Nashville: not just the best Honky Tonk row in America and not just Music City.

I recently spent one week in Nashville, Tennessee. It was my third time in Music City and my longest stay to date. On this occasion I had the opportunity to explore the city with my singer/songwriter daughter, Maddy Rodriguez. And it was a terrific. We walked around the downtown core a few times, up and down lower Broadway (Honky Tonk row), the river front, the War Memorial and the State Capitol. But we also spent time at the trendy Gulch and visited the very cool store Two Old Hippies. There is of course an incredible music scene in Nashville - and not just country, new country, americana, roots, and folk music. Musicians from all genres have discovered the depth and breadth of talent in this city. But there are also growing art and culinary scenes in Nashville. Check out Nashville Arts and the new Music City Eats Festival and its chef lineup.

This is what major media outlets have been saying about Nashville lately:

• Condé Nast named Nashville one of the 5 Must-See Cities to Visit in 2013. Read more.  
• Rolling Stone put the Bluebird Cafe in their list of The Best Music Venues in America - Venues That Rock
• Rolling Stone ranked the Ryman Auditorium in their list of The Best Big Rooms in America - Venues That Rock.
• Nashville ranked No. 2 in Travel + Leisure's Best U.S. Cities for Affordable Getaways.
• Fodor's placed Nashville in their list of 7 Affordable Destinations for 2013. Read more.
• The Nashville International Airport was ranked among the 7 Most Entertaining Airports in the World by CNN.
• Budget Travel named Nashville one of the 10 Best Budget Destinations in the world for 2013. Read more
• Yahoo! Travel placed Nashville in their list of Destinations to Watch in 2013. Read more.
• Business Insider ranked Nashville among their 13 Places You Need to Visit in 2013. Read more.
• Zagat named Nashville as one of 7 Up-and-Coming Food Cities Around the U.S.

Quick recommendations:

1. Walk lower broadway and check out some of the Honky Tonks. There are many cool stores like Savannah's Candy Kitchen at 310 Broadway. Most bars are 21+ after 6 pm.
2. Rippy's at 429 Broadway. Try the pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwiches. Under 21 allowed after 6 pm. Always good music playing live.
3. Sambuca - excellent restaurant in the Gulch area.
4. Visit the Fontanel Mansion in the summer and catch a concert if you can get tickets (blog post to come)
5. Visit Franklin, TN - not Nashville proper, but a beautiful town about a half hour drive from downtown Nashville
6. The Ryman Auditorium. The original home of the Grand Ole Opry. Take a tour behind the scenes or catch a concert in the evening
7. Take a walk around the State Capitol and the War Memorial. Beautiful architecture and wide open spaces. 
8. If you are interested in the craft of songwriting or like to discover new songs before they become hits - try to catch a show at the Bluebird Cafe.
9. Another great venue to discover new artists/songwriters is the Listening Room.
10. Opryland and the Grand Oly Opry. The (new) Grand Ole Opry is part of Opryland a complex of hotels, a resort and a big shopping mall.

How did TBEX end up in Canada? It all started at the Canada-e-Connect eTourism conference

In January 2010, I had the privilege to serve as the Chair of the now defunct (not my fault) Canada-e-Connect eTourism Strategy Conference (first founded by Jens Thraenhart, when he was at the CTC and later ran by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada). 3 years is an eternity in digital time. Back then, Facebook and Twitter were not as big as they are now. In fact, the year before, 2009, when I also chaired the conference, there were only 3 twitter users at the conference, including me! But back to 2010. As an avid student of all things related to digital and social marketing, I became aware of and a follower of Kim Mance, the founder of Galavanting and TBEX.  When we were putting together the program, I suggested we have a session with some of the best women travel bloggers. We were very lucky to get Kim Mance, Shannon Lane and Wendy Perrin. During the conversation, we talked about TBEX and it was the first time we suggested that Canadian destinations bring TBEX to Canada.  TBEX has now been to Vancouver and it's coming to Toronto in a few weeks time. Better late than never.
The video below was recorded with Shannon's laptop:

Video streaming by Ustream

Toronto's landmark Delta Chelsea Hotel to be rebranded and renovated as the Eaton Chelsea

One of the hotels I recommend the most to friends, family and clients who visit Toronto is the Delta Chelsea Hotel near Dundas Square in the heart of the city. Full disclosure: Delta Hotels have been clients of mine in the past, but I knew the Delta Chelsea way before I had any business relationship with Delta Hotels. I always liked the hotel because it's a large property with all the amenities in a prime location in Toronto very close to Dundas Square, the Eaton Centre and the subway.  Every year I have lunch with my friend Mia Dario, Director of Tour and Leisure Sales, to chat about the hotel and tourism in general. Always a very productive lunch. The Chelsea has always been a highly regarded hotel. Trip Advisor users give it a ranking of 3.5 out of 5. But perhaps come this summer the Chelsea will be even more impressive. It's parent company Langham Hospitality Group has parted ways with the Delta organization and the hotel will be rebranded and renovated as the first Eaton hotel in Canada. My sources tell me that the entire organization is very excited about these new developments and believe the new Eaton Chelsea will be better than ever. I will be posting photos of the new renovations here sometime in July or August. Can't wait to see the new look. In the meantime you can visit the new Eaton Chelsea website here: chelsea.eatonhotels.com 

LANGHAM HOSPITALITY GROUP ANNOUNCES EATON HOTEL BRAND IN CANADA – FIRST HOTEL IN PROMINENT LOCATION IN DOWNTOWN TORONTO

15 April 2013

Langham Hospitality Group, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Great Eagle Holdings Limited, is delighted to announce that the former Delta Chelsea - Canada's largest hotel, located in downtown Toronto - will be officially re-branded Eaton Chelsea, Toronto starting 1 July 2013. In its repositioning, the hotel will be the first of its kind in Canada and joins other Eaton Hotels located in Hong Kong, Shanghai and New Delhi.

"Great Eagle Holdings has owned the hotel for almost two decades but the time is now right for the Langham Hospitality Group to assume management," says Brett Butcher, chief executive officer of Langham Hospitality Group. "It represents a tangible development for our company in North America as we are now represented in the U.S. market with properties in Boston and Pasadena, with new hotels opening in New York and Chicago this year." 

"To complement these hotels, we will now have a strong presence in Canada which is in line with the group's financial commitment and long-term vision for the continent," adds Mr. Butcher. 

Eaton aims to surprise and delight guests with a value-for-money proposition that delivers a stylish, modern level of comfort with warm and welcoming service and an on-going commitment to sustainability. A multi-million dollar investment programme for the hotel has already begun and includes beautifying the exterior, refurbishing the lobby and Market Garden Restaurant, and extensively upgrading the interiors of the banquet and meeting facilities.

"We are very excited about the addition of Eaton Chelsea, Toronto to the Langham family," says Josef Ebner, Regional Vice President and Managing Director of Eaton Chelsea, Toronto. "In repositioning to an Eaton brand that will include some significant renovations, we are excited to now share a design philosophy of smart, modern and uncomplicated interiors and an enthusiastic "can do" service culture which will set us apart from the competition in downtown Toronto." 

As Canada's largest hotel with 1,590 guest rooms, Eaton Chelsea, Toronto is centrally located and just steps from the city's best shopping districts, world-class theatres, vibrant nightlife and exciting attractions. A full-service urban resort, the Eaton Chelsea has room types to suit everyone and the hotel offers five restaurants and lounges, separate adult and family recreation areas and pools – including the "Corkscrew" - downtown Toronto's only indoor waterslide. As a premier family destination, the hotel offers a full range of services including the Family Fun Zone with Camp Chelsea, Kid Centre and Club 33 Teen Lounge. For more information or to make reservations, please call 1-800-CHELSEA (243-5732) or visit chelsea.eatonhotels.com 

As the wholly-owned subsidiary of Great Eagle Holdings, Langham Hospitality Group encompasses a family of distinctive hospitality brands which include hotels, resorts, residential serviced apartments, restaurants and spas, located on four continents. The Group currently owns and/or manages 16 hotels under The Langham, Langham Place, Eaton and 88 Xintiandi brands with more than 24 hotel projects currently either confirmed or in a developed stage of negotiation from China through Asia and India to the Middle East. North America remains a focal point for the group's development with over 2,000 rooms planned to be added in 2013 to the existing portfolio. For reservations, please contact a travel professional or access the website at www.langhamhotels.com.

Is Calgary coming of age (as a tourism destination)? The Canadian jewel of the West deserves a visit.

When it comes to cities one may want to visit, Calgary does not come immediately to mind. In Canada, the city is known for basically 3 things: 1) being the center of Canada's powerful oil and gas industry; 2) a bastion of Conservative politics (Prime Minister Stephen Harper's riding as a Member of Parliament is in Calgary, and 3) the Calgary Stampede, one of the largest if not the largest cowboy/cowgirl, rodeo, Western culture Festival in North America. But Calgary is much more than that. The city has been growing up as a sophisticated city in the last 10 years. New art galleries, new restaurants, new immigrants - all contributing to a modern city with Western roots. It's perhaps the cleanest city in Canada and the gateway to the Canadian Rockies. Watch this:

Outside of Canada and the USA, Calgary does not have the high profile that Toronto or Montreal, but for a city of roughly 1 million people, Calgary is doing very well. According to Tourism Calgary's reports, the city had over 5 million visitors in 2012. I have been to Calgary only 2 times and I really enjoyed the few days I spent there. I found the people friendly (even to a Torontonian) and welcoming. If you like Western cuisine, like I do,  there's no better place to have AAA Alberta beef (e.g. The Vintage  Chophouse or The Open Range) For those more adventurous, a tasty bison or elk hamburger are de rigueur. But don't think that Calgary is a city of carnivorous rednecks. Many Calgarians love their yoga classes and there are many vegetarian/vegan restaurants in the city (e.g. The Gratitude Café). Unfortunately, I have never been to Calgary in the summer, a situation that must be remedied in the near future. Going to the Calgary Stampede is something I have wanted to do for a long time, and I hope to make it there this year.

What is going on with our Canadian Visa offices? Mexicans travellers choosing other destinations.

On November 28 2012, the Huffington Post published the following Canadian Press article after the then President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto visited Prime Minister Harper in Ottawa:

--

OTTAWA - The end of a much-maligned visa for Mexican travellers to Canada would be a good thing for both North American countries, Prime Minister Stephen Harper affirmed Wednesday.   Harper offered his government's most conciliatory view to the visa that it imposed in 2009 to stop an influx of bogus refugee claimants. It came after his Parliament Hill meeting with Mexico's president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto.

Mexico was stung by the visa requirement, viewing it as heavy-handed and unexpected.

"We would ultimately like to see visa-free travel with Mexico," Harper said at a joint news conference,

standing next to the new, young telegenic Mexican leader, who will be sworn in Saturday as president. But first, the government is working to change its immigration system first so there is not a recurrence of past problems, Harper added.  "We have changed laws. We're in the process of changing our systems," said Harper.    It would be in the interest of both countries to get rid of the visa, he added.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/11/28/stephen-harper-enrique-pena-nieto_n_2206179.html

--

Fast forward to April 2013. The Canadian Government has revamped the Refugee System, it has published a list of Safe Countries, which includes Mexico. Yet, there has been no movement, that we can tell regarding the lifting of Visa restrictions on Mexican visitors. While I would welcome the lifting of the visa restrictions for Mexican tourists, this post is not about that. This post is about the current visa issuing process which at times seems the most inefficient and incompetent of processes. The current issue is not whether the applicants get a visitor visa (temporary resident visa) or not. The issue is that decisions are not always made in a timely manner. According to the CIC website (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/temp/visitors.asp#west), the average time it takes to process a visitor visa application from Mexico is 11 days (80% of the time). But as in the case described below, some applications are delayed almost indefinitely. Now, if these were permanent resident applications, I can understand that, but in the case of tourists, there should be a clear timeline for all applications so that tourists can properly plan their vacations. Would you plan a trip to any country if you knew that you may or may not get a visa and it may or may not take an indefinite amount of time? Of course not!

Talk to any Mexican tour operator (and countless Mexicans) that assists their customers in the visitor visa application process and all of them will have horror stories to tell. 

Here's a an example of what I'm posting about here: a letter from my Mexican client, a well respected travel professional who is a former CTC representative in Mexico.

"Dear Canadian Tourism Partners,

I regret to inform you that we will not participate in Rendez Vous Canada this year.

As you know, I have distinguished myself as a huge fan of Canada and its people since

my days as the CTC’s representative in Mexico. However, on this occasion it is very

difficult for me to think about Canada without a sense of frustration and disappointment.

I think it is necessary for you to know what is going on with Canada’s visa office at the

Canadian Embassy in Mexico. While we understand that there are thousands of Mexicans

applying for visitors and other visas, we feel that the way the process is being managed is

not conducive to a productive relationship. When we try to ask about delays in processing

visas for some of our customers, we are faced with automatic email responses that do

not give us any information other than saying the evaluation is in progress. Because we

understand there is a heavy workload at the Embassy, we do not ask for information

without first waiting a reasonable time for the visas to be approved or denied. According

to the Embassy’s own information, the average time for a visitor’s visa to be processed in

Mexico is about 11 days.

Last February 21st, we submitted an application for visitors’ visas for a family of four

who have been long time clients of ours. In fact, this family has vacationed in Canada

before. All the documentation was in order when we submitted it, and if anything at

all was missing we have never been informed. Our clients were scheduled to travel

on March 24, Easter vacation. To this day we have not received a positive or negative

response from the Embassy. It’s been over a month (or 21 business days). As business

people, you can understand how frustrating this is. We are not demanding that the visa

officials approve all our customers’ requests for visas. All we would ask is to get a

response in a timely manner. Obviously, this family lost their trip to Canada and are still

frustrated by the fact that they haven’t received a response from the Canadian Embassy.

We all want repeat business for Canadian destinations, but it is very unlikely that this

family (and any of their friends who listen to their story) will want to vacation in Canada

anytime soon. We tried contacting officials at the Canadian Embassy regarding this issue,

but all that achieved was more frustration and disappointment. I am sure you would get

frustrated too. The only response we get is that there’s nothing they can do and to just

keep waiting. In the meantime, we have to apologize profusely to the clients and persuade

them to purchase their travel with us. To another destination!

The above case is not the only one we’ve had to deal with, although it’s one of the worst.

We’ve had many instances wherein the process is less than stellar. You can ask any

operator in Mexico and I can assure you they have similar stories.

In light of all this, it is with regret and disappointment that we are cancelling our

participation in Rendez Vous Canada next month. The investment in time and money

necessary to attend RVC is not the best use of our resources at this time. As most other

Mexican operators, we sell a great variety of destinations – over 50 countries - to our

Mexican customers. When it comes to visas, no other country has been more difficult

than Canada. Assisting our customers with their applications takes an enormous amount

of time. Therefore, while we will continue to sell Canada, we will focus more of our

promotional efforts on other destinations.

I want to reiterate my continuing admiration and respect for all of you, for Canada and

its people. I hope that your Prime Minister follows through with his implied promises

that once Canada’s Refugee System had been fixed and the list of safe countries (of

which Mexico is a part) was in place, that Canada would lift visa restrictions on Mexican

visitors – as your own Globe and Mail, The Centre for International Governance

Innovation (CIGI) and The Canadian Chamber of Commerce have recommended. This

would clearly change things and return Mexico to its rightful place among Canada’s most

important markets for tourism.

With warmest regards,

S. Morales"

This kind of situation is a loss for Canada. Given that Canada requires visitor visas from all our current growth inbound markets (India, China, Brazil, Mexico), if the visa application process is too difficult, what do you think travelers will do? Right now, I am working with my Mexican client on a digital/social media campaign to sell travel to Europe and South America for the coming summer season, and it's starting to yield such good results, that Canada is falling to the back of the line.

Are you involved in selling travel to Canada from visa required countries? What has been your experience? Comments? Suggestions?

Controversial 2011 "Tourism Canada" campaign calling people Stupid for not visiting -resurfaces on Facebook. Is this a hoax?

I was checking my Facebook feed this morning when I spotted a Meanwhile in Canada post talking about this - apparently Canadian tourism campaign - "Hey, stop being so stupid and visit Canada!" It definitely made me investigate who was behind it and whether this was a hoax, a joke or a CTC campaign. According to the video below, this billboard was spotted in Italy. Knowing that the CTC does not market Canada in Italy and seeing that the logo on the billboard is not the official Canadian Tourism Commission's logo, I could tell right away that the campaign was not sanctioned by our national tourism marketing agency. So what is this? I found out that the CBC had already looked into it and that this happened in 2011! (Talk about the long tail online - Meanwhile in Canada has over 190,000 followers on Facebook.) The campaign was created by a Jim Redman of  Smack media and the CBC's This is That asked him about it.

If you go to the url under the words "Tourism Canada," it takes you to a website called Look Sumbass, a sarcastic humour site that purports "to shine a big spotlight on some of the world’s biggest dumbasses … people that are generally screwing things up for the rest of us. Our editors will be delivering a regular flow of our favorite videos, news stories, and commentary from around the net to loving admirers on our favorite social media networks. From morons that jump out their bedroom windows onto trampolines to wingnuts that really believe the H1N1 vaccine is part of a global illuminati plot, no topic is off limits."

So the first question is, why would Dumbass choose Canada as a hook to get people to go to their website? The second question is if the Canadian Tourism Commission, the Canadian tourism industry and the Canadian government conclude this is damaging to Canada, can anyone do anything about it? And the third question is, do you think this kind of controversial campaign (not quite like this one) is the right way to market Canada (remember the Australian "Where the hell are ya?" campaign?) or should we continue to play it rather safe using bland, cliched and generic messages to promote the country?

April 1, 2013 (April Fools'). Government of Canada announces $100 million long term funding for the CTC

April 1st, 2013

Ottawa, Ontario.
The Canadian Government announced today that it would come up with a new way to fund the country's Tourism Commission. As of January 1st, 2014, all international inbound visitors from countries for which Canada does not require a visitors visa (temporary resident visa) will pay a $10 fee, similar to that imposed by the United States to fund that country's tourism promotion. Funds will be administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. The Canadian Tourism Promotion fund will be disbursed on a $1 for $1 matching system in a public private partnership with the tourism industry. The Canadian Tourism Commission will be absorbed by DFAIT and a committee composed of tourism industry leaders will decide how the funds are best used to increase Canada's profile around the world as a tourism destination, particularly in the United States.


(April 2. Apparently some people might not have realized this post was an April Fools' wish, so to make sure no one gets confused, the above paragraph is nor real)

The family that cruises together, stays together. On Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas

For the second time in 14 months I went on a cruise with a family group and friends. We chose Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas based on our experience of the first cruise on Navigator of the Seas. While the overall ship's experience was not as stellar as on Navigator, it was still a fantastic trip and the ports of call were much better than those we visited on the first cruise. We visited St. Croix, Sint Maarten, Antigua, Saint Lucia and Barbados. The beaches were what we expected: blue, green colors, white sand, and warm/hot weather.

Cruise with your friends and family (or with your friends, if your family is not as closed knit as mine).

What made both the cruise on the Navigator and cruise on the Adventure a lot of fun was our group. In my opinion, the best way to enjoy everything these ships have to offer is to travel in a fun group. This doesn't mean you all have to stick together every day, all the time. We were 21 people in our group ranging from age 19 to age 80, and everyone had a great time. During the day, we split up in smaller groups so we would all do what we wanted to do. Some in our group wanted to tour the islands and see as much as they could. But some of us just wanted to find a beautiful beach and enjoy the relaxation, the swimming and the sun. In the evenings we would reconvene on the ship and spend some time chatting by the pool before getting ready for dinner, the only time we would all get together (2 large tables). After dinner we would againg split into sub groups - those who wanted to go to the Latin music bar, those who wanted to catch a show, those who went to the disco (Jesters) and those who turned in early.

As for the ship's experience, as I mentioned above, it wasn't as stellar as our cruise on the Navigator of the Seas. The glitches revolved mostly around the food at dinner. On the Adventure of the Seas, it just wasn't as good as on the Navigator. The service was very good, but our waiter wasn't as fun as the waiter on the previous cruise (must be one of the biggest challenges for RCI - to attract and keep the right people for the various functions). Another issue was communication. The purpose of the trip was to celebrate my Mother's 80th Birthday, but it just so happened that on the same cruise, it was my Stepfather in Law's birthday. My Mother in Law and him were taking their first cruise with our group. My wife arranged for a bottle of champagne to be delivered to their cabin on the day we arrived. It never got there. The ship sent it to the wrong cabin. On my Mother's Bday, we had a special, private party on the 14th deck of the ship. It was supposed to be a surprise for our Mom, but somehow communication broke down and the ship delivered a letter to my Mom's cabin telling her about the special occasion. Not a big deal, but it ruined the surprise. I mention all this because in any company, it is not what you do when things go great and your customers are happy. It's about what you do when something goes wrong and your customers are not happy.

Feedback is gold.

About the food. We spoke to the head waiter about it and he told the chef who personally came over to our table and apologized profusely, but also thanked us for the feedback. Hopefully, he will follow through with improvements.

About communication issues. We spoke to the front desk manager on board, Duygu Tanel (or DD). She was very attentive and did everything she could to find out what went wrong and also apologized for the glitches. She left us messages to update us and also offered a 10% discount on a potential next cruise to all our cabins. Unfortunately the offer is only valid for a year which feels a bit more like a marketing offer than a gesture of good will (it would have been much better if the expiration was, say, 3 years). In any case, it was refreshing to see a company trying to do their best to address the customers concerns and their own mistakes. Overall, we were all very pleased with the experience and again made an open deposit on board for a future cruise. Europe next time? Or should we wait for RCI's new ships, Anthem and Quantum, to be finished.

Air Canada launches Rouge and helps Canadian Tourism deficit grow.

This past December, right before the Holidays, Air Canada announced the launch of Rouge, its new discount airline. Rouge will begin flying on July 1st, 2012, Canada Day, no less. With flights to Europe and the Caribbean starting at $949, Rouge is sure to have a good start. Given the strong Canadian dollar and the high prices to fly within Canada, we can expect an increase in outbound tourism come this summer. Good for Air Canada, bad for Canadian Tourism. Now, I'm not crticizing the airline for launching Rouge.  I just want to state the facts. Air Canada is a business and its number one goal is to make money for its shareholders. Here I'm just stating facts. Another fact is the higher duty free thresholds that the current Canadian government established last year: For 24 hours, $200; for 48 hours or more, $800. Clearly this is good for Canadians travelling abroad, but it also incentivicez cross-border shopping. Canadians travelling on Rouge to Europe or the Caribbean next summer will be able to shop more duty free. Meanwhile, in Canada domestic travel will "appear" much more expensive than in previous years thereby compounding the problem.

What to do?

I reiterate that tourism is driven by the 3 Ps. Price, Proximity and Place (ease of entry). So target all travelers near your destination, starting domestically and expanding to near-the-border travelers. Follow that with those countries from where it's easiest to fly to and enter Canada (ie no visa required). As for the industry as a whole, we need to keep fighting to make tourism a national priority at the Cabinet table. Energy resources and commodities will not carry Canada's economy indefinitely. We are already reading reports that the US is indeed focused on developing their own energy resourcces further and even the price of Potash has come down due to increased buyer power from China and India. So let's continue to lobby for a strong Canadian Tourism industry with a well funded marketing body, whether it is the Canadian Tourism Commission in its present form or a different model. As it is now, we are being outspent by many destinations around the world. See this video interview with David Goldstein, President of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

Happy travels,

Merry Christmas to all and to all in Tourism a wonderful 2013

I want to wish all of you who work in or are interested in Canadian and World Tourism, a wonderful Holiday Season and a very successful New Year 2013. I leave you with a video of my up and coming star of a daughter's first Holiday Single (which all of you are getting on iTunes, right?).

All the best,  Jaime