Bytown Museum director Christina Tessier (Darren Brown, OBJ)

As Canada and China negotiate an agreement to allow more Chinese tourists to visit this country, dozens of Ottawa tourism and hospitality managers have undertaken specialized customer service training to cater to visitors from the world's most populous nation.

The one-day course by Algonquin College and Ottawa-based East Communications teaches general managers and sales directors at hotels, museums, galleries and other attractions simple Mandarin phrases, Chinese tourist demographics and visitor expectations.

"If they come to Canada and are staying at the Westin or the Chateau Laurier, do they want to go to the gift shop and buy things that are made in China?" said Altaf Sovani, the academic chair for Algonquin's school of hospitality and tourism.

"When they come here, they just don't want to go to malls, they would like to see any interesting heritage buildings with history – museums, galleries, our UNESCO Rideau Canal."

While tourism officials wait for a 2005 agreement designating Canada as an officially approved Chinese tourism destination – called Approved Destination Status (ADS), and still to be implemented – China continues to be one of Canada's fastest-growing sources of overseas visitors. In addition to participating in training workshops, some Ottawa tourism operators have developed their own strategies to accommodate and attract an expected flood of Chinese tourists.

As a case study, Mr. Sovani gives the example of Australia, which was granted ADS by China in 1999, permitting mainland Chinese residents to visit the country for leisure. However, Mr. Sovani said Australian tour operators initially planed itineraries that included full-day trips to shopping malls.

"It backfired on them," he said. Although the Chinese of course enjoy shopping, Mr. Sovani said most tourists come from the mega-cities of Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou and are usually affluent.

"They like brand names like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. They like a lot of Canadian artifacts, such as Indian art and Canadian original art. And they will pay top, top dollar to buy them."

Mr. Sovani said he hopes the course, funded by Ontario's Ministry of Tourism and hosted by Ottawa Tourism, will eventually be extended to front-line staff. It already includes practical pointers, such as ensuring hotel rooms are stocked with everything a guest may need, including toothbrushes.

"I always believe we should be ready when you have a new market coming to Canada," he said.

Ottawa Tourism said ongoing negotiations to grant Canada ADS holds significant local opportunities for the local market. Currently, Chinese visitors travelling with official or business groups can visit Canada, but it's much more difficult for private passport holders to obtain the necessary visas to leave the country, said Ottawa Tourism president Noel Buckley.

Comparatively, outbound tour agencies in China can market trips to ADS countries for groups of at least five people.

China formally committed to grant Canada ADS in January 2005, but more than three years later there is still no operational agreement in place, said Michael O'Shaughnessy, a spokesperson for Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

"We're hoping China will engage in a meaningful way in negotiations towards an operational ADS agreement in the near future," said Mr. O'Shaughnessy.

Mr. Buckley said it's likely Ottawa could see a double-digit percentage increase in the number of visitors from mainland China if Canada secures ADS. Likewise, Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association executive director Dick Brown said the market holds huge potential, especially if airline carriers increase their capacity between Ottawa and China. "It is a case of planting seeds and waiting for them to grow," he said.

Bytown Museum director Christina Tessier agreed, noting China's massive population means even a small shift in travel options or preferences could have a huge impact in Canada. The museum, located alongside the Rideau Canal, recently launched a new locally produced digital audio tour available in English, French, Japanese, German, Spanish and Mandarin.

Ms. Tessier said the foreign languages were chosen from Ottawa census data, as well as statistics from Ottawa Tourism on visitor origins. In addition to reaching out to Ottawa allophones, Ms. Tessier said the audio tours are a way of appealing to international tourists – 14 per cent of the museum's 13,000 visitors last year.

"In the past, they would run up to the museum and only spend a few minutes because all they could do is look. They couldn't really understand what they were seeing," she said.

Ms. Tessier added she believes the multilingual audio tours are one way of ensuring Ottawa is ready to accommodate an increase in Chinese visitors. "It is important that if we're inviting these people in that we are also able to offer service in their own language." N

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SINO SNAPSHOT

• Chinese visitors to Canada in 2006: 139,000 (up 22.8 per cent)
• Chinese visitors to Canada between January and March 2008: 26,266 (up 15.8 per cent over March 2007)

Of all Canadian Tourism Commission core markets, Chinese travellers had the:

• Highest average length of stay (28.8 nights), but the lowest average spend per night.
• Least travel during shoulder season (winter, spring and fall) as they preferred to travel to Canada mainly during summer.

Source: Canadian Tourism Commission

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