Charley Boorman gives the wilds of South Africa fresh exposure while Brit bloggers cross the tracks in the US.
2013-02-21 — /travelprnews.com/ — Beware the lords of the international tourism jungle. The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is at the heart of this intensely competitive marketplace, where the traditional big beasts are fiercely protecting their territory from the rise of new exotic destinations.
As ever, CTC News is your guide to this rich business landscape, monitoring the programs and campaigns of tourism marketing organizations around the world for fresh ideas. Watching for facts and figures from the undergrowth are CTC’s colleagues, partners, general sales agents and industry friends.
- Where the wild things are: South Africa Tourism is looking to entice Brits to the southern hemisphere via a new TV show, “Charley Boorman’s South African Adventure.” Over four episodes, viewers saw Boorman dive with sharks, rappel down Table Mountain and more as a way of building consumer engagement. For us in Canada, this show sounds rather familiar…
- Yankee doodle dandy: American Airlines and Brand USA joined hands to send three Brits to all 50 American states in 30 days. The airport-weary three then shared their “United States of Adventure” stories on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, with the aim of encouraging British and Irish consumers to follow in their footsteps.
- Lights, camera, action: According to the latest TRAVELSAT Competitive Index from TCI Research, around eight million Chinese consumers booked their holiday destination after seeing a movie shot in that country.
- Business, never personal: Tourism New Zealand has kicked off its Premier Kiwi Partnership program, targeting Chinese travellers likely to dig deep into their wallets while in Kiwi country. Twelve inbound tour operators and 18 China-based sellers have developed longer-stay packages. More than 200,000 Chinese consumers visited New Zealand in 2012.
- Talk-show royalty: Ellen DeGeneres is filming some of her live shows in Sydney and Melbourne in March. Australian tour operators are banking on the same global exposure they received when Oprah Winfrey recorded her show Down Under in 2011.
- All in the Games: Despite the Queen’s 60th Jubilee celebrations and the golden 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, international visitor numbers to the UK fell in late 2012. According to the Office for National Statistics, there was a 4% drop in overseas travellers in Q3 2012, followed by another 4% stumble in October.
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Look, no hands! Charley Boorman up Table Mountain as part of South Africa’s push into the UK market