A new tourism marketing campaign, to encourage more travellers to visit B.C. this spring and summer, is now running in key markets across North America.

Guided by our government's new provincial tourism strategy, the '100 BC Moments' campaign focuses on Ontario (Greater Toronto) and California (San Francisco and Los Angeles), and features tourism products that are B.C.'s competitive advantage and of highest interest to our target audiences: city experiences, touring, Aboriginal tourism and outdoor adventure.

The campaign uses online advertising and search-engine marketing to guide people to special offers, trip ideas and itineraries on a special campaign micro site - 100BCMoments.com - and on B.C.'s travel planning website: HelloBC.com

Social media, travel media relations and partnerships with online travel agencies like Expedia and Travelocity are also used. In addition, the campaign features 'BC's Perfect Moments', a contest that offers people a chance to win a personalized B.C. vacation worth $20,000.

To launch the campaign in San Francisco, Tourism BC placed a giant vending machine in the heart of the financial district for three days. The BC Moments Machine played videos to showcase B.C.'s diverse experiences and gave San Franciscans a chance to walk away with mementos to get them excited about travelling to British Columbia.

Rather than dispensing pop or candy, this vending machine gave out items related to B.C. experiences, such as First Nations art, mountain bikes and surfboards. Tourism BC also partnered with CBS San Francisco's 'Eye on The Bay', an Emmy award-winning magazine-style TV show, to produce three 30-minute episodes showcasing B.C. travel, food and wine.

Tourism is one of the key economic sectors identified in 'Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan'. The Province's new tourism strategy builds on the Jobs Plan, providing a framework for government and industry to work together to attract more visitors and create jobs for British Columbians. The strategy focuses on increasing the number of visitors by building on the global awareness generated by the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Quotes:

Pat Bell, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation -

"Following the release of our new Provincial Tourism Strategy last fall, our 2012 North American spring-and-summer tourism marketing campaign demonstrates a renewed focus on the markets and products where B.C. has a competitive advantage."

"Our launch event in San Francisco and partnership with CBS enabled us to target a key tourism market in a fresh and exciting way. The response so far has been tremendous, and we hope to see this translate into increased interest in B.C. as an attractive and affordable destination."

Quick Facts:

• From May 15 to 24, 2012, the campaign hash tag #100BCMoments received an estimated reach on Twitter of 103,548 impressions.
• From May 17 to19, 325 mementos were provided through the BC Moments Machine and 7,000 BC Moments postcards were handed out to the crowd of onlookers in San Francisco.
• The event was covered in approximately 40 news stories in the United States, which had a combined total of audience impressions of over 34 million.
• The event video on YouTube had received over 57,000 views as of June 4.
• In 2010, the tourism sector employed 127,000 British Columbians, generated over $13.4 billion in revenue for tourism-related businesses and contributed over $1.2 billion to provincial government revenues.
• Total tourism wages and salaries were $4.4 billion in 2010, an increase of 37 per cent since 2000.
• B.C. saw an 11.8 per cent increase in international overnight visitors in March 2012 resulting in a fourth straight month of gains.
• Over 233,000 international overnight visitors came to B.C. in March 2012 compared with just over 209,000 in March of the previous year. Overnight visitors to B.C. from the U.S. rose 8.8 per cent, with same-day U.S. visitation rising 2.1 per cent.
• BC's Perfect Moments contest runs until Oct. 31, 2012, and gives people a chance to win a customized vacation to B.C. worth $20,000. Residents of Canada and the U.S. can enter the contest at: http://bit.ly/M8IDsw

Learn More:

Tourism British Columbia, as part the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, promotes the 'Super, Natural British Columbia' brand to the world.

• To learn about B.C. trip ideas and special offers, visit: www.100BCmoments.com
• To watch the BC Moments Machine in action in San Francisco, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWbQtK4N8cM
• For more information on B.C.'s new provincial tourism strategy, visit: http://www.jti.gov.bc.ca/tourismstrategy/documents/MJTI_TourismStrategyReport_FNL.pdf
• For more information on 'Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan', visit: http://www.bcjobsplan.ca/

Contact:

Media Relations
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation
250 356-7104