By Steve Ball
In 2019, tourism in Ontario generated receipts of over $36 billion. Tourism contributes more than $5 billion annually in tax revenues for the provincial government, meaning that the total economic contribution of tourism is larger than agriculture, forestry and mining combined. And the Minister of Tourism lives right here in Nepean. How great is that!
It used to be that you promoted tourism through advertising with targeted marketing campaigns in newspapers and on radio and television. And to some degree, those are still important channels to drive your messaging to consumers. These are messages that you can control. But in today’s world, social media is now the primary tool used to tell stories in real time. In a matter of minutes, you live or die based on how the story unfolds. We see this firsthand in the U.S. when police brutality is on display for the world to see … and for the world to judge. These are messages you can’t control.
Ottawa is not insulated from bad-news story-telling. This is especially true in the ByWard Market, where we are particularly vulnerable to social messaging that doesn’t reflect the positive image we want to showcase, which is one of a safe and vibrant Capital City. I’m thinking of 2017, when the positive value of social media around the world was at an all-time high for Ottawa. Those were proud moments and as a result, hotels were very busy welcoming guests.
As a normal course of business, hotels have always been sensitive to the guest experience, as competition is fierce among properties and brand loyalty is critical to building a dedicated customer base. But hotels can’t control what happens outside of their property lines. Trip Advisor is a common platform utilized by travellers to express their dissatisfaction level after a bad experience. Hotels regularly monitor this information in an attempt to constantly improve their customer offering. That’s why this recent guest comment at a ByWard Market hotel was quite disappointing but unfortunately reflective of our reality;
“Nice hotel, bad area.
Posted Aug 22, 2020.
High amount of pan handlers and homeless people around the hotel and By Ward Market. Some of these people are aggressive giving us concerns for our safety during our stay. Another person we spoke with in the market even admitted to being attacked while walking home. The hotel is great however it’s in a sad area. The city needs to clean up this problem or people are going to lose their jobs.”
For every guest that expresses safety concerns to management, there are many more that just don’t bother to come back. General managers tell me they are concerned about the liability and the repercussions of recommending to guests that they visit a place where guest safety may be an issue. “Perhaps it’s just best to avoid the area.” is the easy answer.
2020 will be remembered as a summer with next to no tourism, and the ByWard Market will feel the pain of that loss. Counting on local traffic to replace this lost business will be a tough go as many of the people I speak with that live in the suburbs have no interest in coming downtown to the Market.
Findings from a recent Sprott School of Business Research study on Market safety recommended that all levels of government have a responsibility to work together to recalibrate the ByWard Market and balance the most pressing issues to ensure its long-term sustainability. Leadership behind this critical task needs to come from a dedicated source and include key stakeholders throughout the community to come together and agree on a vision that satisfies all the competing interests. With an important 200th birthday coming in 2026, it would be the perfect time to unveil a new-look ByWard Market.
Steve Ball is the President of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association and a resident of George Street.