Creating a Training Platform to Support Tourism SMEs Access Global Markets
Atlantic Canada Agreement on Tourism
Destination: Canada
Engagement: 2016 – 2018
In 2016, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) in partnership with the four Atlantic Canada provincial tourism management organizations formed a steering committee to assess solutions to increase the number of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) tourism operators offering market-ready products and experiences. The overarching goal was to increase higher-value visitation from across Canada, the US, and key overseas markets including China, Japan, France, Germany, and the UK.
The travel trade was identified as an essential channel to accelerate exporting tourism products and experiences and connecting them with experiential travellers. Twenty31 was retained to facilitate the design, development, and launch of a travel trade readiness training program and toolkit for tourism SMEs.
Co-creation workshops
We facilitated four workshops with the steering committee to co-create content for the training program and toolkit. This included multiple feedback phases and a series of co-creation sessions.
Market and stakeholder needs assessment
We conducted a survey of 1,000+ tourism SMEs in Atlantic Canada and interviewed destination management organizations (DMOs) and major tour operators in Canada, the US, Japan, China, France, Germany, and the UK, to identify and prioritize needs related to travel trade engagement. We also assessed travel trade readiness training programs around the world and mapped best-practices.
The Atlantic Canada Travel Trade Readiness Training Program and Toolkit was launched in 2018; the four Atlantic Canada provincial tourism organizations cascaded it to their respective tourism industry associations and DMO partners. The program and toolkit were well received by the small and medium-sized SMEs, with over 5,000 having downloaded the toolkit and participating follow-on training workshops. These resources have helped boost investment in market-ready products and experiences and accelerated the number of SMEs now able to engage with experiential travellers in key markets, thereby driving increased higher-value visitation to Atlantic Canada.
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Creating a Training Platform to Support Tourism SMEs Access Global Markets
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