The document summarizes Tourism New Brunswick's efforts to promote tourism through its website and social media presence. It discusses refining the website and launching social media accounts to engage potential visitors. It also describes tools for planning trips, including an online trip planner and partnerships to allow online booking directly with operators. The goal is to help visitors plan vacations in New Brunswick and drive business to operators.

1. Tourism and Parks
Carol Alderdice
Manager, Web Technology

2. Overview • Refined website integrating new
Branding and supporting new
Experience Collection
• Major social media effort aimed at
engaging potential visitors,
supporting operators directly and
generating positive online “word of
mouth”
• Tools to help plan vacation to NB
• Online Booking
• Summary

3. Web Site TourismNewBrunswick.ca/
TourismeNoveauBrunswick.ca

4. Website

9. Social Media

10. Creating a • Launching a presence in both
official languages on Twitter,
Community Facebook, Flickr and YouTube
of Brand • Build a strong online following,
engaging in dialogue with
Ambassadors residents, visitors and potential
visitors
• Distribute New Brunswick
tourism content across multiple
Web platforms
• “Amplify” social media efforts of
individual operators, taking
them to a wider audience
• Actively engage in an authentic,
positive way, in online forums
etc.

15. At 11:25 this morning
…A true sign of summer
in Sussex this weekend!
*slurp* Dairytown's own
Sully's Ice Cream
Parlour opens today!
http://bit.ly/a206Tj
2 minutes ago
We’re at #Saltscapes
Expo! Stop by, say ‘hi’,
and plan to spend some
time back in New
Brunswick with us.
about 2 hours ago

17. My Trip Planner

18. My Trip Planner
Introduced in March 2009…
2009 TIAC award Tourism
Excellence –
Online Innovation Award
So far we have over 25,000 trip
plans created
Finalist at the KIRA Awards
May 6, 2010 in Fredericton

19. Sample Trip Plans

20. Sample Trip Plan – Daily Itinerary

21. Online Booking

22. Overview
• New Brunswick Tourism, TIANB and DMOs partnership
• Allow consumers a means to close the sale from the
Tourism website
• RFI process, selected vendor, signed host agreement
• Direct connect to reservation systems
• Free reservation systems to those without

23. JackRabbit Systems was founded to
develop online travel software for
destination websites. The software is
designed to improve functionality and
usability to the visitor in order to enhance
the visitor’s experience and increase room
nights in the selected destination. The
JackRabbit engine accomplishes this goal.

24. JackRabbit across North America
• In the past three years, JackRabbit has
experienced explosive growth and today, is
aligned with over 100 DMOs and with major
chain hotels representing a significant
percentage of room inventory in North America
• Most recently, JackRabbit has gone live on the
websites for Travel Alberta (travelalberta.com)
and the Las Vegas Convention & Visitor
Authority (visitlasvegas.com)

25. Aligning with Consumer Demands
and Preferences
• JackRabbit supports consumer preferences
by providing an alternative to Online Travel
Agents (OTAs) independent sites, 3rd party
booking engines and the challenge of
searching hotel availability and pricing
through lodging directories on DMO
websites.

26. JackRabbit - Hotel Chain Partners
InterContental Hotel Group
Magnuson Chain of Hotels
Carlson Hotels Worldwide
Delta Hotels
Marriott
America’s Best Value Inns
Best Western
Red Lion Hotels
Fairmont Hotels
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
Hilton Hotels
Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Drury Inn & Suites
Choice Hotels Int’l

27. Search Interfaces on Website

28. Results on Destination website
Website visitors can sort the search results by name and price, filter by
amenities, and preview property locations on a map specific to the
destination area.
Customized, host site
header with image map
buttons back to site.
Search again by date,
category and location.
Sort and filter results.
Hotel listing with image,
description, address,
amenities and book-now
buttons. Results are
rotated randomly to
ensure equal exposure.
Pictured results show
listings that match
selected amenities.

29. How It Works – JackRabbit 1-2-3
When visitors are ready to make a reservation, they click JackRabbit’s "Book
Now“ button, which redirects them to the hotel's own website where they
enter credit card information and complete their reservation.
3. Complete reservation on hotel website
2. Browse results on DMO website
1. Enter travel dates on DMO Website

30. How it works for those with a system
(that are not part of the chains already signed with JackRabbit)
• Letter from TAP/TIANB inviting the operators to
participate
• Link from the letter directly to JackRabbit
• Tracking code provided or built
• Operator arranges to have tracking code installed
• JackRabbit starts indexing for price and availability
• JackRabbit sends statements every month

31. How It Works for those without – JackRabbit Reservation Engine
In the 80 markets JackRabbit studied, 42% of accommodations did not have an
online reservation system. In response to this issue, JackRabbit launched its
own online reservation engine that is provided for FREE to participating
JackRabbit members. These accommodations can now benefit from an
affordable means of accepting online reservations, and from the increased
traffic that can come from JackRabbit .

32. How it works for those that DON’T have a system
• Letter from TAP/TIANB inviting the operators to
participate
• Link from the letter directly to JackRabbit requesting the
Free system
• System available October 15
• Results for operator are returned with those that have a
system (with link to operator’s website or telephone
number)

33. Operator without
an online
reservation system
and signs up to
the free system:
Link to website or
a phone number.

34. Direct connect with JackRabbit - No Middle-Man
Because JackRabbit allows visitors to complete their reservations directly
with the accommodation, the consumer deals directly with the hotel,
avoiding the long line of third-party commission fees that are part of a
normal, GDS reservation.
Sample GDS Reservation
3rd Party GDS Gateway
Booking Engine Switch
Guest is the
customer of the 3rd
party
JackRabbit Reservation
Guest is the
customer of the
Lodger

35. Tourism Consumer Website Stats
• 90 % of vacationers to
New Brunswick go to
the consumer website
before they travel to
the province
• 1 million consumers
visited the website in
2009
www.tourismnewbrunswick.
ca

36. Pages visited on the Tourism website

37. Online Booking Summary
Consumer Benefits:
- JackRabbit search engine technology brings the rates and availability
functionality that consumers demand from a destination site
Lodging Partner Benefits:
- JackRabbit search engine technology drives reservations directly to the
hotels, eliminating the high commission fees charged by Online Travel
Agency (OTA) sites
- JackRabbit provides opportunity for lodging properties of all sizes to
benefit from the visitor traffic to the Tourism website
- JackRabbit enables automatic inventory and rate allocation, requiring no
additional management on behalf of the lodging property.
Destination Benefits:
- JackRabbit search engine technology allows for participation from ALL
destination lodging partners
- JackRabbit has consistently generated higher referrals and higher
conversions than 3rd party booking engines and destination website
lodging directories

38. Tourism and
Parks
Corporate
Website