(Originally published in TOURISM)
In many regions of the country, it has often been hunting and fishing activities that gave tourism entrepreneurs their first taste of an economic sector that excels at creating jobs in remote locations. The rewards can be great, but owning a fishing lodge can wear out your back after a while; as many long‑established lodge owners put their business’ succession plan into place, a new generation of younger, savvy operators with a fresh outlook on marketing are picking up the ball.
That is what Travel Manitoba’s product and market development manager for outdoors, Don Lamont, is finding. For instance, if fishing lodge operators used to be reluctant to offer commissionable products to the travel trade, this is no longer the case: “I have been in the industry for 25 year, and in my experience, it tended to be that way. But I think we are getting younger operators in the business now who are trying to find more ways to make ends meet. Among other marketing tactics, they will initiate intensive direct mail campaigns and they will offer commissions. We recently convinced 18 Manitoba lodges to offer commissionable products for German writers and tour operators to sample in September.” He adds: “We have at least one lodge operator, who has a solid background in marketing, coming to Rendez‑vous Canada this year.”
Lamont believes these operators increasingly understand how providing commissionable products can be a valuable solution to attracting new clientele. As an example, in the European market, consumers know that going through an operator is the best way to ensure their holiday investment is protected because of the provisions in the legal system there: “The tour operator has to make good on the trip or he is liable. Germans consumers know that, which is why they book through tour operators.”
This route may bring some market‑readiness challenges at first, but this new breed of lodge operators knows it is the only way to remain competitive in an industry that is also evolving. “Lets face it, the traditional customer base is getting older,” notes Lamont. “Some may be retiring, and some may even be dying. Lodge operators must access younger demographics, and that takes more aggressive efforts. At the recent All‑Canada show in Chicago, we had 20 Manitoba lodge operators, and I noticed their average age had come down considerably. Most of them also understand that outdoor sports shows are not the end‑all and be‑all anymore.”
According to Lamont, this new generation of lodge operators is venturing into specialty markets like US long haul as a way to recruit new clients: “They may go to a high end boat show, for example, to try to attract more of a corporate clientele.”
They are hungry for success and they know the value of the tourism industry and its resources at their disposal.
In many regions of the country, it has often been hunting and fishing activities that gave tourism entrepreneurs their first taste of an economic sector that excels at creating jobs in remote locations. The rewards can be great, but owning a fishing lodge can wear out your back after a while; as many long‑established lodge owners put their business’ succession plan into place, a new generation of younger, savvy operators with a fresh outlook on marketing are picking up the ball.
That is what Travel Manitoba’s product and market development manager for outdoors, Don Lamont, is finding. For instance, if fishing lodge operators used to be reluctant to offer commissionable products to the travel trade, this is no longer the case: “I have been in the industry for 25 year, and in my experience, it tended to be that way. But I think we are getting younger operators in the business now who are trying to find more ways to make ends meet. Among other marketing tactics, they will initiate intensive direct mail campaigns and they will offer commissions. We recently convinced 18 Manitoba lodges to offer commissionable products for German writers and tour operators to sample in September.” He adds: “We have at least one lodge operator, who has a solid background in marketing, coming to Rendez‑vous Canada this year.”
Lamont believes these operators increasingly understand how providing commissionable products can be a valuable solution to attracting new clientele. As an example, in the European market, consumers know that going through an operator is the best way to ensure their holiday investment is protected because of the provisions in the legal system there: “The tour operator has to make good on the trip or he is liable. Germans consumers know that, which is why they book through tour operators.”
This route may bring some market‑readiness challenges at first, but this new breed of lodge operators knows it is the only way to remain competitive in an industry that is also evolving. “Lets face it, the traditional customer base is getting older,” notes Lamont. “Some may be retiring, and some may even be dying. Lodge operators must access younger demographics, and that takes more aggressive efforts. At the recent All‑Canada show in Chicago, we had 20 Manitoba lodge operators, and I noticed their average age had come down considerably. Most of them also understand that outdoor sports shows are not the end‑all and be‑all anymore.”
According to Lamont, this new generation of lodge operators is venturing into specialty markets like US long haul as a way to recruit new clients: “They may go to a high end boat show, for example, to try to attract more of a corporate clientele.”
They are hungry for success and they know the value of the tourism industry and its resources at their disposal.
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