Destination Canada - a campaign on point
Destination Canada’s ‘Heartbeat of Canada’ campaign has been developed to inspire Canadians to travel locally, and it is brilliant.
An integrated campaign that launched on 23rd May with National Tourism Week, it was supported by a tourism anthem video, locals sending postcards to their friends, and now regions strengthening the campaign with local messaging.
Our article takes a quick look at each aspect of the campaign, and explores how this campaign is connecting with the people and how it will make a real difference.
Launching with National Tourism Week, the industry came together to demonstrate the enormous value tourism brings to the life of Canadians. While they acknowledged the incredible difficulties of the past year, they showed their industry is strong, and ready to welcome back visitors when the time is right.
National Tourism Week was marked with the launch of their new Tourism Anthem. Set to the timing of our beating hearts, it highlights the makers, business owners, performers and people that make up Canada’s tourism sector. It showcases the richness of diversity, heartbeat of their country, and spiritual connection to place. I dare you not to be moved watching this video.
With 39% of Canadians expecting their first trip to be visiting friends and relatives, Destination Canada’s local postcards initiative connects and inspires and VFR travel. Canadian’s simply enter the web portal, select a postcard with a message such as ‘Miss You, Come Visit’, type a personal message and recipients address, and Destination Canada print and mail the postcard at no cost to the sender.
Destinations across Canada are now releasing their own campaigns to build on the Heartbeat of Canada campaign. Destination Toronto has just released their Love Letter to Toronto. Another exceptional production, the video that connects the audience with Toronto Ambassadors who offer their diverse perspectives on the city they love and call home.
Heartbeat of Canada is an integrated campaign at its best. Powerful, emotional, spiritual and most importantly authentic, the campaign connects its audience with the place, the industry, their friends, its cities, and its people.
It's like an orchestra, with each piece adding to the brilliance and power of the performance. An exceptional campaign, that shows that when we work together, and all sing from the same hymn book we are more likely to be heard.
I cannot wait to watch this campaign continue to build, grow, and roar.
If you need a hand developing your destination marketing campaign, give Alison McDowell a call to discuss how Roadmap Strategy can work with you to create a campaign to build your destination brand and achieve your business goals.
Celebrating Victoria's Top Tourism Towns
Top Tourism Town Awards recognise and celebrate towns that offer amazing visitor experiences.
This year is the first time Victoria has participated in the Top Tourism Towns Awards, and we are thrilled that 22 towns across Victoria chose to enter.
These awards are an opportunity to showcase the value of tourism to towns and communities across Australia and celebrate the diversity and outstanding regional destinations Australia has to offer.
For the first time the Top Tourism Town Awards will also be included in the Australian Tourism Awards. So not only will towns be competing at a state level, the Gold winner in each state will judged at a national level and recognised as the Top Tourism Town in Australia.
The Top Tourism Town Awards recognise and reward towns that:
- Demonstrate a strong commitment and encourage tourism and increased visitation to their destination
- Offer an excellent visitor experience, and
- Exhibit collaboration between tourism operators, local businesses and the community as they work together to make their town the best destination it can be
Submissions from entrants have been through a judging process, and are now open to public voting. The judges score and the consumer vote will then be combined to determine the winners.
Public voting is an ENORMOUS opportunity for entrants to encourage their community, their visitors and their followers to VOTE for them.
Towns who actively promote voting are not only increasing their chances of winning the award, they promoting and reminding their locals, their visitors and potential visitors what a great place their town is to visit – and that can only be good for their visitor economy.
Congratulations to the following towns who are finalist in the Victorian Top Tourism Town Awards (VOTE NOW):
- Aireys Inlet
- Apollo Bay
- Avoca
- Ballarat
- Beaufort
- Bendigo
- Dromana
- Dunkeld
- Fingal
- Frankston
- Great Western
- Halls Gap
- Heathcote
- Jamieson
- Lakes Entrance
- Mallacoota
- Nagambie
- Paynesville
- Port Fairy
- San Remo
- Swan Hill
- Timboon
All the very best to all entrants in the 2021 Top Tourism Town Awards.
Our founder, Alison McDowell has been a judge for the Victorian Tourism Awards since 2015, and a judge for the Victorian Top Tourism Town Awards since 2021.