Tourism Marketing - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 420

PROFILE Michele joined CTC in 2004, leading the Crown Corporation to its

new home on the west coast of Canada, Vancouver. Under her
leadership, Canada's new tourism marketing brand was developed
and launched internationally. Canada's country brand recognition
and tourism appeal has since risen from twelfth in the world, to
sixth, to second place.

In 2009, CTC was named ''Marketer of the Year'' in Canada, a first
for a Crown Corporation, a first for a West Coast corporation, and
a great tribute to Michele's vision.
Backed by the government of Canada, Michele is leading her team
to execute and deliver on an ambitious five-year strategy to help
ensure that Canada's visitor economy is the greatest beneficiary of
the 2010 Winter Games.

Michele is Ontario born, grew up in Nova Scotia, and is a graduate
of Dalhousie University. Michele served as deputy minister for Nova
Scotia Tourism, Culture and Heritage and has been an active
director on several boards over the course of her career.

WORDS FOR THE FUTURE
What will tourism marketing look like in the future?

It is easy enough to envision where tourism will go in the future:
travel will continue to be the world's fastest-growing industry; all
destinations will have the opportunity to share in this growth, but
new, exotic destinations will steal share from established destina-
tions; air access will be intricately linked to destination growth, thus
destinations with the most competitive air (and other government
policies favorable to tourism) will win. Destinations will continue to
adapt to security measures (and security decisions will begin to
reflect tourism impacts), and sustainable practices will be expected.
However, envisioning what tourism marketing will look like in the
future is another story altogether. Winning destinations will be
those that build strong, sustainable brands and those that
recognize that our customers are now fully in control. We must
respect this new relationship with the customer, engage in
meaningful two-way dialogue, and leverage the information
explosion. And perhaps most important, we need to be nimble. We
need to be skeptical of those who say they know what tourism
marketing will look like in the future—no one really knows.

MICHELE MCKENZIE
President and CEO,
Canadian Tourism
Commission,
Vancouver, B.C.

M ichele McKenzie is the president and CEO of Canada's

national tourism marketing organization, the Canadian
Tourism Commission (CTC). The CTC markets and promotes
Canada's extraordinary travel experiences internationally to
increase export revenues in Canada.

Together, we will invent the future of tourism marketing.

Product Planning and Development

The objective of most firms is to develop a pro table and continuing business. To achieve this
objective, companies must provide products and services that satisfy consumer needs, thereby
assuring themselves of repeat business. is an essential component in developing a

pro table, continuing business and has frequently been referred to as the five rights

Product planning

planning to have
the right product, at the right place, at the right time, at the right price, in the right quantities.

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