Sharing the Manitoba Story: E-doc to accompany the keynote presentation

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Sharing Manitoba’s Story ... Building the Visitor Experience Manitoba Tourism Conference 11 April 2011

description

A multi-media handout prepared by Nancy Arsenault and Todd Lucier of the Tourism Cafe to accompany the keynote address at the Travel Manitoba conference titled: Sharing the Manitoba Story ... Building the Visitor Experience. Thanks to the innovative spirit of Wayne Copet, Laurenda Madill and Karla Pratt of the Industry Development team, after weaving their conference together, they wanted a 'take away' that was more than a piece of paper. Look inside and hear the story of 4 presenters by clicking on the links - or be cool and use the QR codes! Here from travel media writer Shel Zolkewich, Tyler Schroeder from the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, Louise Stitt from the Meandher Pumpkin Patch and Marie-France Doucet from Le Pays de la Sagouine how they use storytelling to build tourism!

Transcript of Sharing the Manitoba Story: E-doc to accompany the keynote presentation

Page 1: Sharing the Manitoba Story: E-doc to accompany the keynote presentation

Sharing Manitoba’s Story ... Building the Visitor Experience

Manitoba Tourism Conference11 April 2011

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Shel ZolkewichTravel Writer

http://tcafe.ca/travel-mb-media-story

http://shelzolkewich.com/

Listen to her media story.

Why are stories so powerful?

First of all, everyone can relate to a good story. Storytelling is one of the first ways we communicate with others as a child. All stories:

• Make a point,• Have characters,• Bring broader understanding and relevance

to situations,• Can be told in ways that bring you into the

story,• Connect people and places, past and

present, and they evolve with time, • Reveal the emotional side of the person

telling the story, and• When meaningful, they are memorable!

You donʼt have to be a genius to create and tell a great story; all you need is passion, confidence, and an audience.

Social media thrives on stories!

Everyone has a story to tell!When people are excited, engaged, challenged, or surprised, stories emerge and the desire to share them is a natural human impulse. Whether you create the story, or it is a tale passed on through time, stories are captivating and your story is unique!

by Dr. Nancy Arsenault & Todd Lucier

The more authentic the voice, the more credible the message. Sharing stories helps us:

• Connect with the emotional side of people vs. the rational side. Itʼs more engaging than traditional marketing!

• Develop relationships with people and communities of common interest.• Share with friends, families and fans on Facebook, Trip Advisor, Twitter,

YouTube, Blogs … and the list goes on!

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What’s your tourism story?

Connecting people and places.Stories can be used as a foundation for theming tourism product development, then evolving the story so that it has relevance to different niche markets. Whether you are in a rural community or the heart of an urban centre, every business, destination, and region has a story to tell.

Folk tales, historical stories, personal narratives, tragedies, comedies, and journeys are just a few types of stories that all destinations have which can be brought to life and crafted into a meaningful, memorable visitor experience.

Stories can differentiate or connect you to similar businesses. For example cool fossils in the groundʼ could draw a visitor to the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden Manitoba where guests can unearth marine monsters. They can also link you to similar places such as the Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller Alberta, where there are dinosaurs!

If fossils, paleontology, and a chance to get your fingers in the dirt and dig for treasures is your thing, you can do both!

From the Gold Rush in the Yukon to the Celtic Tales of Cape Breton Island, destinations that identify and build on their unique stories have endless potential for staging and delivering meaning to travelers with different interests.

A great story sparks the imagination, taps your curiosity, and takes you to exciting and thought provoking places.

Do you want to create a compelling reason to visit your destination? Create lasting memories for your visitors? Share an aspect of your community, culture, or heritage that is unique, authentic, and yours? If so, stories are part of the solution.

Elements of a great story:

• Emotion• Intrigue• Surprise• Engagement• A theme and a great plot• A setting• Characters - from angels to villains• Conflict• A great storyteller!

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Tyler SchroederGeneral Manager

Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre

http://tcafe.ca/travel-mb-market

http://www.discoverfossils.com/

Listen to his market development story.

When stories connect ...

You establish a shared history. Your business becomes part of their stories, they become part of yours. The family from MacGregor who discovered “Angus” is living proof, as you will hear from Tyler.

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Marie-France Doucet

General Manager

Le Pays de la Sagouine

http://tcafe.ca/travel-mb-product

http://sagouine.com/

Listen to her product development story.

Stories can transform a community.

Stories connect with the community and they evolve.In the small village of Bouctouche, New Brunswick, where the population is just over 2300, one story has made a big difference!

The character is Antonine Maillet, a renown novelist and playwright, who is at the heart of attracting 68,000 visitors annually to Le Pays de la Sagouine to enjoy the next chapter of her story.

As General Manager, Marie-France Doucet will tell you, gaining the trust of the community to share their stories was a challenge at first. However, through building trust, respect, and involving the local community, their theatre and its productions have become a source of community pride. So much so that the actors are referred to by their character name, when encountered on the streets by jubilant fans approaching them on the street!

Storytelling is a way to pass down customs, cultures, and history.

Building stories into travel themes requires thinking from the visitorʼs lens.

• Which stories will fit with the audience?

• How can I connect more people with a story?

• Do visitors want to hear the same story twice?

Embedded in a good story is a plot that can lend itself to certain props, local characters, and taking travellers to places that may be off the beaten track. Add to this an element of surprise, exploration, cultural or nature-based immersion and you have all the elements of a memorable travel experience.

If you think in chapters you are already thinking ahead about the next part of the story, another reason to visit!

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Storytelling is a way to pass down customs, cultures, and history.The stories of the people in your community are unique an interesting to travellers. When creating visitor experiences with the intent of connecting travellers to people in your community, you create a value proposition that is much stronger than merely selling tickets to a museum, theatre or festival.

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Listen carefully to your guests, the stories they tell on site, the pictures they post to the internet and things they write about. They all provide clues to discovering what is important to your guests for product, market, and business development.

Louise Stitt and her partners began gathering stories in 2006, before they opened their business in 2007.

First they toured similar sites to listen and learn from other farmers and agri-tourism operators. This provided excellent intelligence and resulted in a quality network of like-minded businesses who remain colleagues today.

Now enjoying more than 10,000 visitors annually, Meandher Pumpkin Patch knows that storytelling has been a valuable research tool to enrich the visitor experience, improve site operations, and develop niche markets.

Listen to her story!

Sharing the Manitoba story … Building the visitor experience.

Storytelling is a powerful communication tool.

What’s your story?

How will you bring it to life?

Harvesting stories to grow your business.

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Louise Stitt

Partner

Meandher Pumpkin

Patch

http://tcafe.ca/travel-mb-research

http://www.pumpkinfun.ca/

Listen to her research story.

The 2011 Manitoba Tourism Conference has themed stories throughout the event to demonstrate the relevance to a wide range of tourism businesses.

Using stories to design new tourism experiences, establish new markets, and connect with travellers is a new way of thinking about products and market development. It also represents a unique business opportunity.

People trust local area storytellers. They are authentic, honest, engaging, entertaining, and awe-inspiring.

At the business-to-business level, taking time to share your story with other businesses is a valuable way to learn, grow and avoid making mistakes!

Manitoba has a rich array of stories, based on diverse cultures, and breath-taking landscapes.

Why leave it to chance or make the visitor struggle to get the story.

Take action and begin identifying those unique to your community and the people who have a way with words! Develop them, deliver them and donʼt forget the media!

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