Discover America Canada held their 2017 Annual General Meeting yesterday at Toronto’s The Spoke Club and directly addressed the elephant in the room….how to market the destination in this new world with this new administration.

Members shared their thoughts and stories on what they’re hearing, including some negative reactions and pledges to not travel there.  But although general perception is that many Canadians aren’t willing to travel to the U.S., the data from various sources is still unclear about whether Canadians’ intention to travel there has indeed changed.  But Discover America Canada pledged that they will continue to work on behalf of their members to increase awareness of, and build, Canadian tourism to the United States.

After official organisation business concluded, including a review of financials, Susan Webb, President of Discover America Canada advised members that their website redesign is progressing well and on schedule for a relaunch in the coming months, and that a date has been set for Discover America Day Canada, which will be held in Toronto on September 25^th.

The remainder of the evening was an informative panel discussion on social media, moderated by Discover America Canada board member Chris Robinson entitled “Working with Social Media…A Chamber Of Secrets De-Mystified”.

Social Media experts, each with their own point-of-view and area of expertise, shared their views on effectively using Social Media.

When asked her thoughts, Helen Hatzis, co-founder of TripJaunt.com drew groans, laughter and nodding heads from the mainly boomer group when she said, “Gen-X created Social Media, Millennials live it, and Baby Boomers don’t get it.”.

Antje Splettstoesser, Director of Sales & Marketing for the German National Tourist Office added, “Social media isn’t the future, it’s the now!”, reminding members that if they’re not on Social media, they need to be.

But guests were cautioned that not all social media is created equal and to ensure they choose the right influencers and Social platform to match their target audience.  Meaning Facebook is likely not be the best tool to reach Millennials, if they are your target.

“Find the right influencer that matches your demographic and the Social platform you’re using,” said Jennifer Weatherhead Harrington, Editor of Travel & Style Magazine.  “An influencer big on Instagram may not translate well to video, for example”.

Discover America Canada wants to remind the Canadian travel trade that registration for IPW 2017 in Washington, D.C. is now open.

Follow TravelPulse Canada