Canadian Tourism Commission’s tourism trading floor to wow international travel buyers from over 20 countries in Edmonton, Canada’s Festival City.

This is a press release from the Canadian Tourism....way to go Edmonton

Suggested tweet:  @ctccct Rendez-vous Canada 2012 ready to rev up big business for #Canada #tourism http://xxxxxxx/ #rvc2012
Vancouver, BC, May 8, 2012 — International tourism already contributes over $15.1 billion in revenue every year to Canada’s economy, and will soon be even bigger as the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) gears up to kick-off Rendez-vous Canada 2012 (RVC), the country’s largest annual international marketplace for the tourism industry.
Led by the CTC, RVC 2012 will take place May 13-16 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre in Edmonton, connecting some of the world’s most influential travel buyers from over 20 countries with Canadian sellers of tourism products and services. During 23,000 face-to-face business appointments over four days, buyers and sellers hold meetings that would otherwise only be possible through a number of around-the-world trips. RVC enables tourism professionals to broker deals and close sales, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Canadian businesses.
“RVC provides a great opportunity to showcase authentic and engaging Canadian tourism products for high-end buyers who sell packages to international travellers,” says Michele McKenzie, CTC President & CEO. “For many sellers, RVC is the single most important sales and marketing event they attend.It’s an extremely valuable way to generate international demand for Canada’s tourism industry.”
The CTC’s Signature Experiences Collection^® (SEC)—a collection of 163 outstanding experiences from every region of the country, and a key feature of Canada’s Federal Tourism Strategy—will be highlighted at RVC 2012 after first being announced last year in Québec City. Members of the SEC become the priority pool of high-quality tourism experiencesfrom which the CTC chooses content for its marketing campaigns in the 11 countries where it invests.
The CTC will also showcase its new Global Marketing Platform and Explore Canada Like a Local website and mobile application, cutting-edge approaches that highlight authentic traveller-to-traveller experiences. By facilitating traveller stories, they encourage advocacy—a powerful tool in convincing future consumers to visit this country. It’s the next stage in developing Canada’s tourism brand.
“Sellers find no better place than RVC to display the strength and depth of Canadian travel experiences that allow modern, discerning international visitors to connect with Canada’s people, geography and culture,” says Charles McKee, CTC Vice-President, International, and the CTC lead for RVC.
International buyers include foreign tour operators, wholesalers and packagers from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America and North America, all eager to find new products, services and packages. Canadian sellers consist of a wide range of small to large businesses putting their best tourism products and experiences forward for sale to travellers.


Look at us Grow! Proud to be in Edmonton.


Shelly