Business Events Update - March 2024
Promoting Business Events and Incentive Travel
Banff & Lake Louise Tourism (BLLT) participated in Northstar’s Successful Meetings University in New York, engaging with corporate, association, and third-party clients who organize international gatherings. Conducting 27 one-on-one meetings, we identified and qualified prospective clients for future business development trips and we are actively pursuing three leads from this event.
BLLT also attended In Voyage in Girona, Spain, to engage with leading event professionals and destination specialists. During the program, we met individually with 24 planners from the US, UK, Europe, and Mexico.Nearly every planner we met with had previously hosted a program in our destination or was already familiar with and interested in booking! In a survey, nearly all planners rated their likelihood to place or recommend a program in Banff and Lake Louise as 5/5. All planners expressed positive feedback on our new Community Impact Program (CIP) andindicated they would incorporate it into future programs. We received a perfect 5/5 rating as an incentive destination, with nature, hospitality, adventure, and location cited as key influencing factors.
Member Support Yields Positive Feedback
In February, BLLT introduced a destination-themed booth opportunity at CSAE Tete-a-tete, targeting Canadian Association planners. Members' feedback was overwhelmingly positive, rating 4/5 for attendee engagement, planner quality, and lead generation satisfaction. All members highlighted the CIP during discussions, enhancing interactions and adding value for planners.
In March, we successfully hosted and facilitated numerous site visits for clients from Canada and the USA who have now shortlisted us as one of their preferred choices.
Calgary Corridor Strategy Continuing to Drive Growth
BLLT held a one-hour virtual presentation for Maritz, a leading Incentive Travel Company, in Banff and Lake Louise and Calgary. This was possible due to our approved DMO partnership agreement with Maritz and is part of our Calgary Corridor Strategy. With nearly 100 associates participating, we outperformed their benchmark of 40-60. We have received 20 RFPs from Maritz in the last 180 days. They remain a key third party to secure opportunities for our members.
As part of our Corridor Strategy, we secured a new in-market representative for the West Coast USA market as a shared resource with Tourism Calgary. Karen Carini has more than 25 years of experience in sales and marketing for international destinations in the US meeting, convention, and incentive industry, and has successfully represented Canadian hotels and destinations for the past 10 years.
Coming Up for the Business Events Team
1. SITE ISA – July 15 – 18, 2024
2. CMEE – August 12-14, 2024
3. The Meetings Show – August 18 – 20, 2024
4. IBTM Americas – August 21 – 23, 2024
5. Maritz Activate – August 26 – 28, 2024
Stay in touch with the Business Events team at meetings@banfflakelouise.com