2013 DCBA Strategic Plan - Destination Cape Breton Association

1.3. Go Forward - Ensuring After-Care for OperatorsDoing business in tourism has changed dramatically over the past number of years. The shift towardexperiential tourism has seen many destinations delivering experiences in new and innovative ways. TheCanadian Tourism Commission (CTC), Canada's national tourism marketing organization, is a recognizedleader internationally in understanding who the potential travellers to Canada are. THE CTC has gonebeyond traditional market research to find out exactly why people travel and why different types oftravellers seek out entirely different travel experiences. This has resulted in the Explorer Quotient® (EQ).This innovative market segmentation tool comes from the science of psychographics – an evolution ofthe traditional field of demographics. Instead of defining people based on age, income, gender, familystatus or education level – psychographics look deeper at people's personal beliefs, social values andview of the world. These factors are what drive real people to seek out certain types of experiences.Knowing who our customers are and what kind of experience they're after helps us attract our bestcustomers and make the most of their visitor experience.There are 9 explorer quotients and Cape Breton Island is the ideal destination to target two specifically;the cultural explorer and the authentic experiencer.Cultural ExplorerIn the world of explorers, you are a Cultural Explorer. You seek constant opportunities to embrace,discover, and immerse yourself in the entire experience of the culture, people and settings of the placesyou visit. Not content to just visit historic sites and watch from the sidelines, you want to participate inthe modern-day culture as well. You often attempt to converse with locals, attend local cultural festivals,or go off the beaten track to discover how people truly live.Most likely to be seen at heritage sites, cultural events, museums, and festivals.http://us.canada.travel/EQTypes/CulturalExplorerAuthentic ExperiencerIn the world of explorers, you are an Authentic Experiencer. With a foot in both worlds, you appreciatethe understated beauty of natural and cultural environments. You enjoy using all of your senses whenyou explore your chosen destination and really get to know the places you visit. You quickly adapt topersonal challenges and risks, easily figuring out how to make the most of every situation. You want tobe fully immersed in your travel experiences and tend to stay away from group tours and rigid plans.Most likely to be seen at nature reserves, world heritage sites, hiking trails, and museums.http://us.canada.travel/EQTypes/AuthenticExperiencerIt is critical to the success of our operators that we offer opportunities and support to enhance existingand new product offerings Island wide based on the EQ Visitors that we target; the Cultural Explorer andAuthentic Experiencer.14