Events: Drive visitation and support brand image

Posted on April 23, 2014

Communities and resorts, particularly those that have high and low seasons, are often looking for a strategy to drive occupancy and create an exciting attractive atmosphere for visitors. Festivals and events have the power to both attract crowds and build brand image for a destination. One great example of a community that uses festivals and […]

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CWSAA presentation synopsis:

Posted on May 31, 2013

The presentation focused on research into the dynamics of snow school products and business volumes at Whistler Blackcomb.  The research included key informant interviews with Sales, Marketing, and Management personnel at the resort to determine the factors that influence demand for snow school lessons. The following factors were mentioned during interviews with key informants: Price […]

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Community Champions, Collaborations, and Leveraging Partnerships

Posted on November 26, 2012

I attended the Hospitality and Tourism Leadership Conference hosted at Royal Roads University and organized by Hospitality Management students from Camosun College. This inaugural event brought together future sector leaders from these two fine institutions and also included visiting students from Vancouver Island University.  I was honoured to have the opportunity to make a presentation […]

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Destination Marketing, Management, and Skills Training

Posted on November 10, 2012

The British Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Tourism, and Skills Training made a couple of noteworthy announcements this week. First (and possibly the most interesting and potentially controversial), is the re-branding and re-launch of Tourism BC as ‘Destination BC’  with a primary focus on destination marketing. Significantly, there was little, if any mention of ‘destination management’ […]

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Hurricane Sandy and DMO Communications Preparedness

Posted on October 30, 2012

Watching the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on the Eastern Seaboard got me to thinking about strategies for preparation and  the responses to disasters from DMO’s.  I dug up an unpublished paper that I wrote prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics on the topic of PR and disaster communications, with examples from mega-events, disasters and other […]

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Strategic sales training

Posted on October 29, 2012

Sales is one of the most important components of tourism development. Developing the skills of your front line sales team is critical to successful guest experiences. Along with the basic understanding of the procedural aspects of conducting a sales call and prospecting, we go deeper and try to understand the motivations for your customers. Research […]

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Welcome to Left Coast Insights

Posted on August 7, 2012

The Left Coast Insights team possesses extensive skills in research and advanced knowledge and experience related to tourism product development and delivery.  In addition to our principal consultants, Ray Freeman and Ryan Staley, we draw on the expertise of some of the most experienced and respected practitioners in the industry.  

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