Minister of Tourism, Philip Brown called a meeting of industry July 19 asking operators to provide some perspective of the state of the industry and consensus of immediate action. As a direct result of this meeting, Minister Brown committed to the group to approach Government requesting additional funding to supplement a marketing campaign and a tourism research project.
Industry members attending the meeting, along with government representatives, came to the consensus that an incremental advertising campaign aimed at the Maritime and New England markets, as well as a stay-at-home campaign for Islanders, would be the best course of action towards increasing tourism numbers for the 2004 summer and fall seasons. These selected campaigns are aimed at impacting short-term visitations but, in addition, will increase overall awareness for Prince Edward Island as a vacation destination with the expectation of long-term impact as well.
In addition to the marketing, the Minister committed to launching a research project to investigate the motivation of potential visitors that did not come to Prince Edward Island in 2004. A phone survey will solicit information on reasons why individuals who requested literature packages did not choose to come to P.E.I. for their summer vacations. This information, which will supplement the annual research data already collected by the Province, Atlantic Canada (through the Atlantic Canada Tourism Partnership) and the Canadian Tourism Commission, will prove useful in analysing the industry’s performance for 2004.
“We have had many discussions with the industry and we are cognisant of the fact that visitations are down for the early part of the summer,” noted Minister Brown. “During the meeting, the group decided that immediate action to spark the interest of our highest potential visitors should be launched immediately. We are focussing on the regions most likely to make short-term plans and therefore have a positive impact for this summer.” The Minister continued, “We also wanted to have a research document to work from to begin to answer the many questions of what exactly we feel is impacting travel to our province this year. Obviously, given the numbers coming out of other provinces in the region and in fact all parts of the country, we are not alone. There simply aren’t as many people travelling in general, and that is having an impact on our industry in Prince Edward Island. The research project, combined with others we have access to, should provide us with some insight into what impacted the traveller in 2004.
Beginning August 2, a stay-at-home campaign aimed at Islanders will encourage residents to get out and enjoy the very things that draw visitors to our Island each year. Radio and direct mail advertising will call Islanders to stay and play at home this summer/fall encouraging travel all over the Island. Minister Brown commented, “Prince Edward Island, unlike many other provinces such as Ontario and New Brunswick, has never embarked on a stay-at-home campaign before. Islanders are typically quite active in their participation at tourism venues across P.E.I. We simply wanted to encourage more Islanders to support their tourism operations across the Island. Sometimes, a gentle reminder is all that’s needed.”
A Maritime campaign will encourage family summer activities and the couples/adults market for the fall through a new radio campaign. Part of the campaign will feature “Get on the Island Free” pass giveaways, enticing visitors to P.E.I.
The New England market will be directed towards the couples/adults market as well and geared at the fall. Print promotional material will be inserted into 148,000 copies of the Maine Telegram enticing travellers to come to Prince Edward Island.
“I feel strongly that we are working in the right direction to resolve some of the questions in the marketplace right now,” said Minister Brown. “We know there are some issues out there, but we aren’t going to sit back and wait to see how it all falls out, we are being pro-active and positive in working with our industry colleagues to do as much as we can to improve on our 2004 season.”