Tourism operators off the mark: Lakehead prof.

Tourism operators in Thunder Bay think they know their visitors' motivations quite well, but a study indicates some in the industry may be ignoring their travellers' wants.

Solitude, the potential for spiritual growth and physical outdoor challenges are key attractions in luring out-of-town visitors to Thunder Bay.

"Visitors do want to develop (their vacations around these activities, yet) industry does not," says Dr. Mike Yuan, School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism at Lake-head University.

He was speaking at the second Northwestern Ontario Tourism Development Conference in Thunder Bay. He and university student Gwyneth Carlson authored a four-month study analyzing the vacation and travel patterns of 1,500 out-of-town visitors to the northwest. Cross-border visitors and tourism information centres were targeted for the survey. As well, 150 industry responses were compiled in a report titled 2006 Northwestern Ontario Tourism Industry Survey. The studies were compared to determine whether industry truly has their finger on the customer's pulse, and if they have developed effective marketing and advertising tools to attract prospective visitors.

However, some resource-based tourism operators are taking issue with the comparison, saying the two are like "apples and oranges."

"They came up with these numbers that basically tell us we don't understand our market," Brad Greaves, owner, Ignace Outposts Ltd. says.

"I understand my niche of the market quite well."

Visitors coming to the northwest are looking to be stimulated, spiritually, emotionally and physically, either in First Nations culture, by developing new skills or taking part in outdoor water sports (canoeing, kayaking, swimming, and fishing), Yuan says. They are not looking to meet new people, as the industry survey results indicate the operators seem to think.

Water sports ranked quite high in visitor attractions (66 per cent), as did shopping (63 per cent). Visitors entering the northwest are mostly between the ages of 55 and 74, and have more education than the industry believes, Yuan says.

Twenty-nine per cent are retired, 45 per cent work full-time and some 10 per cent are self-employed.

Those with a household income of $60,000 to $80,000 represent 16 per cent and 19 per cent of the Canadian and American travellers respectively. But industry respondents think there is more income from this bracket than what actually exists, according to Yuan.

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Household incomes ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 represent a larger portion of the tourism sector, with 33 per cent of American dollars and 31 per cent of Canadian cash flowing into the northwest coming from that demographic.

Business operators surveyed believe only 23 per cent of their business stems from this income bracket.

An estimated 64 per cent of travellers from the United States, 20 per cent from Ontario, five per cent from Manitoba and 12 per cent from the rest of Canada schedule vacation times to Thunder Bay with only two weeks notice.

The discrepancies between what industry perceives and what visitors want may be evident to some, but for fishing and hunting lodge owners, who make up 88 per cent of the 150 respondents participating in the industry survey, the two reports are like trying to compare "apples to oranges," Greaves says.

"I take real offense to this. I have been in the business for over 20 years and I do have a university degree in marketing, so I do have an understanding of how this process works."

The studies were under the assumption that tourism in northwestern Ontario is a homogeneous map and it is not, Greaves says.

"(Yuan) is taking guys like myself, who have an average group expenditure of $7,000, and trying to compare that to the guy who drives down the road with his camper trailer or blows right through town with his Newfoundland plates looking for work in Alberta. When he stops to go to the bathroom, he fills out a survey."

According to visitor survey results, the average total group expenditure is $424 per trip.

The statistics then appear somewhat skewed because they say industry does not know its market, Greaves says.

"I beg to differ greatly."

For the other tourism operators that can benefit from the visitor's survey, the information provides a base from which to grow. Knowledge gaps can be windows of opportunity for Thunder Bay, he says, provided the right marketing and advertising tools are put in place.

Lorraine Cull, co-owner of the Painted Turtle Art Shop, says much of what she heard at the conference rang true for her business. The percentages presented in the visitor's survey on customer age, income and even education reflect the people who come through her doors.

For the other business owners who have been awakened by the new information, it can be used to develop a proactive approach in attracting new visitors, Yuan says. Much of the marketing strategies in the past came from anecdotal information or gut reactions.

So, the question remains how long will industry continue going on instinct, he asks.

"You can only roll the dice so many times before you crap out."

www.lakeheadu.ca

www.paintedturtleart.com

www.ignaceoutposts.com

By KELLY LOUISEIZE

Northern Ontario Business