Topic 2: Discover how to move away from a tourism product to offering a tourism experience and how to identify audiences for experiential travel experiences.

1. CULTURAL AWARENESS,
DIVERSITY AND YOUR
CUSTOMER
EXPERIENTIAL TRAVEL
PACKAGING
TOPIC 2
MAKING THE SHIFT TO
EXPERIENTIAL TRAVEL

2. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
MAKING THE CHANGE
A tourism product is what you buy,
and a tourism experience is what
you remember.
In developing tourism experiences the
focus is on:
The emotions, feelings and
sensations the travellers will have
on their journey
The stories they will learn about at
the destination, and the
connections they will make

3. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
MAKING THE CHANGE
Moving away from a tourism product to a tourism experience
takes a shift from:
Promoting physical assets, features and infrastructure to
personalizing travel and identifying niche markets
Focusing on “me” and driving customers to “my business” to
collaborating and discovering what “we” can do together
A mass market approach to creating an authentic emotional
connection with people and places
Resisting change and competing on price to providing innovation
and competing on value

4. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
MAKING THE CHANGE
Create an Experience Fishing package that includes other
experiences complementary to the fishing excursion.
Adding in nature walks, star gazing and canoe/kayak rentals
will alleviate the pressure of fishing for the first time and
create a well-rounded northern experience for
the customers.
Partner with others to offer unique experiences:
Indigenous workshops/activities
Northern Ontario cuisine cooking classes
Local forger excursions to learn about safe foods found in nature

5. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
IDENTIFY CUSTOMERS
Meeting international demand for experiential travel requires a
deep understanding of your target markets, giving you insight into
developing experiential products, aligning with partners and suppliers,
attracting new visitors, and delivering a better experience.
Ask yourself these questions when creating experiential packages:
Who are your customers?
What are their traits?
What are their interests?
What do they want?
What do you offer to meet their wants?
How do you offer them superior value?

6. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
EXPERIENCE FISHING EXAMPLE
Who are your customers?
Our customers are families
What are their traits?
Ages 30-45
They have young children
They live in Southern Ontario, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg or in
United States border states depending on geographical location
What are their interests?
They are interested in nature and the outdoors

7. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
EXPERIENCE FISHING EXAMPLE
What do they want?
To escape the hustle and bustle of the city
To disconnect from technology
To build memorable experiences with their children
What do you offer to meet their wants?
A pristine lodge that’s fully catered and a manageable drive away
from home
A place where families enjoy time together in their own cabin and
can connect with other guests during breakfast, lunch and dinner
Natural landscapes with many trails to discover and a lake
to explore
A safe fishing experience with a local, knowledgeable guide

8. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
EXPERIENCE FISHING EXAMPLE
How do you offer them
superior value?
ABC Lodge partnered with a local
Indigenous business to offer a
drum building workshop for the
families of the Experience Fishing
program to enjoy.
This activity is unique and will
provide memorable and fun family
experience while learning about
the Indigenous culture.

9. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 1: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
CUSTOMER SEGMENT PROFILES
Destination Ontario conducted
a study to review the consumer
segment profiles of travellers
coming to Ontario.
The segmentation divides
travellers into groups by
identifying their needs, interests
and characteristics.
This image demonstrates the
12 unique segments that were
identified from the research
conducted.
Pampered
Relaxers
Up & Coming
Explorers
Outgoing
Mature
Couples
Nature
Lovers
Family
Memory
Builders
Solitaires
Mellow
Vacationers
Youth
Socializers
Sports
Lovers
Connected
Explorers
Knowledge
Seekers
Aces

10. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 1: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
CUSTOMER SEGMENT PROFILES
Pampered Relaxers
Sports Lovers
Knowledge Seekers
Up & Coming Explorers
Connected Explorers
Aces
Outgoing Mature Couples
Family Memory Builders
Mellow Vacationers
Nature Lovers
Solitaires
Youth Socializers
5% 5%
5%
7%
9%
8%
8%
15%
6%
10%
6%
6%
14%

11. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
PRIMARY CONSUMER SEGMENT PROFILES
Destination Ontario also identified priority market segments for
Northern Ontario outside of the traditional avid travellers. The avid
travellers are consumers who are committed to Northern Ontario or a
specific outdoor adventure activity.
Connected Explorers
Looking to escape, connected explorers are
youthful (18-34), travel without children and
enjoy authentic experiences. They are committed
to expanding their horizons through travel with
a strong interest in adventure and the outdoors,
along with a desire to escape from the everyday.

12. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
PRIMARY CONSUMER SEGMENT PROFILES
Up & Coming Explorers
Young affluent families looking to explore and
learn as a family. This group includes a high
percentage of visible minorities and immigrants
who are looking to explore attractions, adventure
and the outdoors, starting closer to home.

13. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
PRIMARY CONSUMER SEGMENT PROFILES
Knowledge Seekers
Couples aged 55+ who are nearing retirement,
Knowledge Seekers are empty-nesters looking to
expand their minds through cultural experiences
and understanding the places they visit.

14. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
PRIMARY CONSUMER SEGMENT PROFILES
Nature Lovers (Secondary)
Families with kids that have a passion for
experiencing the great outdoors together.
Travel for them is all about exploring new and
undiscovered places; off the beaten path, who
are looking to be dazzled by awe-inspiring
nature.

15. EXPERIENCE FISHING - Experiential Travel Packaging
TOPIC 2: Making the Shift to Experiential Travel
HOW DO THESE MARKETS ALIGN WITH EXPERIENCE FISHING
TARGET MARKETS?
Connected Explorers:
This segment includes both the millennial and women markets.
Up & Coming Explorers:
This segment includes families and new Canadians.
Knowledge Seekers:
This segment includes the lost angler market. Lost anglers are people
who used to fish as children, however, stopped fishing in
their adulthood.
Nature Lovers:
This segment includes families.