From insights to impact: Canada’s Tourism Data Collective powering a transformative future

Entered by Destination CanadaDuring the pandemic, Canada's tourism sector faced unprecedented challenges, revealing critical data gaps. There was no centralised, trusted source of tourism intelligence that stakeholders could rely on to guide decision-making during downturns, accelerate recovery, and build industry resilience. Tourism stakeholders, ranging from policymakers to local businesses, struggled with varying degrees of comfort and proficiency in analytics and data. This made it difficult to inform policy, market destinations, plan investments, and monitor international trends effectively.Recognising the need for a more data-driven approach, the Canadian Tourism Data Collective was conceived. The goal was to create a secure, centralised platform that would provide tourism stakeholders across Canada with near real-time insights, performance indicators, and advanced analytics. This platform was designed to be accessible, bilingual, and adaptable to the diverse needs of its users, ensuring that the tourism industry could respond more effectively to future challenges and opportunities. By addressing these gaps, the Data Collective aimed to empower stakeholders to make informed decisions, support economic growth, and enhance the resilience and competitiveness of Canada's tourism sector. The StrategyTo develop the strategy for the Data Collective, the team began by addressing the critical questions facing the Canadian tourism sector. The pandemic exposed significant data gaps and underscored the need for a centralised source of tourism intelligence. Through design-thinking workshops and collaboration with partners—spanning federal government entities, regional tourism organizations, and local communities— they prioritised the most pressing issues, including assessing industry health, measuring tourism's value, and analysing traveller behaviours.The strategy is rooted in building collective intelligence. Information is vital to effective decision-making, and by leveraging data, insights, analytics, and AI, they are improving every aspect of the sector. This ensures they are better marketers, more successful in developing destinations, more effective at advising on policy reform, and more accountable to Canadians.The strategy revolves around a suite of AI-enabled data products, categorised into three key areas: Industry Intelligence, Destination Intelligence, and Traveller Intelligence. This structure allows users to seamlessly navigate data, starting from a macro-level overview and moving into specific insights.At the macro level of Industry Intelligence, they introduced the Tourism Outlook to forecast trends and Tourism Performance Indicators to gauge the industry's current state. They also launched the Wealth & Wellbeing Index to comprehensively measure tourism’s economic, social, and environmental impact on communities.For Destination Intelligence, TourismScapes provides detailed profiles of over 5,000 Canadian communities, while the Spend Reporting Tool offers granular spending insights based on accommodation and credit card data.Finally, for Traveller Intelligence, the Global Traveller Research Program and Segmentation Program help users understand traveller behaviours and effectively target key market segments. This strategic approach delivers comprehensive, actionable insights that empower decision-makers across the Canadian tourism sector, driving informed decisions and supporting sustainable growth.The ImplementationThe Data Collective was launched to fill critical data gaps that hindered Canada's tourism sector, addressing the urgent need for a centralised, reliable source of tourism intelligence. Implementation was driven by a clear vision: to build a platform that empowers stakeholders with the data needed to drive recovery, growth, and competitiveness on a global stage.The process began with extensive stakeholder consultations, including destination developers, investors, policymakers, and marketers. These consultations revealed diverse needs and varying data proficiencies, which guided the development of a highly adaptable and user-friendly platform. Through design-thinking sessions, the team crafted a solution that would present data in an intuitive, impactful manner, ensuring it serves everyone from analysts to executives.At the core of the Data Collective is a robust cloud platform, powered by Google. It harmonises 145+ datasets and processes over 9 billion data points from more than 5,000 regions across Canada. AI and machine learning automate critical functions— data discovery, governance, and quality control—ensuring accuracy and efficiency. However, the Data Collective is not just a platform or repository of data; it is a suite of AI-enabled products that help users confidently navigate complex challenges.One major challenge was ensuring accessibility for all users, regardless of technical expertise. To solve this, the team used an agile approach, incorporating feedback to improve continuously. This resulted in an inclusive platform with bilingual support, intuitive navigation, and accessible design features.The key lesson learned was the unparalleled value of collective intelligence. Ongoing engagement with the sector shaped the platform into a trusted, indispensable tool, empowering Canada's tourism stakeholders with near real-time intelligence that fuels strategic decision-making and growth.The ResultsAlthough it's still early days since the platform launched on May 24, 2024, the Data Collective has already begun to deliver significant impact. The initiative was designed to empower the tourism industry with centralised, actionable data and insights, driving informed decision-making and economic growth. In collaboration with federal government entities, the team established the statistical and governance foundations, while Google provided an AI-powered, scalable data infrastructure.Strategic associations were also involved to ensure the industry was well-represented.Since its launch, over 45 subscribing destination member partners and more than 7,500 active users have joined the Data Collective, with membership growing at an average rate of 23% monthly. User engagement stands at an exceptional 84%, compared to the benchmark of 64%, highlighting the platform's value. The team offer their partners access to over $4.5 million worth of data, research and insights per partner, providing immense value and cost savings. The publicly available platform now supports an industry composed of over 230,000 SMEs.Looking ahead, the team plan to continue evolving the product offering, fostering engagement, providing thought leadership, and offering education to propel the Canadian tourism industry forward.

From insights to impact: Canada’s Tourism Data Collective powering a transformative future

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