year and the addition of various attractions, tours and transportation member ticket sales.
- Victoria Beyond Words Drives Incredible Results with 78:1 ROI
- In 2014, Tourism Victoria instituted a policy to measure marketing campaigns annually through third party ad-tracking and conversion studies in a key campaign market. The results for the Victoria Beyond Words campaign, which ran from April 1 to June 1, 2015, show a great return on investment of 78:1 compared to the industry average of 12:1. The campaign converted 12,788 travellers to the destination, on a smaller budget compared to the 2014 Victoria Calling campaign, which converted 10,400 travellers. Insignia Marketing measured the Victoria Beyond Words campaign in the Seattle market. The department recently concluded a Halloween campaign and is working to drive business in late November and December with a Christmas campaign. Results for both campaigns will be released in the Q4 report.
- Media Relations Delivers Close to 100 Placements in Q3
- The Media Relations team saw 94 media placements and 50 media visits in Q3, including USA Today and Huffington Post. Year-to-date the team has already reached their media placement goal for 2015. They also successfully executed Tourism Victoria’s first Vancouver Island Destination Marketing Organization partner media event with Parksville and Tofino, Kick It on Vancouver Island. The team also attended GoMedia, a Destination Canada marketplace event connecting top Canadian and international travel media influencers with provincial, territorial and regional Canadian tourism organizations.
- Meetings and Incentive Travel (M&IT) Shifts to Business Events Victoria
- The third quarter of 2015 marked a period of change and innovation for the M&IT department, where the final transition was made to a new departmental structure called Business Events Victoria (BEV). The department welcomed two new General Sales Agents (GSAs): Miranda (Kwok) Ji and Joscelyn Stead. Miranda will handle corporate business while Joscelyn will handle association business. The department has reached 80 per cent of their target for 2015, which increased significantly over 2014. The team is working to close some significant business. Despite this, Tourism Victoria’s year-to-date performance remains on track as several large pieces of business have been secured that have contributed to confirmed room nights for the destination. The BEV department remains confident that going into the end of Q4 it will hit its 2016 target for confirmed room nights.
- Leisure Travel Generates Business for Local Community
- In Q3, Tourism Victoria’s Travel Trade team hosted several familiarization tours to the destination for key international product managers. Year-to-date the team has sent 199 leads to member businesses. These leads or referrals highlighted 238 different members to 164 different operator requests, generating business for the local community. The Travel Trade team have also confirmed 19 new tour series that will drive incremental overnight group business to the destination. The team also recently attended Destination Canada’s Showcase Canada tradeshow in China and hosted a 10 member sales mission in Shanghai and Beijing post tradeshow, results to be released in Q4.
- Membership Grows 8.3% Year-to-Date
- Tourism Victoria works in partnership with more than 885 business members in Greater Victoria and the surrounding areas, and year-to-date membership within the organization has grown 8.3% over 2014. As a member benefit the organization hosts several member events annually, allowing members the opportunity to network with other local businesses. The department will also be conducting a membership drive in late November to attract new members and facilitate fresh ideas.
