Visitors to Canada can say goodbye to “mountains, Mounties and moose,” and welcome a new campaign that will promote experiences over pictures of scenic landscapes.
“If a picture really is worth a thousand words, the images introduced this year to help rebrand Canada will carry the most potent message: We are a vibrant nation full of culture, colour, nightlife and culinary traditions, and not just a cold and lonely expanse of awesome scenery,” wrote the Globe and Mail.
The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is trying to reshape the country’s image for international tourism markets by focusing less on scenic landscapes and more on the experiences’ visitors can have there.
“Discover your true nature,” the slogan used for years accompanied by photographs of Canada’s vast, often uninhabited landscapes, is gone. So is a decades-long selling of the country as a place of “mountains, Mounties and moose.”
The catchphrase now: “Canada. Keep exploring.” New images portray that spirit of exploration.
When the government sponsored commission began work on refreshing the Canada brand two years ago, “there was a consensus that people came here to look at geography,” CTC president Michele McKenzie said.
“However, our research clearly shows that, while our geography. . . will always be one of Canada’s strengths, it’s not enough. Pure and simple, being a beautiful, safe country is not a compelling motivator for travel any more, given the way competing destinations are coming on,” he added.
Report by David Wilkening
