(Originally published in TOURISM)
If news from Europe has been mostly about sluggish markets lately, the same cannot be said of France, which is enjoying a rather successful rebound according to CTC France managing director Sandra Teakle.
“This year we have been fortunate to be able to benefit from the positive economic climate in France, which is expected to continue through 2007. Certainly, too, our team has worked hard to earn the results we are seeing. From January to August of 2006, the French market to Canada is up by 3%. We are the only one of the CTC's core European markets right now that is on the up side, and have remained very focused on the trade, on the consumer, on non‑traditional partnerships, and we are actively working with the media.”
But there is of course much more to it, Teakle admits: “we have seen increased capacity in 2006 to and from France, with new partners coming into play like Zoom Airlines which offers direct service from Paris to Calgary and Vancouver. They had a total of 21 rotations and they are announcing an increase to 42 for 2007.” Another airline that has made a difference is Corsair, which services Montréal and Moncton, New Brunswick. Air Transat has also come back with two flights a week into Québec City, starting in the fall of 2006.
“In addition, we are seeing the group market on the upswing; that is to say that in 1996 (the year we saw the greatest number of French people going to Canada), we hit an all‑time high of 460,000 people. After 1996 there was a decline and our worst year was 2003, where we had 277,000 French people going to Canada. We expect that in 1996, part of the results was due to the fact the group market dependency trend favoured travel to Canada.”
Following that record year, Teakle explains, other emerging markets made significant inroads on the group segment. “Therefore Canada lost out for a time. But now, 10 years later, we are seeing that this group cycle is back on.”
When Teakle looks at the products that make a difference in the French market for Canada, she finds that “Québec is still our major seller, or 'point of entry' as a result of the language and historical ties. A lot of group travel is generated by the social committees; in France, when you have a company of more than 50 employees, the company must inject a percentage of the total salary of employees back toward activities like summer camp for their children, language schools, as well as trips for the staff members.”
While the classical Canada trip usually involves a loop around Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Québec City, Teakle remarks that there is increased demand for the Atlantic provinces and Western Canada lately.
“People are opening up and wanting to visit Alberta and BC. There is a demand for Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but it is more for well‑defined products like fishing and hunting in Saskatchewan, or they will go to Manitoba to view the polar bears. Right now we are trying to promote long weekends to Montréal and Toronto. It is very much in the French mentality to get on a plane and fly to New York for a weekend break , and not think twice about the distance.” So why not go to Montréal or Toronto for a change of scenery and a breath of fresh air!
Teakle hopes this approach will reap rewards before too long. “Our target market is 35 to 59 years of age, middle to high‑income levels. We try to communicate with consumers on a regular basis in order to stay top‑of‑mind and drive the consumer to the point of purchase. We have a consumer database of about 40,000 and we increase this with every non‑traditional partnership to which we commit, by securing e‑mail addresses through competitions to win prizes to Canada. This database receives our “Lettre du Canada” which is produced internally by the team on a quarterly basis and provides links to partner websites.
Fortunately, Teakle points out, Canada as a country is viewed very favourably in France, thanks in part to the efforts Canadian artists invest in that market, scheduling concerts and taking advantage of the many natural affinities between French and Canadian societies. Sounds like something worth nurturing a little while longer, doesn’t it?
If news from Europe has been mostly about sluggish markets lately, the same cannot be said of France, which is enjoying a rather successful rebound according to CTC France managing director Sandra Teakle.
“This year we have been fortunate to be able to benefit from the positive economic climate in France, which is expected to continue through 2007. Certainly, too, our team has worked hard to earn the results we are seeing. From January to August of 2006, the French market to Canada is up by 3%. We are the only one of the CTC's core European markets right now that is on the up side, and have remained very focused on the trade, on the consumer, on non‑traditional partnerships, and we are actively working with the media.”
But there is of course much more to it, Teakle admits: “we have seen increased capacity in 2006 to and from France, with new partners coming into play like Zoom Airlines which offers direct service from Paris to Calgary and Vancouver. They had a total of 21 rotations and they are announcing an increase to 42 for 2007.” Another airline that has made a difference is Corsair, which services Montréal and Moncton, New Brunswick. Air Transat has also come back with two flights a week into Québec City, starting in the fall of 2006.
“In addition, we are seeing the group market on the upswing; that is to say that in 1996 (the year we saw the greatest number of French people going to Canada), we hit an all‑time high of 460,000 people. After 1996 there was a decline and our worst year was 2003, where we had 277,000 French people going to Canada. We expect that in 1996, part of the results was due to the fact the group market dependency trend favoured travel to Canada.”
Following that record year, Teakle explains, other emerging markets made significant inroads on the group segment. “Therefore Canada lost out for a time. But now, 10 years later, we are seeing that this group cycle is back on.”
When Teakle looks at the products that make a difference in the French market for Canada, she finds that “Québec is still our major seller, or 'point of entry' as a result of the language and historical ties. A lot of group travel is generated by the social committees; in France, when you have a company of more than 50 employees, the company must inject a percentage of the total salary of employees back toward activities like summer camp for their children, language schools, as well as trips for the staff members.”
While the classical Canada trip usually involves a loop around Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Québec City, Teakle remarks that there is increased demand for the Atlantic provinces and Western Canada lately.
“People are opening up and wanting to visit Alberta and BC. There is a demand for Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but it is more for well‑defined products like fishing and hunting in Saskatchewan, or they will go to Manitoba to view the polar bears. Right now we are trying to promote long weekends to Montréal and Toronto. It is very much in the French mentality to get on a plane and fly to New York for a weekend break , and not think twice about the distance.” So why not go to Montréal or Toronto for a change of scenery and a breath of fresh air!
Teakle hopes this approach will reap rewards before too long. “Our target market is 35 to 59 years of age, middle to high‑income levels. We try to communicate with consumers on a regular basis in order to stay top‑of‑mind and drive the consumer to the point of purchase. We have a consumer database of about 40,000 and we increase this with every non‑traditional partnership to which we commit, by securing e‑mail addresses through competitions to win prizes to Canada. This database receives our “Lettre du Canada” which is produced internally by the team on a quarterly basis and provides links to partner websites.
Fortunately, Teakle points out, Canada as a country is viewed very favourably in France, thanks in part to the efforts Canadian artists invest in that market, scheduling concerts and taking advantage of the many natural affinities between French and Canadian societies. Sounds like something worth nurturing a little while longer, doesn’t it?
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