Industry update: it’s cool to share in a Canadian summer

The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is happy to wear its flip-flops with the best of them, while also spotlighting the efforts of its tourism industry partners and pals. As ever, don’t be shy about sharing your business’s best work (there are details at the bottom as to how to do that).

• Summer is all about hitting the beach, camping, sitting outside in the long evenings… and making videos. Tourism Saskatchewan is running acontest, looking for YouTube videos (no more than a minute long) showing summer fun in the province. Natch, there are prizes up for grabs, including $4,000 in cash for the winner. The contest is open to anyone ages 13 and up and closes Sept. 17.
• Ontario’s Southwest is a new brand for 2012, set up by The Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation, and has made a big push into social media. There are thriving accounts for Twitter and Pinterest, but it was engagement via a Facebook contest in June that really got the ball rolling by getting visitors to submit content about their experiences. The page soared past 1,000 “Likes” and is on track to motor past 2,500 by the end of summer.
• A tablet is a must-have item on many travellers’ packing lists. Tourism Vancouver recently released a Visit Vancouver iPad app to help visitors to the British Columbia metropolis find somewhere to stay, a great place to eat or to find other tourism experiences.
• Summer also means not being at work (well, at least some of the time). Tourism Newfoundland and Labrador took that theme and ran with it, creating a Facebook contest based around creating an out-of-office message for the chance to win a pair of flights to the province.
• While on the subject of apps, Tourism Saskatchewan (yup, them again!), not content with redesigning its mobile site, has unveiled a suite of apps for iPhones, iPods, iPads, BlackBerrys and Android devices, with listings for upcoming events, things to do, what’s nearby and more.
• Destination Halifax is the latest Canadian organization to get the Pinterest bug. With well over a dozen boards on the go, it’s the place to look for entertainment, culture, music, outdoor adventure and great local cuisine.

Do you have or have you seen innovative examples of social-media travel marketing? CTC will be running this series every quarter (promise!), so keep those recommendations coming in. E-mail the Corporate Communications team, drop us a tweet @ctccct or post a comment below to top up the list for next time.

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