Communication strategy for the tourism industry

Tools and activities were developed specifically for this industry in order to raise awareness and encourage the assimilation of current knowledge on climate change. Ultimately, they will be used in informed decision-making and the promotion of innovative action on climate change adaptation.  

Project details
Scientific program
2014-2019 programming
Theme(s) and priority(s)
Tourism
Start and duration
January 2018 • 2020
Project Status
Completed
 
Principal(s) investigator(s)
Stéphanie Bleau
Ouranos

Context

Communicating the science of climate change and adaptation is a considerable challenge due to the complexity of the science to be conveyed, the plurality of messages to be disseminated, and the diversity of audiences to be reached and their different degrees of awareness.


Quebec’s tourism industry is based on 32,103 businesses, mainly small or very small businesses and NPOs, in the restaurant (48.9%), leisure (21.9%), accommodation (17.5%), transportation (7.5%) and travel services (4.2%) sectors (MTO, 2014). The products and activities that support the tourism economy of the regions, as well as the associations that oversee them, will be affected to different degrees by climate change in the coming decades. Climate phenomena are already affecting tourism competitiveness and financial risk.


Through this initiative, the Ministère du Tourisme du Québec wishes to strengthen the positioning of the tourism industry in terms of adaptation by equipping it to better prepare for the coming challenges and to seize business opportunities.

Objective(s)

To develop a tailor-made communication strategy to support the tourism sector of the economy. This sector-specific approach will favour the promotion, transfer and assimilation of the knowledge acquired throughout the 2014-2019 research cycle.

Methodology

Component 1. Develop a communication plan that will facilitate the transfer and assimilation of knowledge 

  • Carry out a benchmarking study on effective existing communication and risk management tools

  • Perform a diagnosis of needs and expectations by target audience

  • Propose innovative, targeted, relevant means of communication

  • Establish indicators of awareness and impact (e.g. target audience’s level of perception and awareness)

Component 2. Consolidate and prioritize existing knowledge to produce decision support tools, use them in the appropriate communication channels, and carry out communication activities that will contribute to increasing the resilience of the tourism industry

  • Gather and select knowledge on climate change drawn from Ouranos programming that is useful to the tourism industry

  • Prioritize, consolidate and popularize existing knowledge on climate change that is relevant to the tourism industry 

  • Modify or produce one or more risk management tools (e.g. risk self-assessment) in an easy-to-use format based on the information collected

  • Disseminate knowledge through one or more decision-making tools (e.g. information portal, living lab, etc.) to be determined according to the needs of the target audiences, and through other complementary communication tools and activities (e.g. newsletters, public speaking, seminars)

  • Measure the impact of communication tools and activities (e.g. satisfaction and penetration rates)

Scientific publications

Date
Title
Author
Document type
Language(s)
2020
L'intégration des risques climatiques dans un modèle d'affaires: des occasions à saisir
Bérubé, A.
French
2020
Tourisme et changements climatiques: la région des Laurentides innove
Couture, M., Parent, C.
French
2020
Le tourisme de demain à l'heure de la crise climatique
Ouranos
French
2020
Stations de ski de la région touristique des Cantons-de-l’Est et les changements climatiques
Ouranos
French
2020
Charlevoix et Québec intègrent les changements climatiques: développer une économie touristique sur…
Ouranos
French
2020
L’agrotourisme et le tourisme gourmand à l’heure des changements climatiques
Ouranos
French
2020
Les activités de chasse et pêche à l’heure des changements climatiques
Ouranos
French
2020
Le tourisme fluvial et côtier à l’heure des changements climatiques
Ouranos
French
2020
Le tourisme de plein air et d’aventure à l’heure des changements climatiques
Ouranos
French
2020
Le tourisme urbain et événementiel à l’heure des changements climatiques
Ouranos
French
2020
Living Lab Laurentides
French
2020
Tourisme et plein air : Adaptation des sentiers aux changements climatiques
Lacasse, J.
French
2020
Tourisme et mobilité durable Saint-Sauveur
Gariépy, J.
French

Funding

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