Become a Niagara Ambassador

Transcript

1. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Karin  Jahnke-­‐Haslam  
2. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   What is the Niagara Ambassador Program? §  A web-based learning program that helps build service pride and love for our destination. §  On-line program can be taken at home or at work §  Easy access anytime, anywhere §  Offered at no-cost §  Take it all at once or go through different sections at your own pace §  Fun and educational! 2
3. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Launched Last Fall §  The new website learning.niagarasRTO.com went live last November §  “Steve” was introduced to our partners §  Steve’s key message to participants is to be: 1.  Knowledgeable 2.  Passionate 3.  Positive 4.  Proactive 3
4. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   1. Knowledgeable §  Fun facts to know and share about the Niagara region §  Know where to find information on different experiences to help visitors – do they want romance ? or fun on the links? …. §  Know where to source special events & festivals. §  Source – www.visitniagaracanada.com
5. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Let Me Tell You About Niagara! This module will take approximately 20 minutes. #1 Food and Wine Botanical Gardens
6. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   2.  Passionate §  Be involved and show visitors how much you love Niagara 3.  Positive §  The benefits of a positive attitude for both you and your visitor 4.  Proactive §  Anticipating your guests needs by listening and paying attention to their preferences.
7. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Our Guests Every year more than 10 million guests come to the Niagara Region. Be sure to listen for their unique interests. Click each guest photo. We are visiting our family in Toronto, and they suggested we come here for the weekend. We want to see the most popular sights. Outdoor Activities Attractions Wine Country Dining & Food Natural Wonders Casinos & Gaming Theatre, Arts & Entertainment History & Heritage Spas
8. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Who Should Become a Niagara Ambassador? 8 §  Any individual hosting tourists/guests or simply hosting visiting friends and family will learn a little more about our beautiful Niagara and all the events and attractions that make this destination an awe-inspiring, vibrant and fun destination, all year round. §  A Niagara Ambassador will have the tools and training to make just an ordinary visit, a truly “extraordinary” experience.
9. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Why Should You Invest Your Time? §  Happy and satisfied visitors spread the news through their social networks influencing others to make Niagara their next destination. §  Once visitors learn about all the things there are to see and do in Niagara, they may consider extending their stay, which helps grow our economy. §  Visitors who had a great experience will likely repeat their visit. 9
10. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Why Should You Invest Your Time? §  The satisfaction of helping a visitor, making their stay more enjoyable, makes your day and your job more enjoyable. §  Knowledgeable, well-trained staff, who have access to all things ‘Niagara’ can help boost business. §  If you are pursuing a service career, you may be more employable with our certification. Some of our key business partners are embracing this new learning and will look for certification as a perquisite for hiring. 10
11. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Results to Date 11
12. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Number of Participants 12 Registra3ons       Total  Registra5ons   740   Niagara  Ambassador  Cer5ficates     Signed  &  mailed       470  
13. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Results by Industry 13 Industry  Type           Accommoda5ons   89   13.84%   Arts  &  Culture   16   2.49%   AIrac5ons   66   10.26%   Business   20   3.11%   Educa5on  &  Training   237   36.86%   Golf   3   0.47%   Government   11   1.71%   Restaurants   26   4.04%   Retail   9   1.40%   Tourism   106   16.49%   Transporta5on   4   0.62%   Wine  Industry   56   8.71%  
14. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Participants by Region 14 City,  Town       Beamsville   5   Camden,  Lincoln   2   Fonthill   1   Grimsby   2   Jordan,  Vineland   24   Niagara  Falls   240   Niagara-­‐on-­‐the-­‐Lake,  St.  David's   *155  Niagara  College  students   215   Port  Colborne,  Stevensville,  Sherkston   6   St.  Catharines   87   Thorold   5   Welland   33  
15. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Evaluations 15  Evalua3ons  =  219  of  470     Strongly     Agree   Agree   Neutral     Strongly     Disagree   What  I  learned  in  this  course  will  assist   me  in  being  a  tourism  ambassador  for   the  Niagara  Region.   99   105   6   9   45.21%   47.95%   2.74%   4.11%   Agree  or  strongly  agree   93.15%   What  I  learned  in  this  course  has   prepared  me  to  beIer  assist  guests  back   in  my  job.   103   98   10   8   47.03%   44.75%   4.57%   3.65%   Agree  or  strongly  agree   91.78%       I  would  recommend  this  course  to  other   tourism  professionals   123   75   11   10   56.16%   34.25%   5.02%   4.57%   Agree  or  strongly  agree   90.41%  
16. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Most Useful 16 For  myself  the  most  useful  part  of  this  course   was:   42  -­‐  Service  Recovery   42  -­‐  Niagara  Region  content  of  what  there  is  to  do   25  -­‐  Interac5ve  and  fun  course   17  -­‐  Loved  the  TPN  consumer  website   17  -­‐  Extraordinary  Service   01  -­‐  Nega5ve  -­‐  not  challenging  enough  
17. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Suggestions 17 If  I  could  add  anything  to  the  course  to  make  it  more   meaningful  to  me,  it  would  be:   21  -­‐  General  posi5ve  comments   20  -­‐  Add  more  content  on  region,  landmarks,  fine  dining   18  -­‐  Presenta5on  -­‐    more  videos,  more  interac5ve  quizzes   03  -­‐  Miscellaneous  -­‐  incen5ves,  co-­‐workers,  health  &  safety   03  -­‐  Customer  service  issues  
18. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Comments 18 •  I  thought  this  piece  was  well  done;  I  found  it  very  meaningful.   •  It  was  perfect.  Well  done  &  a  big  thanks  to  those  who  created   it!!!  I  will  definitely  share  it  with  colleagues.   •  Easy  to  follow  &  learn.    I  like  that  there  was  a  variety  of   learning  tools;  videos,  ques3ons,  sound  examples,  reading   •  The  real-­‐world  examples  given  were  great.   •  Being  a  new  employee  to  Niagara  Falls  I  found  this  to  be   informa3ve  &  a  fun  learning  experience.       •  The  most  useful  part  for  me  was  the  videos  and  case  studies.   •  ...it  was  fabulous!  
19. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Our Next Steps … 1.  Encourage employers to incorporate into their training programs 2.  Encourage employers to hire Niagara Ambassadors 3.  Solicit champions to help roll out the training program to their industry 4.  Design & create a ‘Leader Kit’ to keep the program active and fun throughout the year. 19
20. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   Get Involved! 20 1.  Visitniagaracanada.com to become familiar with regional experiences 2.  Share your favourite tourism experiences – be a Niagara ambassador! 3.  Support your regional tourism businesses, festivals & events 4.  Sign up and take the challenge yourself learning.niagarasRTO.com
21. The  Tourism  Partnership  of  Niagara   learning.niagarasRTO.com 21