The 2007 edition of the Canadian Tourism Commission's Kanata media event and marketplace achieved every objective it set out to accomplish, according to CTC Japan's managing director Simon Pitt: “We had some great feedback, and two things stand out: the media event with over 200 members of the media attending (we had seven partners join us for ‘Come to Canada Night’), and we had a great venue which allowed us to showcase different experiences from around our five focus regions.”
Pitt says the event featured blended teas and hand massages from BC, Anne of Green Gables, shrimp and a quilting experience from PEI, wine from Ontario, maple desserts from Quebec, and country music and Alberta beef for the Icefields Parkway.
“We also had musicians from Northwest Territories and a whole range of experiences along with the new branding of Canada. We shocked a few people in terms of giving a new face to Canada. It wasn’t what they were expecting; Canada is famous for its red and white flag and great nature landscapes which are very important to us, but in terms of creating some excitement about Canada, this new approach and branding is really helping.”
Pitt points out that people can still see the Rockies and Niagara in most of the CTC’s Japanese market promotions, “but the vibrant colours, people, faces and expressions aim to make people look again. Come to Canada Night was also used to launch the ‘Clever Woman’ campaign in Japan, and just from that night alone, we had five offers from members of the media wanting to get involved with the project.”
For a moment that day, Pitt confides, his team wondered if the event would be able to accommodate all the guests because more attended than were anticipated. “We found a venue in a Tokyo’s Roppongi neighbourhood: Honey’s Garden. It is a mixed indoor‑outdoor environment with different floor levels, well‑suited for the Keep Exploring theme. People could work their way around the venue, the stage, different lighting and music and we were able to showcase our new brand and experiential video along with the different components.”
Kanata is CTC Japan’s flagship event for the whole year: two days in Tokyo, one day in Nagoya and two days in Osaka. “About 50 Canadian organizations joined us; we probably met about 120 travel agents and tour operators through the week."
“People like the opportunity to meet people in an efficient way," says Pitt. "The business environment Kanata provides is conducive to that efficiency because doing sales calls in Japan can be arduous work. Giving a high profile to Canada for one week in the year is an efficient model for tour operators and Canadian sellers to do business, while backing that up with good networking events,” explains Pitt.
This was the 18th edition of Kanata, he continues: “Every year it evolves further. One of the things we have concentrated on in the last couple of years is flexibility. We have different accommodation options and different participation levels so we can accommodate as wide an audience as possible, because coming to Japan to do business can be expensive. For first‑time organizations, we still offer a $500 dollar discount, so we really do want to be as inclusive as possible for people promoting Canada in the Japanese marketplace.
Pitt says the event featured blended teas and hand massages from BC, Anne of Green Gables, shrimp and a quilting experience from PEI, wine from Ontario, maple desserts from Quebec, and country music and Alberta beef for the Icefields Parkway.
“We also had musicians from Northwest Territories and a whole range of experiences along with the new branding of Canada. We shocked a few people in terms of giving a new face to Canada. It wasn’t what they were expecting; Canada is famous for its red and white flag and great nature landscapes which are very important to us, but in terms of creating some excitement about Canada, this new approach and branding is really helping.”
Pitt points out that people can still see the Rockies and Niagara in most of the CTC’s Japanese market promotions, “but the vibrant colours, people, faces and expressions aim to make people look again. Come to Canada Night was also used to launch the ‘Clever Woman’ campaign in Japan, and just from that night alone, we had five offers from members of the media wanting to get involved with the project.”
For a moment that day, Pitt confides, his team wondered if the event would be able to accommodate all the guests because more attended than were anticipated. “We found a venue in a Tokyo’s Roppongi neighbourhood: Honey’s Garden. It is a mixed indoor‑outdoor environment with different floor levels, well‑suited for the Keep Exploring theme. People could work their way around the venue, the stage, different lighting and music and we were able to showcase our new brand and experiential video along with the different components.”
Kanata is CTC Japan’s flagship event for the whole year: two days in Tokyo, one day in Nagoya and two days in Osaka. “About 50 Canadian organizations joined us; we probably met about 120 travel agents and tour operators through the week."
“People like the opportunity to meet people in an efficient way," says Pitt. "The business environment Kanata provides is conducive to that efficiency because doing sales calls in Japan can be arduous work. Giving a high profile to Canada for one week in the year is an efficient model for tour operators and Canadian sellers to do business, while backing that up with good networking events,” explains Pitt.
This was the 18th edition of Kanata, he continues: “Every year it evolves further. One of the things we have concentrated on in the last couple of years is flexibility. We have different accommodation options and different participation levels so we can accommodate as wide an audience as possible, because coming to Japan to do business can be expensive. For first‑time organizations, we still offer a $500 dollar discount, so we really do want to be as inclusive as possible for people promoting Canada in the Japanese marketplace.
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