Hospitality Newfoundland & Labrador's LOOKOUT! Tourism Summit 2008

In mid-February I had the pleasure of traveling to Gander, NL for Hospitality Newfoundland & Labrador's (HNL) annual LOOKOUT! Tourism Summit. While my counterpart, Craig Foley, was busy ensuring the the technology side of the conference was working flawlessly, I was manning our TourismTechnology.com booth. I was referred to as the "Craig Foley of Nova Scotia" on a number of occassions and spoke with many conference attendees as well as suppliers taking part in the tradeshow portion of the conference. Many of the operators I spoke with asked the same questions that I get here in Nova Scotia:

- Do I need a website?
- How important/expensive is online booking on a website?
- Should I be able to update my website myself and how can I do it?
- Should I have a blog?
- How do I make my site appear higher in the search results?

I talked about what the mentoring sessions cover and showed operators the manual that they will receive and the PowerPoint Presentation that summarizes the manual. I also provided them with Craig's contact information so that they could speak to him further about the project and to set up mentoring sessions.

The technology session held during the conference featured an introduction to TourismTechnology.com by Craig, the experiences of an operator that had recently added the ability to book online to his tourism business website, and a representative from the Adventure Tourism Association who spoke highly of an online booking engine designed specifically for tour operator websites. It was a very informative session which showed how these additions to websites have been creating more business opportunities for operators in the province.

The hospitality in Gander was amazing and I look forward to returning again someday... preferably when there is not 5 feet of snow on the ground!

A Brrrrrrfect day for a Mentoring Session

January 21st was one of the coldest days we’ve had so far this winter but I received one of the warmest mentoring sessions to date. In partnership with the Centre for Women in Business, a mentoring session workshop was held at the Job Search Centre in scenic Sheet Harbour on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia.

Two tourism operators from the nearby communities of Tangier and Beaver Harbour participated in the session. One participant has had a website for approximately 10 years while the other has had a blog for the past couple of years and is now looking to have a website created. We talked a lot about what the Eastern Shore region has to offer and how their websites can better promote this in a way that it informs tourists of the region and why tourists should travel there. Together we discussed the one business website and offered suggestions and feedback. Yet another learning experience for me as well as for the participants… and more ideas for day trips next summer!

The Eastern Shore region offers many scenic views along the drive. Sea smoke was rising from the ocean in the -20C (not including the wind chill) temperatures. One spot on the drive that morning I saw ice turned upwards around rocks in shallow water that resembled candles that had melted down the centre and the sides were curling under and turning out. Wouldn’t you know it – because of the low temperature that morning I had decided to leave my digital camera home!

For more information on the Eastern Shore region please visit the Antigonish Eastern Shore Tourism Association (AESTA) website.

Adding a little technology to the Cape Breton hospitality

What better a way to start into the New Year than to jump into mentoring sessions! I started out in St. Peter's on the Fleur-de-lis Trail on Monday morning, then moved on to Nyanza in the afternoon, followed by Baddeck that evening. Tuesday had me in Beinn Bhreagh - across the bay from Baddeck, and out to Big Bras d'Or for another evening session. Wednesday had me starting in Baddeck in the morning and then out to Indian Brook, which is just a few minutes beyond the Englishtown ferry on the Cabot Trail, in the afternoon. I was so happy that the weather was cooperative - unfortunately with the mild weather comes fog. I was looking forward to capturing some of the amazing views along my travels but they were all shrouded in the thick fog.

The sessions covered a lot of the materials that have been the focus of the project - return on investment - having that online availability and booking and/or shopping cart capability on your website; the elements of a good website; search engine marketing and search engine optimization - what you can do to help make it easier for your website to be found in online searches.

A number of operators that I met with are in the process of having a new website created or are in the process of having one started. Layout, pictures, writing on the website, linking, menu items, etc. were all big topics. I was happy to hear that all of the operators sees the importance, not only in having a great website, but in having the ability to make changes and add content to the website through the use of a content management system. I remind operators that their website is an extension of their business and to be able to make changes to their website when they want is something that they should have the ability to do.

A website is never finished. Never. It is something that you tweak, update, clean up, edit, etc throughout its life. Your business doesn't remain the same and nor should your website. Adding new pictures, updating your information, starting a blog, etc. not only keep your website current, but will also help you in online searches.

Getting out and meeting with operators one-on-one and learning about each of their businesses and helping them with their websites is both a rewarding and a learning experience for me. No two businesses are alike and neither are the websites. Going over the sites together and discussing additions and changes - what works and what doesn't - and talking about packaging ideas, links to attractions in the area that may be of interest to tourists, etc. make each session as unique as each business.

The hospitality and the cups of tea were an added bonus!