Ottawa Tourism completed a week-long roadshow yesterday as part of its ongoing outreach and relationship building with key association clients across the UK and Europe. The trip, which included face to face time with both current and potential clients is part of Ottawa’s ongoing business development strategy to win long term business for Canada’s capital city. Joining the Ottawa Tourism team were representatives of the Shaw Centre – Ottawa’s main convention centre.
The roadshow also marked the start of a new partnership between Ottawa Tourism and specialist PR to the business events industry, Soaring Worldwide.
“The Ottawa Tourism team doesn’t sell the destination, instead we build relationships, educate and inform,” comments Ottawa’s Vice President, Meetings and Major Event, Lesley Mackay. “The result is a long-term business strategy that has seen the city go from strength to strength over the last few years and significantly raise its profile amongst global association buyers. This sustained and focused approach has proved incredibly successful when backed up by other in-market activity such as attendance at trade shows, fams and our incredibly successful client event at Gleneagles in 2018 that has already netted several enquiries and more than a 600% return on investment.”
Mackay continues: “The partnership with Soaring Worldwide is a natural extension of our personal approach to the market. As a specialist PR focused on venues and destinations in the association sector they know the buyers and what appeals to them in terms of communication and messaging. Their work during the Gleneagles event last year was an ideal introduction and the whole team is looking forward to reaping the benefits of their support moving forward.”
Nina Kressler, President and CEO of the Shaw Centre concludes: “This trip was the perfect opportunity to spend face to face time with some of our most important contacts here in the UK and Europe. It was an opportunity to do more than just make new friends as we also spent time talking to several clients already planning events in Ottawa.”
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