Heritage Tourism Standards Survey

INTRODUCTION: The Heritage Tourism Market Readiness Project is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & the Arts (MTCA) and the Heritage Tourism Alliance of BC (HTA). The project is needed to define a set of criteria by which heritage and cultural products and experiences can be assessed for their readiness for marketing to domestic and international visitors and tourism operators. Developed for quality assurance purposes, the working group hopes that the set of standards will establish a benchmark of market ready heritage tourism products in the province and will lead to an increase in the number of market ready heritage products/experiences in BC.

Today's tourists are far more savvy than in the past; they are proficient on the web and have the world at their fingertips. In order for BC's tourism industry to remain competitive with other national and international tourism destinations, operators must ensure proper communication and service to potential visitors. MTCA (including the Provincial Destination Management Organisation formerly known as Tourism British Columbia, which is to be integrated with MTCA in April 2010) and the Heritage Tourism Alliance of BC promote this province's great heritage tourism experiences to visitors from around the world. They are helping to attract customers for your business and in order to do so, it is important that the heritage and cultural experiences offered throughout the province operate to standards that match visitor expectations.

PRIVACY: Please note that this survey is confidential and anonymous, and that your participation in it is voluntary. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Bruce Whyte, cultural tourism advisor, at 250-356-6967.

Collection of your personal information is authorized under section 26(c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. By completing the survey, you are agreeing to the following: (1) That you read, understand and consent to the terms of use and privacy policy of the Survey Monkey website; (2) That you expressly authorize in accordance with section 30.1(a) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the storage of your personal information outside Canada by Survey Monkey and all its affiliates and associates; (3) That you understand that Survey Monkey protection of personal information is not subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

INSTRUCTIONS: First, please review the ‘Heritage Tourism Market Ready Standards Manual,’ provided to you by email, as these questions refer to that document. Then, for the questions on the pages which follow, mark the response which best indicates your level of support/agreement for each point. Use the ‘Comment’ sections to provide further input, if required.

	Very Satisfied	Satisfied	Neutral	Not Satisfied	Strongly Dissatisfied
Satisfied with purpose:	*The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, along with the Heritage Tourism Alliance of BC, promotes the province’s heritage tourism experiences to visitors from around the world. It is important that the businesses these agencies present to the world operate to standards that match what visitors expect. How satisfied are you with the standards and criteria outlined in the Heritage Tourism Market Readiness Manual as a tool to determine which heritage businesses and agencies are ready to host the world? Satisfied with purpose: Very Satisfied	Satisfied with purpose: Satisfied	Satisfied with purpose: Neutral	Satisfied with purpose: Not Satisfied	Satisfied with purpose: Strongly Dissatisfied

	Strongly support	Support	Neutral	Don't Support	Strongly Disagree
Support approach to standards:	*The proposed heritage tourism market-readiness standards classify products into three groups, ranging from visitor-ready (meet minimum requirements to legally conduct business), through market-ready (actively promotes product in the marketplace) to export-ready (prepared to work with the travel trade and overseas markets). Are you in favour of this approach? Support approach to standards: Strongly support	Support approach to standards: Support	Support approach to standards: Neutral	Support approach to standards: Don't Support	Support approach to standards: Strongly Disagree

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly disagree
Agree with categories:	*To understand the heritage tourism sector, the standards segment the sector into a number of categories of product types. Does this characterization work for your operation? Agree with categories: Strongly agree	Agree with categories: Agree	Agree with categories: Neutral	Agree with categories: Disagree	Agree with categories: Strongly disagree

	Strongly support	Support	Neutral	Don't support	Strongly disagree
Support linking marketing to standards:	*The product readiness standards are intended to determine which products qualify for cooperative marketing programs under HTA and MTCA. Do you support linking eligibility for cooperative marketing programs to the level of market-readiness of the business? Support linking marketing to standards: Strongly support	Support linking marketing to standards: Support	Support linking marketing to standards: Neutral	Support linking marketing to standards: Don't support	Support linking marketing to standards: Strongly disagree

	Very likely	Likely	Neutral	Unlikely	Very unlikely
Likely to market with HTA	*The Heritage Tourism Alliance is a joint industry-government sector group with a mandate to raise awareness of heritage tourism products in the province. How likely are you to participate in cooperative marketing programs with the HTA? Likely to market with HTA Very likely	Likely to market with HTA Likely	Likely to market with HTA Neutral	Likely to market with HTA Unlikely	Likely to market with HTA Very unlikely

	Very likely	Likely	Neutral	Unlikely	Very unlikely
Likely to market through TBC's HelloBC:	*HelloBC is the main tourism website portal for the province. How likely are you to sign-up for a listing with HelloBC.com? Likely to market through TBC's HelloBC: Very likely	Likely to market through TBC's HelloBC: Likely	Likely to market through TBC's HelloBC: Neutral	Likely to market through TBC's HelloBC: Unlikely	Likely to market through TBC's HelloBC: Very unlikely

1 / 1

Heritage Tourism Standards Survey
Exit this survey >>

3. Do you think these standards and criteria will improve the marketing of heritage products in the province?

4. Do you think standards will help with continuing product improvement (quality assurance) in the heritage sector?

5. To understand the heritage tourism sector, the standards segment the sector into a number of categories of product types. Does this characterization work for your operation?

6. The product readiness standards are intended to determine which products qualify for cooperative marketing programs under HTA and MTCA. Do you support linking eligibility for cooperative marketing programs to the level of market-readiness of the business?

7. The Heritage Tourism Alliance is a joint industry-government sector group with a mandate to raise awareness of heritage tourism products in the province. How likely are you to participate in cooperative marketing programs with the HTA?

8. HelloBC is the main tourism website portal for the province. How likely are you to sign-up for a listing with HelloBC.com?

9. OTHER COMMENTS: If you have any input about any aspect of this matter, please provide your comments here.

Heritage Tourism Standards SurveyExit this survey >>