Chip Madera calls himself a “motivation and performance strategist”. Based in the fortuitously named community of Celebration, Florida, his tagline is “Radical Leadership, Radical Change”. He works with organizations to develop “radical leaders equipped for radical change”. As keynote speaker at the Annual General Meeting of the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia (TIANS) recently held at Digby Pines Resort, Chip positively impacted perspectives in an industry facing significant challenges.

He reminded us that the tourism industry is no longer offering “products”; that went out with the 1970s. We aren’t even offering “services” anymore; that is so 20^th century! What the industry needs to offer to stay competitive are “experiences”; compelling, authentic and memorable, these are experiences in which visitors’ desires should be anticipated and met.

From his perspective, the challenges we face as a result of loss of the “CAT” ferry, the strong Canadian $, and a changing economy are an opportunity to evaluate, regroup and upgrade our offerings so that we become a more competitive destination. Easy words, yes, but many who have adopted this philosophy are seeing positive results. Chip says, “You cannot become who you need to be by remaining who you are”. Hard to argue with that!

The Tourism Economic Impact Model (TEIM) previously discussed will be available for general use by the end of the year. Although registration is required, use of the tool will be free to any tourism related group or organization. Its usefulness lies in its standardization across the province and in some of its elements, across the nation. So funders and others will truly be able to compare apples with apples, so to speak.

The beta version shown at NS Tourism’s Research session and at the TIANS Annual General Meeting looks clean and relatively straightforward, although it does require users to input a fairly significant amount of data to get the model to compute accurate results; this is fair. It also has functionality so that data can be sensitized or changed. For example, users can put in data to ascertain how many dollars “X-number” of visitors would have to spend to create a desired economic impact. It does not, however, eliminate the need for plenty of standard surveys to be taken of event attendees. We can’t escape the grunt work, but TEIM will cut down on time spent analyzing economic impact and will bring much needed standardization to the industry.

Why do people travel? Why would they want to come to Annapolis Digby? The answer lies not just in our attractions and experiences, but within the traveler’s mind. This was explained to us at Product Development Day by Prof. Frederic Dimanche of UNB. People wish to want to release tension through an ESCAPE, or seek some form of arousal through an ADVENTURE (or sometimes both!) Motivations include escape from mundane routine, relaxation, seeking prestige, reliving childhood or other memories, enhancement of family ties, facilitate social interaction, education or simply for the novelty of the trip.

This points out a number of marketing and product development opportunities. For example, marketing attractions/experiences to locals who have moved to Alberta, or facilitating family reunions. Our artists, artisans and musicians have opportunity to develop educational workshops and work with accommodations providers to create packages. Prestige does not necessarily mean spending gobs of money; it means having bragging rights about having done something unique that no one else in your social circle has ever experienced! Anyone who has attended Hooking by the Sea Retreat’s Wild and Wooly Weekend ( http://www.hookingbythesearetreats.com) has certainly gone home with bragging rights! Same for anyone who has gone out with Fundy Adventures http://fundyadventures.com/