• Sign In

Destination Think!

Making the world better, one destination at a time

  • Read Our Blog
    • Brand and Identity
    • Content Marketing and Campaigns
      • Best Practices and Tactics
      • Tips from Destinations
    • Destination Marketing Strategy
      • DMO Leadership
      • Research and Analysis
      • Strategic Planning
      • Technology and Innovation
    • Visitor Experience
  • Hire Us
    • Contact Us
    • Send Us Your RFP
    • View Portfolio
    • See Services
    • Meet the Team
    • Learn About Events
      • Destination Think! Forum 2016
        • Program – 2016
        • Speakers – 2016
    • Read Company Updates
You are here: Home / Brand and Identity / For Cape Breton Island, becoming a “true tourism destination” means forming strategic partnerships

For Cape Breton Island, becoming a “true tourism destination” means forming strategic partnerships

July 28, 2016 by Think! Staff Leave a Comment

Destination Cape Breton Association (DCBA) may look back on 2016 as a banner year. Visitation is increasing, new developments are in place, and the surprising “Trump Bump” campaign has drawn international (and particularly U.S.) interest to Cape Breton Island, located in Nova Scotia, Canada. Thanks to the unprecedented attention, the organization is receiving more inquiries than it can typically handle from potential visitors.

We asked CEO Mary Tulle of DCBA about the challenges and opportunities she’s seen recently, and how this agile destination marketing organization (DMO) might evolve next.

Cape Breton
Image credit: Destination Cape Breton Association

 

Destination Think!: According to recent reports and widespread media attention, Cape Breton is experiencing a strong tourism season. What do you attribute that success to and what role did DCBA play?

Mary Tulle: Destination Cape Breton has been a DMO for six years. We have spent the past six years asking one question: “Why are they coming?” Knowing “why” leads you to be able to define “who”. “Who,” for DCBA, was defined by a visitor that fits within a common geographic, demographic and psychographic. We have lived by this continuum of research that will drive product development that in turn, will drive our marketing.

That said, I believe 2016 was the year that we were completely market-ready with an experiential product offering from our industry. We knew where we were marketing, both traditional and online, and we knew we had become a very HOT destination with our new and existing world-class golf courses. And then came the very unplanned and unexpected Trump Bump on February 15. This has given Cape Breton an unprecedented amount of attention and a profile that I believe is absolutely influencing new visitation.

Given this year’s exciting successes and opportunities, how will Destination Cape Breton seek to maintain that momentum? What major challenges will the DMO need to face over the next few years to sustain healthy tourism growth for the region?

Mary Tulle, Destination Cape Breton Association
Mary Tulle – CEO, Destination Cape Breton

To maintain momentum we will need to clearly capitalize on our new web traffic and execute effective retargeting and lookalike campaigns based on our visitor type and individual interests. I believe our major challenges in the coming few years will be strained capacity and limited air access.

The sharing economy is obviously also significantly shifting the tourism landscape. For me personally, what is important is to understand the economic impact that the sharing economy generates, to help support business cases that need to be built to support future development.

As you try to overcome these challenges, do you see the role of your DMO or other DMOs changing within the travel industry over the next five to ten years?

I absolutely see our DMO changing. For me personally, I am outside the operations of DCBA more than ever before. I spend far more time today being involved with high-level strategic discussions, with hard infrastructure development for Cape Breton being the key topic of conversation. I feel that Cape Breton has evolved from being in the tourism industry to being a true tourism destination. With this evolution comes a new level of involvement with investors and all levels of government.

Will that evolution impact your organizational structure and capabilities, and if so, can you describe how things might change for you as an organization?

The last six months have given us a taste of how a major focus on our destination can have an impact. What I see as being critical now is an alignment of all partners who are involved with economic development to allow Cape Breton to continue and enhance its evolution into a true tourism destination. Each partner must clearly understand how the concentric circle is critical to overall growth of any destination. This in large part has been what has shifted me from inside DCBA on a day-to-day basis to be connected far more outside our walls with our economic development and government partners.

You’ll be participating in a global gathering of leading destination marketers at Forum in New York City this October. If you could come away from that event having solved or addressed one problem for your destination, what would it be?

As a region of a province, we are supposed to fall within the provincial tourism strategy. While this may support a portion of what we do, we more often than not put forth our efforts as if we were our own province and sometimes even our own country. I would be thrilled to see how other “regions” of provinces or states have influenced government to allow them to have direct support for their destination, separate from their designated provincial/state tourism organization.

Meet and collaborate with Destination Cape Breton and other destinations like them at Destination Think! Forum, an exclusive, one-of-a-kind event for the world’s leading destination marketers. Join your colleagues in New York City on October 13-14, 2016, as we collaborate to solve our greatest challenges. Click here. Apply now.

Filed Under: Brand and Identity, Checking In, Destination Leadership Tagged With: destination cape breton association, development, mary tulle, partnerships, trump

« Humour in destination marketing: Denmark and Sweden had a Twitter scrap and people went wild. But what was the point?
Insights for destinations: Mary Meeker’s 2016 Internet Trends Report »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You’ve found your partner for destination marketing

We work with the most innovative tourism boards in the world to create a vision for each of their destinations, solve business challenges and execute brilliant, integrated campaigns. The expertise we apply to that work is shared in the articles published here and in our DMO Matters newsletter.

Welcome to Destination Think!.

LEARN MORE ABOUT US

Get updates to your inbox!

Fields marked with a * are required.

 
Subscribe to DMO Matters, a must-read weekly digest of leading destination marketing trends and leadership.
 

Just published

TSI report gives destinations an unbiased look in the mirror: Tourism Port Douglas & Daintree

February 21, 2019 By Think! Staff

Conservation sparks new tourism experience in Bay of Plenty: Whakatāne’s Kiwi Wandering Trail

January 25, 2019 By David Archer

The ultimate place brand reading list for destination marketers

January 11, 2019 By Think! Staff

3 content marketing trends to take your DMO into 2019

December 21, 2018 By David Archer

Now available: 4 RFP questions your destination brand agency must answer

December 14, 2018 By Think! Staff

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Report technical issue

© 2019 Destination Think! - All rights reserved. All destination images used with permission and gratitude.