Resident Sentiment Poll Northern BC Tourism Findings

Resident Sentiment Poll Northern BC Tourism June 2020 Polling Conducted and Validated by CIPR Communications

Approach From June 16-19, 2020, Northern BC Tourism polled 1,593 residents from the following communities: Prince Rupert Terrace Smithers Prince George Dawson Creek Fort St John Fort Nelson Kitimat The purpose of this poll was to gauge resident sentiment regarding tourism and tourism related activities, and marketing in their region.

Approach Analyzing Results YES / NO RESPONDENTS = 100% of decided respondents UNSURE RESPONDENTS = Undecided percentage of total respondents INSIGHT = CIPR COMMUNICATIONS INSIGHTS BASED ON POLLING RESULTS *** Yes and No respondents together add up to 100%, so you can view those responses as a percentage of decided people.

Approach - Sample Size For Context: A provincial poll in Ontario normally has a size of 800 (population 14 million). A federal poll normally has a size of 1500 (Population 37 million or 338 Ridings). This is a 1500 sample for approximately 3 Ridings Result is: +/- 2.5% 19 times out of 20

Day Trips Q: I believe that my community is prepared to welcome visitors for day trips from the surrounding region. (yes/no/I need more information before I form an opinion) UNSURE 13.9% YES NO 72.8% 27.2% These results demonstrate residents are comfortable with welcoming Northern BC regional visitors for day trips in their communities.

Regional Overnight Visitors Q: I believe that my community is prepared to welcome visitors for overnight stays from the surrounding region. (yes/no/I need more information before I form an opinion) UNSURE 12.1% YES NO 67.8% 32.2% These results demonstrate residents are comfortable with welcoming Northern BC regional visitors for overnight stays in their communities.

Visitors From BC Q: I believe that my community is prepared to welcome visitors from across BC for overnight stays. (yes/no/I need more information before I form an opinion) UNSURE 14.5% YES NO 57.6% 42.4% These results demonstrate that while residents are comfortable with welcoming regional visitors for overnight stays, there is a significant increase in those who are not comfortable or unsure of welcoming visitors from outside their region, even if they are BC residents. Focus on educating the region on why this is safe.

Visitors From Bordering Territories Q: I believe that my community is prepared to welcome visitors from bordering territories. (yes/no/I need more information before I form an opinion) UNSURE 16.0% YES NO 36.7% 63.3% These results clearly demonstrate that residents are not comfortable with welcoming visitors from boarding territories. More education is needed and reassurance before marketing.

Visitors From Alberta Q: I believe my community is prepared to welcome visitors from Alberta for overnight stays. (Yes/no/ I need more information before I form an opinion) UNSURE 11.7% YES NO 46.0% 54.0% These results demonstrate residents are not comfortable welcoming visitors from Alberta for overnight stays. It is worth noting that these numbers do represent an increased willingness than those we saw regarding bordering territories this could be because the question is more specific. Regardless, more education is needed for residents to understand the value and the risk.

Proactive Marketing Q: I believe our region should begin promoting tourism opportunities for visitors and actively begin marketing to potential visitors from the following markets: Across all Western Canada = 30.0% Local, regional, and provincial = 41.3% Local and regional = 15.3% Local only = 6.5% I do not believe we should be promoting tourism = 6.9% Given these results we would suggest that Northern BC Tourism has a mandate to market across BC; especially within the region.

Visitors From High Density Regions Q: I am comfortable with residents from high density regions or urban areas, such as Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, or Calgary visiting my community. (yes/no/I need more information before I form an opinion) UNSURE 11.1% YES NO 30.6% 69.4% These results demonstrate a high level of discomfort amongst respondents regarding visitors from high density regions. This could represent an opportunity to diversify marketing tactics, with a focus on rural communities across provinces. CIPR suggests there could be an opportunity for a Welcome Your Neighbours style marketing effort to reassure locals that people like them are coming to visit.

Confidence in Precautions Q: I am confident that the local businesses in my community have taken the necessary precautions and are prepared to safely welcome visitors. (yes/no/unsure) UNSURE 20.1% YES NO 70.6% 29.4% These results demonstrate residents are feeling confident that the necessary precautions are being implemented in their community. These results indicate that little education regarding precautions is required. This question also helps to clarify that not welcoming guests has nothing to do with perceived safety precautions in place.

Regional Tourism Q: This summer I intend to explore the Northern BC region: A. More than I have in previous years = 20.8% B. The same amount that I have in previous years = 49.6% C. Less than I have in previous years = 19.9% D. Not at all, I am not comfortable traveling at this time = 12.7 E. Unsure = 5.3% These results demonstrate residents are not planning to drastically increase their tourism related activities in their region. This could be an opportunity to raise awareness regarding regional tourism related activities. Marketing regionally is important. Detailing the value of tourism and why people should explore the region more this year is key.

Further Contact Q: I would be willing to be contacted individually to provide further input regarding tourism in Northern BC. (yes/no) YES 284 284 individuals have self-selected that they would be willing to provide further input regarding tourism in Northern BC. This is a significant portion of respondents which could be a powerful tool moving forward. It must also be recognized that often the most hyper-engaged are the most upset or unhappy so before engaging them they should be vetted and placed in an appropriate cohort.

Regional Insights Smithers, Prince George, Dawson Creek, and Fort St John all received above 70% support for regional day trip visitors. Prince Rupert, Terrace, Smithers, Prince George, and Dawson Creek all received above 60% approval for regional overnight visitors. Dawson Creek residents showed the highest levels of support for welcoming visitors from across BC (72.9%), bordering territories (60%) and from Alberta (79.2%). Prince Rupert residents showed the greatest decrease in sentiment between support for regional visitors and lack of support for provincial/inter-provincial visitors. Prince Rupert, Terrace and Prince George all saw substantial drops in resident support for welcoming visitors from bordering territories compared to their support for regional and provincial travel. Dawson Creek and Smithers received the highest levels of support for proactive marketing efforts outside of BC. While Prince George received the highest levels of support for local, regional and provincial marketing efforts. Dawson Creek is a substantial outlier in their openness to welcoming individuals from high density regions (51.1%) while Prince Rupert, Terrace, Fort St John and Prince George all showed less than 30% support for attracting high-density visitors. Fort Nelson and Kitimat had low sample sizes. However Fort Nelson s lopsided responses can be considered conclusive. Kitimat should try to measure sentiment through live calling to get a more conclusive result. All other communities surveyed have a representative sample with statistical accuracy of +/- 2.5% 19 times out of 20.

Insight Summary Residents in the surveyed communities are comfortable with welcoming visitors from BC for both day trips and overnight stays. Residents in the surveyed communities are reluctant, at this time, to welcome visitors from neighbouring territories. Residents in the surveyed communities are hesitant to welcome tourists from Alberta, but are more comfortable with Alberta residents than those from high-density regions. The reluctance of surveyed communities to welcome individuals from high-density regions could present an opportunity to avoid expensive metropolitan markets when developing campaigns. Residents in surveyed communities are open to proactive marketing targeted across BC and to some extent across Western Canada. There is room for a unique locally driven campaign. Surveyed residents are, at this time, not indicating a significant increase in their interest or plans for local or regional tourism. This could be an opportunity for targeting regional marketing. There is a need for the community to understand the value of tourism to the community and to be empowered to be tourists in their own region. We saw a significant level of engagement in this survey, representing an interest in this topic and potential for further consultation or temperature checks moving forward.