These are completed online sessions that we have recorded to share with greater tourism community.
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 – 10 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 NT)
Topic: Tourism in a Pandemic : It’s about telling your story! PART 1
Stan Cook Jr is one of the most recognizable tourism professional in Canada having won numerous awards and accolades as a business owner over the past 25 years. Join Stan as he shares how using a repeatable and relevant story based formula to communicate to your clients what they need is the difference between disseminating facts and making a valuable point. Using stories to organize information for our customers is the most powerful tool known in the history of man. In the post Covid 19 technology packed world the elements of talking stories will garner attention from otherwise distracted customers. This is a two part session with the next part the following week – we hope you can join.
Presenter: Stan Cook Jr., Tourism Consultant, NL
Target Audience: Tourism Operators
Monday, October 25, 2021 – 10 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 NT)
Topic: Telling your story to those that need to hear it. PART 2
Stan Cook Jr has been telling stories for as long as he can remember. One of the most decorated and awarded tourism professionals in Canada, Stan will lead us through a process that will help us think about the value of story telling. Human beings are natural storytellers, we were telling tales long before we wrote anything down. We have been telling stories so long that we don’t recognize it as a skill anymore. It’s just something we do, but it doesn’t mean we are any good at it. This session will give an overview on how to clarify your message through story telling so customers will listen. As second nature as storytelling is it is a skill that can be honed.
Presenter: Stan Cook Jr., Tourism Consultant, NL
Target Audience: Tourism Operators
Monday, November 1, 2021 – 10 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 NT)
Topic: Developing Innovative Tourism Experiences
Ian jumped at the chance to return home to Newfoundland and Labrador from western Canada in 2010, accepting a position in Gros Morne National Park. His sense of place that many Newfoundlanders embrace makes him a passionate promoter of the province in his roles with the Gros Morne Cooperating Association and Parks Canada. Residing in Gros Morne has inspired Ian and his wife, Rebecca, to start five companies, Tour, Taste and Transform Gros Morne, Gros Morne Inn and Atlantic Healthy Oceans Initiative. Living in a world-class national park they develop customized sustainable tourism experiences by developing strong partnerships with local operators. Join Ian as he shares with you his passion for tourism and how he has developed award winning hiking, culinary and culture based tours that connect visitors to the special character of place in Gros Morne. Ian will share the key things to think about as you go through the process of building out experiences and the value of partnering within your own communities.
Presenter: Ian Stone, C0-owner Tour Gros Morne, NL
Target Audience: Tourism Operators
Monday, November 8, 2021 – 10 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 NT)
Topic: Itinerary Development
Chris Sheppard is the Executive Director of the Legendary Coasts DMO in Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador. Chris is a familiar face within the Newfoundland and Labrador tourism industry and has more than 25 years of experience in many areas of the tourism industry. In this session Chris will discuss what an itinerary is and explore the various types and possible themes for an itinerary. He will look at the benefits of an itinerary for a visitor and why visitors want one. Finally, he will review some tips for writing an itinerary and what we do with them once they are ready to use.
Presenter: Chris Sheppard, Executive Director, Legendary Coasts
Target Audience: Business, DMO, TIAs who want to learn more about itinerary development.
Monday, November 15, 2021 – 10 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 NT)
Topic: Building Confidence with Festival and Events
Paul Gudgin has been involved with the festival industry for 30 years working on a wide range of large-scale and smaller events including the Aldeburgh Festival, City of London Festival, Durham International Brass Festival and 8 years as the Director of the world’s largest arts festival, The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Join Paul as he shares some insights into the current state of affairs within Festival and Events through COVID and how we need to build back confidence within our organizers, attendees, funders and artists through new and innovative approaches.
Presenter: Paul Gudgin, Festival and Event Management Consultant, UK
Target Audience: Festival and Events managers, administrators, municipal leaders, government support agents looking for further information and ideas around managing festival and events through COVID.
Monday, November 22, 2021 – 10 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 NT)
Topic: Stories of Food
Lori McCarthy is the owner of the highly awarded and written about Cod Sounds. Her business is focused on telling the stories of Newfoundland and Labrador through food – often gathered through her renowned foraging experiences. Join Lori as she shares insights on where she sees the culinary scene moving through COVID and past it.
Presenter: Lori McCarthy, Owner Cod Sounds, NL
Target Audience: Operators who work in the food/experience sector who want to adapt/manage their offerings during COVID.
Monday, November 29, 2021 – 10 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 NT)
Topic: Deciding on Trails: Cultivating a Trail Culture
Amy Camp, owner of Cycle Forward, specializes in helping communities better connect to and benefit from trails. Having helped to establish the first Trail Town program in Pennsylvania, she now works with trail towns throughout the U.S. and Canada. She recently published Deciding on Trails: 7 Practices of Healthy Trail Towns. Amy believes that when local people and leaders use and celebrate trails – when they decide to invest in trails – that a trail culture and trail economy take hold. Join us for an interactive discussion on cultivating a trail culture.
Presenter: Amy Camp, Owner of Cycle Forward, USA
Target Audience: Communities and businesses who have an interest in utilizing/developing trails for community and visitor usage.
SLIDE DECK from Presentation.Sandbox Series Presentation
Monday, December 6, 2021 – 10 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 NT)
Topic: Tourism Community Development
Colleen Kennedy is the Executive Director of the Gros Morne Cooperating Association located in Gros Morne region of Newfoundland and Labrador. The GMCA along with Parks Canada and the seven municipalities that exist within the National Park have engage in an ambitious project to develop a tourism strategy that would become a guiding set of policies and practices to help support the Gros Morne Region as they work together to create great places to live and visit. Join Colleen as she provides an overview of the Gros Morne Tourism Regional Implementation Plan (GMTRIP) and how they have engaged across different municipal, provincial and federal jurisdictions to work together towards a common goal.
Presenter: Colleen Kennedy, Executive Director, Gros Morne Cooperating Association, NL
Target Audience: Those who work in community development, tourism and municipal government.
Here are some links to talked about community development documents in the presentation below. STAR and GMTRIP
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wednesday January 27, 2021 – 10:00 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 AM NT).
Topic: Innovation, Adaptation and Partnerships in Festival and Events
Kim Doyle is a partnership and product development strategist with more than 15 years of experience in leading world-class events such as the annual Cavendish Beach Music Festival. When COVID shut down mass gatherings, Kim continued to create opportunities to connect artists to audiences and brands with fans through digital and hybrid initiatives. Join us for an interactive discussion on why and how Kim redefined product and partnerships and how you might start thinking of new approaches for your festival or event.
Presenter: Kim Doyle, Director of Partnerships, Cavendish Beach Music Festival, PEI
Target Audience: Those who work in Festival and Events and want to use new approaches and practices to engage their audience.
Wednesday Feb 3, 2021 – 10:00 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 AM NT).
Topic: The COVID Pivot: How to use digital media to stay connected with your audience.
Alain Bosse (aka the Kilted Chef) is a well known chef in Atlantic Canada. For the past 15 years he has been one of the key ambassadors for the Atlantic Canada Seafood industry travelling the world promoting our industry. He has also been a successful culinary experience provider running his own culinary experiences from his farm house in Pictou, NS and also partnering with other tourism businesses around Atlantic Canada. When COVID hit like many businesses he too felt the impact with the loss of most of his business. However, on a whim, he and his wife turned to Facebook live and started an online cooking show. What started out as a way to stay busy during the dark days of COVID has turned into an interesting new business stream for Chef. Join us as we hear his story and look at how you can use digital media to stay connected to your consumers in some unique ways.
Presenter: Chef Alain Bosse (AKA, Kilted Chef), Pictou, NS
Target Audience: Business Operators who want to use new technologies in unique ways to connect with their audience/customers.
Wednesday Feb 10, 2021 – 10:00 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 AM NT).
Topic: Experiential Tourism During COVID and Beyond.
Perry Gotell is the owner of one of the most high-profile regional tourism businesses, Tranquility Cove Adventures in Georgetown, PEI. A lobster fisherman for many decades, Perry turned his love for PEI and working on the water into one of the most highly recognized experiential tourism businesses in Atlantic Canada. While COVID had a serious impact on Tranquility Cove’s bottom line it has not deterred Perry from investing in his business and thinking about what he needs to do to stay relevant and profitable. Join us as Perry shares his struggles and successes during COVID as he talks about why he chose to invest in his business during COVID.
Presenter: Perry Gotell, Owner of Tranquility Cove Adventures, Georgetown, PEI
Target Audience: Experience/Adventure/Tour Operators looking to adapt their offerings to match current realities from the impact of COVID.
Wednesday Feb 17, 2021 – 10:00 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 AM NT).
Topic: Culinary Tourism – Out in Nature
Lori McCarthy is the owner of the highly awarded and written about Cod Sounds. Her business is focused on telling the stories of Newfoundland and Labrador through food – often gathered through her renowned foraging experiences. Like everyone else, Cod Sounds has been impacted by COVID, but Lori has continued to explore new avenues for her business. Join us as Lori tells us about her business and where she sees the opportunity and challenges for the culinary industry may lie for 2021 and beyond.
Presenter: Lori McCarthy, Owner Cod Sounds, NL
Target Audience: Operators who work in the food/experience sector who want to adapt/manage their offerings during COVID.
Wednesday Feb 24, 2021 – 10:00 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 AM NT).
Topic: Tourism Community Preparedness in COVID Times.
Ian Stone and Nora Fever work for the nationally awarded community agency the Gros Morne Cooperating Association (GMCA) in Rocky Harbour, NL. The GMCA works in partnership with local communities and Parks Canada to ensure they are building a world class tourism experience for visitors to the region. As one of the most visited destinations in NL, Gros Morne needed to rethink how it would prepare the destination for visitors in 2020. Join us as Ian and Nora talk about the “Safe and Clean” program that was instituted in the region and the level of communication that was established for both visitors and local citizens to ensure everyone was provided the most relevant and useful information possible.
Presenter: Ian Stone and Nora Fever, GMCA, NL
Target Audience: DMO/Municipalities/TIAs and businesses who want to discuss practices and actions they can take to prepare for 2021.
Wednesday March 3, 2021 – 10:00 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 AM NT).
Topic: Mountain Biking/Fat Biking.
While the pandemic has has had wide spread impacts in our industry, one of the largest increases we have seen is the demand for trails and biking options. We are lucky this week to have John McNair, the owner of Outdoor Elements a retail and adventure experience company, based in Sussex, New Brunswick. John will share with us his passion for the outdoors and how he has grown his business from the retail realm into adventure operations with a special focus on what he has done with mountain biking and fat biking. He will share his story from “poaching trails” on his mountain bike to promoting world class trails. Like all of us John was hit hard by the pandemic and he will share with us his challenges and successes with an eye towards the opportunity of biking and fat biking in today’s market.
Presenter: John McNair, Owner Outdoor Elements, Sussex, NB
Target Audience: Adventure Tourism Operators, Trails Groups, NGO Attractions, Experience Providers
Wednesday March 10, 2021 – 10:00 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 AM NT).
Topic: The Opportunity of Trails
Jane McCulloch is a highly regarded trail tourism and community development consultant with nearly 20 years working in the industry across Canada and currently has a trail column on CBC Information Morning in Southwestern New Brunswick. Over this time, she has seen significant changes in the industry, including the development of trails as a tourism product. While many in the region were adversely impacted due to Covid, trails have seen a phenomenal increase in usage since the lockdown was declared in March. Many trails developed Covid protocols to ensure that proper physical distancing measures were followed because of this. Jane has been working with clients to help them understand the untapped potential of their trail network and how they can capitalize on the growing trend of trail tourism. Join us to learn how your business, organization or community can diversify or adapt in order to benefit from the potential of the trail economy and placemaking through better use of an asset that many have taken for granted for many years.
Presenter: Jane McCulloch, Owner Terminus Consulting, Saint John, NB
Target Audience: Businesses wanting to utilize trails as part of their offerings, Trail Communities, Municipalities, NGOs, Gov
Wednesday March 17, 2021 – 10:00 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 AM NT).
Topic: Risk Management
Mike Carpenter is the co-owner and lead guide of Red Rock Adventure in St. Martins, NB offering day and multi-day sea kayaking and backpacking experiences on the Bay of Fundy. He also works as the Director of Outdoor Leadership at Rothesay Netherwood School in Rothesay, NB where he is responsible for organizing outdoor adventure, wilderness camping, and international service trip experiences to students in grade 6-12. Through these responsibilities, Mike has developed an appreciation and knowledge about the importance of risk management planning to ensure the safety of his staff, students, and guests. Join us and have a conversation with Mike as he shares the steps and systems needed to develop a relevant and usable risk management plan that works for your business or organization.
Presenter: Mike Carpenter, Co-Owner Red Rock Adventure, St. Martins, NB
Target Audience: Tourism Operators, NGO Attractions, Experience Providers
Wednesday March 24, 2021 – 10:00 – 11:15 AM AST (10:30 – 11:45 AM NT).
Topic: Pivoting Partnerships in a Pandemic – Festival and Events
It’s no secret that 2020 was a different year for all. From figuring out how to navigate life during a pandemic, to coming to terms with the new normal, Kim Doyle and Abbey MacDonald are here to share their story of pivoting partnerships for festival and events, during the pandemic. Kim is a partnership and product development strategist with more than 15 years of experience in leading world-class events such as the annual Cavendish Beach Music Festival. Abbey comes from the corporate world, having 5 years of experience in Marketing but most recently a focus on Sponsorship with the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. Learn how these two steered their way through a global pandemic and continued to pull off festivals and events!
Presenters: Kim Doyle, Director of Partnerships, Cavendish Beach Music Festival, PEI & Abbey MacDonald, Community and Sponsorship Strategist, Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Moncton, NB
Target Audience: Those who work in Festival and Events and want to better understand the world of partner engagement and sponsorship.