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60 BCBusiness July 2014 happy to play co-host. "It's a huge opportunity for us," says Sasha Angus, CEO of the Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation, which helped broker the deal, adding that the hotel is expected to host 70,000 visitors annually. in many ways China is a natural fit for the prov- ince's tourism sector. As a Pacific Rim gateway, B.C. has a large and influential ethnic Chinese population, numbering more than 400,000. The history of the province is deeply entwined with China. Whether it's the immigrant Chinese miners who worked the treacherous coal- fields of Vancouver Island, labour- ers who helped forge the Canadian Pacific Railway through the rugged interior of B.C. or the shopkeepers and miners who populated the streets of historic Barkerville and the Chinatowns of Vancouver and Victoria, you don't have to go far to unearth a history rich in Chinese heritage. Furthermore, Chinese visitors view B.C. as a safe, clean destination that's easy to access; more than 50 flights from Main- land China are touching down every week at YVR. Yet, although everyone is talk- ing China these days, the Chinese tourist is still a relatively new and somewhat unfamiliar entity, at least in terms of how B.C. has mar- keted itself in the past. Destination B.C. (formerly Tourism B.C.) has traditionally traded heavily on B.C.'s boundless wilderness, adven- ture and natural appeal. These are the fresh-air attributes embodied by the "Super, Natural B.C." brand, which has resonated very well with the Brits, Americans and Europeans, espe- cially those of Germanic persuasion who seem to have an insatiable appetite for wild British Columbia. That's not necessarily the case with the Chinese traveller; the wilder- ness and natural image of B.C. may appeal to them, but most tour operators with experi- ence in the market say they'd rather spend their time experiencing it through the win- dows of a tour bus, between visiting sites of historical interest, dining and going on shopping excursions (bringing gifts back to friends and relatives is a cultural expec- tation). Outdoor adventure for the average Chinese tourist is a trip to Capilano Suspension Bridge or a ride up the Grouse Mountain gondola. They might go sport fishing for half a day, but whether or not they actually land a fish is secondary to getting a taste of the experience and being able to tell friends about it back home. In the spring of 2014, under its new CEO Marsha Walden, Destination B.C. was undergoing a corporate strategy review that included a re-branding process that may see the "Super, Natural B.C." tagline replaced by something that the organiza- tion says reflects the "changing consumer dynamics." "China is very, very important to us," says Maria Greene, Destination B.C.'s director of overseas marketing. "There are three basic factors to consider: Can they get here? Do we have product they're interested in? And are they travel- ling here now? The answer is 'yes' to all three," says Greene. "I can't confirm percentages right now but I can tell you that since China is our largest market after the U.S., we will ensure the budget adequately covers the marketing activities we would like to undertake in China this year." (The organization spends $27,555,000 annually on all marketing activities, accounting for a little more than half of its total annual budget.) While the opportunities for B.C. are obvious, the shift to the Chinese market is not without its challenges. Unlike other major in-bound trav- ellers, the Chinese like to travel overwhelmingly in organized tour groups, typically restricting their B.C. experience to the Victoria- Vancouver-Whistler axis. Nation- ally, they have traditionally fallen into what Greene calls the classic "two, two and two category": two days per province. "We want them to stay longer in B.C. and also to get them out into other parts of the province," she says. "We still have some work to do." Last winter, Destination B.C. was a partner at Canada Ski Café, a promotional venue spon- sored by the Canadian Tourism Commission at Nanshan Ski Village, one of China's largest ski resorts roughly 60 kilometres from Beijing. Destination B.C. was there touting the prov- ince's 13 major ski resorts, but Greene says it's too early to judge the success of the market- ing push. Sun Peaks Resort—one of the resorts at Canada Ski Café—decided last January to celebrate Chinese New Year for the first time, with a parade, decorations throughout the village and Chinese-themed menu offerings at local restaurants. Christopher Nicolson, president of Tourism Sun Peaks, says the effort was targeted primarily at Chinese Canadians in the Lower Mainland, but with an eye to the potential for winter enthusiasts from China. The Chinese visitor of old thought nothing of embarking on a frantic 10-day whirlwind cross-Canada tour starting on the west Coast and including stops at banff, Toronto and Montreal p056-061_ChineseTourists_july.indd 60 2014-05-29 10:08 AM