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Tourism Yukon Newsletter - February 2017

In this newsletter...

  • A Message from Minister Dendy's
  • Canada's 150th and Alaska Highway 75th
  • Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund
  • Tell us what workshops you deliver
  • Tourism Yukon's Marketing team
  • Product updates - what new with you?
  • Share your content 
  • Tourism Yukon's Resource Coordinator
  • Yukon Tourism Visitation Reports
  • Community surveys wrap up
  • Destination Canada industry tools and resources
  • YWPOS interpretive training course
  • Parks Canada free admission in 2017
  • Yukon Labor Market Information for employers and those seeking employment.
     

A Message from Minister Dendys

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As Minister of Tourism and Culture, I am very pleased to be a part of these rich and dynamic sectors. 

Like all of you, I have keen interest in tourism and culture as sustainable economic drivers in Yukon and I am committed to seeing these sectors reach their full potential.

With the incredible cultural and scenic experiences we have to offer, the renowned warm welcome from friendly Yukoners, and the enthusiastic commitment and professionalism of all of you in the industry, I am optimistic that we will make this happen.

I look forward to working with all of you, as partners in tourism and culture, to build on the sector’s current success.  

Jeanie Dendys
Minister of Tourism and Culture

Let's celebrate in 2017!

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Canada's 150th Birthday 
Alaska Highway's 75th Anniversary

We are pleased to announce that the Department of Tourism and Culture will be launching two new pages within the next two weeks, on the Tourism Yukon website that will provide visitors and Yukoners with a calendar of all Yukon-based Canada 150 events as well as events associated with the 75th anniversary of the Alaska Highway.

www.travelyukon.com/Canada150 
www.travelyukon.com/AlaskaHighway75 

Tourism Cooperative Marketing Fund (TCMF)

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   All final reports for TCMF are due by March 31, 2017. Please submit your reports to Cindy Billingham in a timely manner, as there is a substantial wait list. Your final reports must be submitted prior to approval of any funding for the next fiscal year.
We will accept applications for the 2017/18 fiscal year starting April 1, 2017.

Questions? Contact Cindy Billingham, TCMF Administrator, Tourism Yukon
867 393-7133.  Email: cindy.billingham@gov.yk.ca

Tell us about the tourism workshops you deliver

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From time to time Tourism Yukon is asked to facilitate tourism development and/or marketing workshops for Yukon's tourism sector. 
The business of tourism is ever changing and evolving with new marketing tools, trends and best practices for running your businesses.  

If you are a trainer or educator, please tell us about the workshops you deliver and your area of expertise. 

Send your one or two page outline with a brief explanation of the workshop(s) you have ready to deliver.

Send to Shannon McNevin, Product Development Officer, at shannon.mcnevin@gov.yk.ca 

Tourism Yukon’s marketing team – marketing Yukon.

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Tourism Yukon in the field

As the 2017 promotional season begins, Tourism Yukon marketing staff will be taking the ‘show on the road’. Here is our winter/spring trade show schedule:

  • January 29 - Feb 10:  Corroboree - Australia
  • March 8 - 12:  ITB: Berlin
  • April 3 - 5:  Canada Media Marketplace – New York
  • May 9 - 12:  Rendezvous Canada - Calgary
  • June 19 - 23:  Travel Media Marketplace - Quebec

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Staff Updates

This fall, Jessica Ruffen was the successful candidate for the position of Market Manager - Europe. As the previous market manager for Tourism Yukon‘s Asia-Pacific region, we know she will bring the same dedicated approach to the European market.
Glückwunsch Jessica!

Yas Yamamoto will be joining us on Februray 1 as our new Market Manager  Asia-Pacific. Yas brings a tremendous amount of destination marketing and tour operator experience to the position.  He has worked at a number of DMOs including Tourism Vancouver and Tourism Richmond. We are excited to have Yas join our team and he looks forward to meeting you.
Welcome Yas!

Lastly, Sheena Greenlaw will be leaving us on Februry 1, as she has accepted the position of Marketing and Communications Coordinator with Yukon College and an exciting new position with Air North -Yukon’s Airline as their Digital Marketing Strategist.  We want to thank Sheena for everything she has done for Tourism Yukon over the past four years, and wish her well in her new endeavours.
Congratulations Sheena!

Here is our complete list of staff and their current role as of Feb. 1st, 2017: 

  • Robin Anderson, Manager, Marketing
  • Jessica Ruffen, Market Manager, Europe
  • Yas Yamamoto, Market Manager, Asia - Pacific 
  • Katia-Annik Torkia, Marketing Specialist, Consumer
  • Jim Kemshead, Marketing Specialist, Media Relations / PR
  • Stephen Reynolds, A/Marketing Specialist, Trade – Americas (Term)
  • Annie-Claude Dupuis, A/Digital Marketing Specialist (Term)
  • Michelle Weiser, Digital Content Specialist
  • Vacant – Marketing Specialist, Global Content
  • Kimberly Brown, Content Specialist (Term)
  • Jennifer Glyka, Marketing Coordinator (Term)
  • Harmony Hunter, Marketing Specialist, Channel Support (Term)

To contact any of the marketing unit staff by email, use the following format:
firstname.lastname@gov.yk.ca

Product updates - what's new with you?

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Has your business introduced a new tour, completed renovations, or have you expanded your products and services for 2017? We want to know about it! Write up a small description or send us details to ensure Tourism Yukon staff are up to date on all current tourism supplier offerings.

Please send updates to Tourism Yukon, Content Specialist  Kimberly.Brown@gov.yk.ca by Friday, March 10 to ensure we know about what's new before we head into our promotional season.

Share your content

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We want your content! Travel Yukon is always looking for fresh photos and videos to share with our more than 90,000 social media followers.
It’s easy:
1. Take beautiful photos and video showcasing Yukon or your clients enjoying your services

2. Share them with us by:
• Tagging Twitter and Instagram posts with #ExploreYukon
• Tagging Facebook posts with @Travel Yukon
• Email content to web@travelyukon.com

Any content we use will always be credited to you or your business.

Tourism Yukon's Resource Coordinator

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As the Resource Coordinator for Tourism Yukon I manage tourism-related planning, environmental assessment and regulatory reviews for our branch. Through a tourism lens, I review projects that go through the YESAA and land application processes for potential conflicts with the tourism sector, particularly the wilderness tourism industry. 

To do this however, I need to know where you are operating and what types of activities are involved. With this information I can better advise Yukon’s assessment and planning committees of potential conflicts or concerns that may affect the development, growth, or sustainability of your tourism business. 

I also provide advice to tourism stakeholders and operators who may have concerns about potential developments happening in their area and let them know how they can participate in the reviews.

Did you know…


If you have a concern about a potential development or land application that affects the tourism sector, please contact me to find out how you can have your say during the process.
Denise Bicknell McCann, Tourism Resource Coordinator. Call 867 667-5433 or email denise.mccann@gov.yk.ca  

Yukon Tourism Visitation Reports for January to August now available online

Yukon Tourism Visitation Reports for the months of January to August 2016 are now available on our website. The indicators presented in these reports help to assess the performance of the Yukon tourism sector overall.

Total border crossings numbers, January to August 2016 are up two percent over the same period last year. This healthy growth shows that Yukon continues to be a destination of choice for travellers. Border crossings from domestic travellers (excluding Yukoners) continue to show strong growth, up 11 percent year-to-date over the same period last year.

The full reports are now available online. 

Pilot community visitor surveys wrap up in Carcross and Dawson

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Throughout the summer Tourism Yukon piloted community visitor surveys in Dawson and Carcross. These two communities have unique visitor populations, good infrastructure, active local associations, and are strategically invested in tourism – which made them ideal locations to pilot this project.

Over the winter we will analyze the results and report what we learned about travellers and how they spent their time in these two communities. Stay tuned for more details!

Destination Canada - tourism industry tools and resources

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Free tools for industry

Destination Canada has developed a series of tools for Canadian tourism businesses to help you in your efforts to attract travellers and help you to align with Canada's strong tourism brand. These easy-to-follow guides demonstrate tangible ways that you can enhance your product development, marketing and sales initiatives to resonate more fully with your customers. 

Buiding Capacity For International Media Relations: A Toolkit for Canada's Tourism Industry
Telling your tourism business story and sharing your visitor experiences with international media can be challenging, but rewarding. Destination Canada has produced a media toolkit to help you work more effectively with international media by promoting your destination, product, or experience through a variety of media channels and markets. 

Destination Canada Videos on Youtube.
Looking to increase your marketing knowledge? DC has created a series of videos on Youtube covering a wide range of topics to help you maximize your marketing and development opportunities. Hear from others how to prepare for trade events and media marketing tips.

Destination Canada Brand Standards Guide
Tourism partners big and small can adopt the essence of Canada's tourism brand to drive business—updating old perceptions about Canada and promoting tourism products as distinct tourism experiences. Learn more about the voice, values and mission of DC's brand, how they communicate these through their new, branded materials, and how you can adopt the essence of Canada's tourism brand, too.

Interpretive training at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve

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Join Jake Paleczny, Director of Programming and Education at the YWPOS and Certified Interpretive Trainer with the National Association of Interpretation. Whether you're a new hire, a professional looking to refresh your skills, or beginning a second career, this four day course (32 hours) will aid you in your presentation techniques. Participants will learn practical strategies for delivering quality interpretation to visitors. 

Dates: March 6 to 9, 2017
Location: Yukon Wildlife Preserve (Learning Centre)
Cost: $230 USD/Person (add $150 USD for certification)

Registration deadline February 19. Space is limited to 15 participants.
If you have any questions or want to register please contact Jake at 867-456-7400.

Parks Canada places in Yukon offering free admission in 2017

Throughout 2017, Parks Canada is inviting Canadians and visitors from around the world to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday at our national parks, national historic sites and marine conservation areas. To mark this special year, they're offering free admission to all Parks Canada sites, and want you and your clients to join them for the celebration.

Admission will be free in 2017. Fees for services and goods such as camping and firewood, special interpretation programs, reservation fees and overnight backcountry use will remain the same. Be sure to review the full list of Parks Canada places before you visit to avoid any confusion.

Parks Canada places in Yukon accepting the Discovery Pass:

  • Yukon National Parks - Ivvavik, Kluane, Vuntut
  • Yukon National Historic Sites - Dawson Historical Complex, Dredge No. 4, SS Keno, SS Klondike 

Order your free 2017 Discovery Pass online. There is no deadline to order passes.
If you're part of the travel trade, further details for booking your FIT and group clients can be found online. 

Yukon Labor Market Information

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Attention tourism employers and those seeking employment in the tourism sector! 

Yukon Labor Marketing Information
The Yukon's LMI webportal is designed to increase access to labor market information for employers, job seekers, economists and researchers.

  • Employers - find out about grants and programs, where to post jobs and get help finding the right people. 
  • Job Seekers - find out what jobs are available, where to access training, explore careers and industries, etc.
  • Resarchers - find out the latest business trends, the people and economy of Yukon, socio-economic information, etc  

Yukon WorkFutures 
YWF is an in-depth guide to career opportunities in the Yukon. The 100 career profiles help you understand what the jobs are like, what skills are needed, what the average salary/pay is, what it takes to get there. Yukon WorkFutures will help you make an informed decision for your next job or career. 

TRAVELYUKON.COM

Department of Tourism and Culture, Yukon Government, P.O. Box 2703, Whitehorse, YT, Y1A 2C6