RVC 2017 Kicks Off In Calgary

The first day of Rendez-vous Canada 2017 is now in the books, and host city Calgary has rolled out the welcome mat with soft spring weather and their famous cowboy vibe. Wide-brimmed hats, cowboy boots and Calgary Flames jerseys are all in the house – which is the BMO Centre in this case, serving as the RVC 2017 venue until May 12, reports Press Today’s Ted Davis from the show.

The conference portion of RVC got underway with a review of Canada tourism source markets, the afternoon Inside Track session presented by Destination Canada.

Over about three hours, reps from the primary source markets (China, Australia/Oceana, Great Britain, Germany, France, USA) plus secondary markets (Brazil, Japan, South Korea, India, Mexico), described results from efforts to encourage Canada-bound tourism.

All reported very robust growth on the number of travellers coming to Canada from their respective countries – and they projected more to come for 2017 and beyond. Canada is now enjoying a very favourable visitor image, said the market reps, including a reputation as a safe and clean destination, an attractive currency exchange rate and a growing perception of the country as cool, not cold.

Making the best of this opportunity, Destination Canada president David Goldstein announced a new tourism promotions strategy that states goals for visitor arrivals and visitor spending. The “North Star” initiative calls for annual arrivals to reach 22 million by 2022, and for visitor spending to reach $22 billion annually in that same time.

In the photo:
John Mamela, chief marketing officer for Destination Canada, dons a Calgary Flames jersey, helped by Emmanuelle Legault, vice-president of international affairs, on day one of Rendez-vous Canada 2017 in Calgary.