Photo Contest Winners announced
This past summer, Community Futures Winnipeg River developed the Eastern Manitoba Photo Contest and was delivered in partnership with Eastman Tourism and Community Futures Triple R. Congratulations goes out to all our photo contest entries. It was a tough decision and everyone who entered showed their love of Eastern Manitoba. The winners of the Eastern Manitoba photo contest are:
1st Place: Jeff Cowan – Whitemouth Falls | $300 cash plus a 2-night stay for 2 in a poolside suite at Pinewood Lodge in beautiful Whiteshell Provincial Park (valued at $350). Pictured above.
2nd Place: Marty Malchuk – Baby Foxes | $100 Cash
3rd Place: Annelies Sikkenga – Busy Bee | $75 Cash
Thank you to Pinewood Lodge for the prize package donation and to Community Futures Winnipeg River and Community Futures Triple R for a successful contest. A special bouquet goes to Pam Habing of CFWR for such a great job. You'll be seeing more of the photo entries in publications throughout the year.
STAR Celebrations
Recently, the Province released their STAR Celebrations program which designates recurring festivals, events and gatherings that exemplify the provincial tourism brand and can be described as ‘experiential’ in nature. The designated celebrations can use the program logo for on-site signage and promotional materials. The program and designated celebrations will also be promoted through provincial marketing initiatives at no cost to your event. See the news release here. http://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=&item=35937
STAR Celebrations must provide quality tourism experiences and programming. Experiential programming means a hands-on, interactive immersive learning experience that provides visitors with opportunities to engage in unique local stories and culture. These kinds of experiences will be a draw to your festival and will allow you to showcase the heritage and culture in your community, yet consistent with your festival theme.
If you have further questions or would like to discuss the STAR Celebrations program, you may call Jenny at 204-348-2473 or the contact information on the link. Please note that the deadline for intake on this program is November 6, 2015.
Cyndie Mitchell and Sheldon Sveinson of the Fire & Water Music Festival.
Manitoba Tourism Awards
October 2nd was the day Manitoba tourism awards were handed out for outstanding people, places, tourism products and events. Eastern Manitoba's Fire & Water Music Festival was a finalist for an award for event over $5,000. While they didn't receive the top honors, be sure to congratulate them with a message by clicking here. Even making finalist is a really big deal! There's always next year. Click here to see the winners for 2015.
Travel Manitoba VIC grand opening
The Travel Manitoba Visitor Information Centre at the Forks will open its new doors soon! Industry partners are invited to attend the grand re-opening on October 15 and then a public opening on October 16 and 17 where gift bags will be handed out to the first 50 visitors each day. The new VIC will be a treat to the visual senses showcasing all tourism experiences in Manitoba. The new centre is a place to be wowed by the beauty, diversity, and hospitality of Manitoba. Mark your calendars!
Brand it and they will come
In conjunction with Small Business Week, Community Futures Winnipeg River is hosting a wine and cheese networking event on October 21 from 6-9pm in Beausejour at the Brokenhead River Community Hall. Guest speaker, Theresa Kuzina from ThinkShift Design will talk about the importance of branding featuring local business owners sharing their real life branding success stories. RSVP at info@cfwr.mb.ca or call 204-345-8691. Eastman Tourism will also be there to talk about brand alignment and how you can leverage Manitoba's tourism brand to your advantage.
 Sierra Noble with Michel & Jenny Dupas at Fire & Water Music Festival.
Experiential tourism is all the buzz
Experiential Excellence - An Introduction to Experiential Tourism Development
Developing tourism products and services that appeal to target markets is crucial as today's travelers seek more compelling experiences. Tourism products and services should engage visitors, tap into their passions, connect them with locals, increase social interaction and shared experiences, and provide opportunities to learn through authentic experiences.
Eastman Tourism has partnered with Manitoba Tourism Education Council (MTEC) to bring the Experiential Tourism training to your region in November. This one day workshop will engage participants in understanding the concept of experiential travel and how to work and partner with tourism organizations, tourism coordinators, other tourism attractions/operators and local businesses to create travel experiences specifically oriented to Manitoba tourism markets and target audiences.
At this one day workshop you will:
-Learn how experiential learning can be used to develop intimate and engaging visitor programs,
-Explore successful approaches for developing quality visitor experiences,
-Explore opportunities for partnerships both within and beyond your community for developing sustainable tourism offerings,
-Learn how to ensure your experiential visitor program appeals to travelers.
This workshop is suited for:
- Tourism coordinators whose objective it is to develop the tourism industry and partnerships that attract visitors to their community, destination, or region. Participation in this workshop would be beneficial to those who are unfamiliar with, or would like an update on the concepts of Experiential Travel.
- Tourism attractions and operators who want to add a new experiential layer to their offerings by developing mutually beneficial partnerships and who are unfamiliar with, or would like an update on the concepts of Experiential Travel.
- Local area businesses and community organizations who are looking for opportunities to participate in experiential travel opportunities but who are unfamiliar with, or would like an update on the concepts of Experiential Travel.
- Local champions who are looking to develop an experiential travel partnership network or introduce the concepts of experiential travel to their existing partnership networks.
When: November 17, 2015, 9:30am-4:00pm
Where: Sunova Room, Sun Gro Centre, 360 Veterans Lane, Beausejour, MB
Cost: $35 Members $45 Non-Members
To register for this workshop, contact Jenny at 204-451-1757 or admin@eastmantourism.ca.
Membership has its privileges
Partnering with Eastman Tourism offers many benefits including reduced rates for seminars, workshops, and events, co-op advertising, networking events, business listing on the Eastman Tourism website interactive map, social media marketing, access to resources and assistance with tourism development. For more information on membership click here. Membership runs January 1 to December 31, 2016. Now is the time to join! With the unveiling of the new Travel Manitoba visitor information centre at The Forks, we have some great opportunities coming in 2016 that you don't want to miss.
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