Cultural History Buff!

Did you know that Canada has a Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)?  Until I started completing a Master's Degree in Recreation Management, I was unsure as well.  It is the government's agency to increase the awareness of Canada as a tourism destination to the rest of the world, and to encourage Canadians to travel in their own country rather than heading off to foreign destinations.  As of 2011 the CTC will be targeting the following countries as major sources of vacation travellers to Canada: USA, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Mexico, Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, India and Brazil.

Their website includes links to multiple pages that will lead you to through a labyrinth of initiatives including LOCALS KNOW; brand, experiences and EQ toolkits; you can find out your EQ (Explorer Quotient); flip through a corporate brochure; order posters featuring many of Canada's beautiful sights; sign-up to receive updated information as new initiatives are implemented.  As well, the CTC has joined all the social networking sights online.

The only thing I don't like is the branding of a country, my country.  It is a brand?  Do we want people to come to Canada because we have adopted a corporate model of marketing?  Branding and I don't really get along.

I am tired of hearing about it, I am tired of everyone thinking everything in the world needs to have a brand (including a book I saw about how to brand yourself?!?), and would like to think that people can see through brands to an actual reality of a company, object or place instead of a constructed ghostly image that should exude feelings of bliss from symbols and words created by a group of people in a boardroom.  Regardless of my complaints, Canada was ranked the #2 branded country in the world in 2009, just behind the USA and ahead of Australia (#3) and New Zealand (#4) (See FutureBrand's Country Brand Index - CBI.).  I suppose the world is being branded, including my country.  If there was life on other planets and beyond, some group would branding the earth as well.

Other than this, the website is quite interesting and makes me want to travel more in my own backyard.   I do enjoy the posters which are not typically Canadian (a thrust of the organization to re-image the country), and wonder how many other people have see this effort on behalf of our government.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  These are a portion of your Canadian tax dollars (50% government, 50% private industry support).

Tonia's Explorer Quotient:

In the world of explorers, you are a Cultural History Buff.  You strive to go beyond your own roots to understand the history and culture of others.  When you travel, you are likely pursuing a personal interest or hobby, making the experience more rewarding.  Travelling alone or in small groups, you seek the freedom to observe, absorb and learn at your own pace, unhurried by others or driven by rigid schedules. (Copied from the webiste: http://eqcaen.canada.travel/ttCulturalHistoryBuff.php)