Québec 2008: a DMO aims to harness the potential

(Originally published in TOURISM)

From the moment it became apparent that Québec’s 400th anniversary had the potential to be a major event, “Team Québec” got to work on determining how to best seize the moment, says general manager of Québec City Tourism Pierre Labrie.

“A wonderful opportunity had landed on our lap and we needed to communicate this good news to our event organizer clients, travel agents, wholesalers and journalists. We had already laid down a strategic framework to prepare for the event in the sense that we were bringing Rendez-vous Canada (RVC) to Québec City in 2007 (a request made some years earlier in light of the 400th anniversary). We had also made a conscious decision not to go after GoMedia at the time and to hold off until 2008 when the festivities would be unfolding, to get that Wow effect.”

In order to give the travel trade a taste of what to expect in Québec, Labrie and regional partners went all out in Toronto last spring to host the closing evening event for RVC delegates; “Québec Night” left no one indifferent. Meanwhile other initiatives were in the works.

“We have targeted a number of professional events like the meetings of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and other organizational multipliers. At the local level, we have mobilized our Cercle des ambassadeurs. This is the trademark we have developed jointly with the Convention Centre and the Chamber of Commerce to identify within Québec City’s business community those individuals who have the potential to help us attract international conventions. Take for example a university faculty member or a scientist at a research centre who must publish papers and give lectures in academic circles; we recruit this ambassador who is in a position to help us bring events from his or her world to Québec City.”

Labrie explains there are a number of steps in this process. First the targeted individual must be convinced of the value of the initiative. Secondly, this person must be active in his or her professional community. Thirdly, this person is provided some support by the Cercle des ambassadeurs organization to submit Québec’s candidacy to the relevant Canadian or Québec Chapter.

“Once the event host has been determined at the national level, we help put the bid together at the international level. This is a very involved process that takes from two to five years in most cases. We provide support to put the project together in terms of tourism stakeholder and technical requirements. This concept has been in operation in our organization since 1995. Many Canadian and American cities have adopted the formula as well.

“We provide training and organize discovery activities; there are many networking opportunities. The end result we seek is that instead of us going door-knocking in Paris and London on “cold calls”, or allocating more resources to trade shows, we are fully able to take advantage of our region’s assets through the contribution our ambassadors make. The results speak for themselves.”

Labrie’s team wanted to draw international events not only in 2008 because of the milestone Québec’s 400th represents, but also in 2007, 2009 and beyond. He figures his team has done pretty well: “So far we have confirmed hosting about 20 international events for 2008 - double the usual amount. And in many cases the events are twice as large and twice as significant, likely because of our collective effort to convince these organizations that the year of the anniversary should be the time to visit Canada, and Québec in particular.

“If I was to summarize our long-term approach, it could be defined as three-pronged. First, we needed to engage our trade community though RVC and Bienvenue Québec (which was held here in October 2007), so that we could stimulate our distribution network and showcase Québec City’s renewed offerings in 2007-2008. Secondly, we needed to pay particular attention to international media with a view to the great celebration of July 2008. Thirdly, there is the MCIT; we had to generate a maximum of economic benefits during that twelve-month period through our collective operations in the conventions sector especially. To achieve our goals, we must invest continuing effort.”

While all this unfolds, Labrie’s team remains firmly grounded as it works on the development of a partnership with the Société du 400e Anniversaire de Québec. “It must be clearly understood that while the Société is assigned the mandate of promoting the 400e anniversary celebrations, we are mandated to promote the destination. Collectively our interests converge, but our communications objectives are not necessarily the same. We are in the process of developing complementary business plans to help us reach our respective target audiences for 2007 and 2008. Please bear in mind that the nearer we get to Québec’s City limits, the more we will promote the celebrations! Throughout the province, the celebrations will be everywhere in the foreground. And, at the international level, our focus will be more on the destination itself, because our polling tells us clearly that tourists are drawn to the destination. Some might say ‘this is an opportune moment to come to Québec City because of the 400th anniversary.’ We might also hear: ‘400 years ago this city came into being, let’s go see it.

“Of course, as federal commissioner Laurent Tremblay mentioned to TOURISM recently, the great gift Québec City will receive as a result of the 400th anniversary commemorations will be the $300-400 million legacy in infrastructure projects. This, combined with airport improvements and all the efforts the city will make to look more beautiful than ever for the world are truly something to be excited about. For the time being, however, we see our task as engaging our tourism partners and industry, chiefly by sharing information.”

This undertaking is not without challenges, Labrie continues. How can celebration organizers and DMOs go about preparing all levels of the industry for what is coming? Labrie believes it is just as important to educate the service staff in restaurants and hotels, so that they can relay the information to visitors when the time comes: “We are putting the final touches on our 2007 budget at the moment. This need for ground level education and service is just one of the things we are planning for. And, in terms of media relations, we will need extra help because of the additional press coverage we expect. For instance, at the moment we are working on introducing international magazine editors to the concept of how 2008 is a milestone year deserving in-depth coverage, perhaps in the form of a commemorative edition. The Canadian media will be solicited, as well as targeted campaigns in the US, France and England.”

In the meantime, Labrie points out how important it is for an event of this magnitude to deploy the right efforts at the right time. “You can’t fire all your ammunition at once. Right now, for us, the emphasis is on doing everything in our power to help hone the celebrations’ program and content. Once we are there, we will work on audience-specific communications strategies. In Québec, for instance, there are awareness issues within the education system that are totally different from those in the tourism distribution network.

“Since 2005, Canada is experiencing reduced numbers of visitors from the US market at the moment. We are working on identifying channels and market-segments where we know there is likely to be an interest in spending time in Québec City in 2008. These tourism client market profiles are going to vary significantly at times; for example, people attracted to the Eucharistic Congress and the Pope’s visit will be different visitors from those who will come to witness and take part in the historic recreations of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham proposed to take place in August 2008.” Targeting the right media for the appropriate segment is of foremost importance, and Labrie believes using resources wisely will pay off in the end.

“Don’t forget that in the case of our organization, we are accountable to 1065 private members, plus public partners. So when we act, we must make sure decisions are based on a solid consensus, and backing objectives that are realistic for all parties. Add to this the fact that we are not immune to world economic upheavals.”

Pierre Labrie feels his team is running at the right pace for the Québec 2008 marathon, keeping much of the energy for the final sprint. This is important, he says, given that today’s consumers tend to wait until the last possible moment before making their travel decisions. “It would be a mistake to make too much noise about the event at this point in time. It makes more sense to use the early countdown period to design the kind of tourism experiences that will help us break new ground on the tourism scene.

"Québec 2008 is somewhat like the 2010 Olympics, but on a different scale. It’s also a bit like Montréal’s 350th in 1992 and the new offerings it helped create. I would hope that Québec 2008 will help us achieve the kind of presence on the international scene that loudly suggests this place is a ‘best-kept secret’ well worth discovering. Montréal is still reaping the benefits of its 350th. We hope that 15 years down the road, we can say Québec 2008 was the beginning of a wonderful new tourism adventure."