Destination BC Restarts International Marketing with $6.7M Global Campaign

Tuesday, Mar 29, 2022 0

As travel resumes around the world, Destination British Columbia is competitively vying for international visitors with its launch of The British Columbia Effect – Find Yourself: an extensive CA$6.7M marketing campaign designed to drive emotional urgency and encourage travel to BC in 2022 and into 2023 from key markets, including the UK.

The campaign leverages the global brand platform, The BC Effect, which aims to inspire travellers to tap into something bigger, awaken a deeper connection, gain a different perspective, and find themselves – in every sense of the term – all within British Columbia. With travellers seeking wide-open spaces, nature, wildlife and authentic experiences now more than ever, Canada’s westernmost province is well-positioned to meet and surpass their expectations.

The campaign is driven by content that immerses consumers in the transformative powers of British Columbia’s nature while leveraging BC travel motivators such as rainforests, mountains, the ocean, wildlife, cities in proximity to nature, Indigenous experiences and sustainability.

Trade-facing tour operators taking part include Audley Travel, First Class Holidays, My Canada Trips and North America Travel Service. Dedicated e-shots and trade events are among the planned support on offer to help travel agents capitalise on increased awareness of the province generated by TV, video, newsprint, magazine and digital ads. For additional British Columbia resources agents can also sign up to the BC Content Hub which includes images, videos, b-roll, travel stories, maps and more.

Hiking in Mount Robson Provincial Park cr Megan McLellan. High-res version downloadable here

Lisa Cooper, Destination BC’s UK Travel Trade Director, said: “The British Columbia Effect – Find Yourself campaign will share the authentic values and transformative powers of BC’s nature with potential visitors, creating an emotional connection with the province. We are looking forward to working with our tour operator and travel agent partners to turn that into memorable, meaningful holiday experiences.”

International travellers are essential for the full recovery of British Columbia’s tourism industry, as they spend more time and money in the province compared to domestic travellers. Pre-COVID, international travellers represented approximately 25% of visitor volume to BC, but approximately 50% of visitor expenditures. The Government of BC also recently announced an additional $6 million of funding for Destination BC to help support international marketing efforts through to 2024.

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