Wins, Kudos, Updates and more
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Hilton Ultimate Days is live on our content hub. We interviewed six Toronto insiders from across the tourism industry to get their input on what would make the ultimate day in the city — and then we gave it to them. Check out their recommendations on the hub, and watch out for footage from their days on our social media channels until the end of September.
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ICYMI Gumball 3000 kicked off their multi-day supercar rally in Toronto this year at the end of May. The marketing team got in front of some of the performers and celebrity drivers to ask them how they feel about Toronto. Check out the video here.
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WELCOME
Welcoming our newest Destination Toronto team member:
Lindsay Marrugo, Event Specialist, (she/her) Lindsay's overall work experience is diverse and runs the gamut from project management to PR to production roles exclusively in the pop culture, culinary, and events industries. Lindsay has a long working relationship with the teams at PDAC and the MTCC, and has also worked at TIFF and on various large scale events such as the Grey Cup and Supercrawl.
If you've not done so yet, feel free to send a note to say hi and introduce yourself!
CONGRATULATIONS!
A collective KUDOS to the entire Destination Toronto team for everyone's efforts in showcasing Toronto as a fabulous place to work and do business. As perfectly said by Scott Beck:
"Collectively you have all set the bar VERY high for the next annual meeting of Destinations International...The attendees at DI left with a strong sense of what Toronto is, and what it is striving to become, and they were inspired by what they saw and experienced."
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Do you have a win or kudos you want included in next month's newsletter? Email us with your shout out!
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An at-a-glance look at the month ahead for the DT teams.
DEPARTMENT NEWS: WHAT'S ON THIS MONTH
GLOBAL SALES & SERVICES
Global Sales Activities for August :
- Connect Marketplace 2022: Aug 8-10 2022 Detriot
- Maritz in-person presentation: August 17, 2022 St. Louis
- Canadian Meetings & Events Expo (CMEExpo): August 16-17, 2022 Toronto
- Client Event: August 18, 2022 Chicago
- ASAE Annual Meeting: August 20-23, 2022 Nashville
- Maritz NEXT& Event: Aug 30 - Sept 2, 2022 Tampa, Florida
- Sales Mission: Seattle late August 2022
TRAVEL TRADE
- Attending SYTA's (Student & Youth Travel Association) annual conference August 26-30, Washington, DC.
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GLOBAL MARKETING
- NHIE Confessions campaign ends July 31; wrap report is in progress. NHIE Holiday campaign in planning mode.
- Financial Times Globetrotter partnership launches on August 15 with a dedicated Toronto landing page featuring six articles on our destination written by FT. There is an online survey hosted by FT asking for tips and recommendations that will be incorporated into their Toronto city guide, featured on the Toronto page. Along with the removal of the paywall for one month, there will be digital and print promotional advertising to announce Canada's first destination featured on FT Globetrotter.
- MR team continues to secure individual press visits while also hosting individual visits from Mexico, Canada and Germany for luxury and self-care & wellness/sustainability experiences in the city.
- Hosting Canadian and American individual press visits for the Caribbean Carnival and a tour of Little Jamaica.
- U.S. Culinary & Culture Press Group, August 11-14.
- Cross-Market Wellness Press Group, August 18-21.
- Top 6 in the 6ix enews scheduled for distribution on July 26.
- Working on a highlight video featuring the DI Annual Convention to showcase what makes Toronto a top meetings destination.
- Completed a series of social influencer videos for DI, which are now available to use for future clients as part of our 6ix Stack attendance marketing assets.
- Working through updates to the meetings section of the Content Hub.
- Currently, in pre-production planning for the Cultures Evolve Here campaign video.
- You Gotta See What We See - Filming will wrap up with all of our insiders by the end of July, and we will begin to launch on socials in mid-August. New insider videos will be available to watch on the content hub every other week starting mid-August.
- Summer Content - New blog content is coming: Toronto After Dark, Asian Night Markets, Best Jamaican Patties in Toronto and Two Takes on Toronto Amusement Parks (CNE vs Wonderland).
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DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT
- Continued focus on advocacy around key issues including the airport, as well as a formal submission to help shape the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy and an initial meeting with the new provincial Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
- With all TRF projects now approved, the team is working with each of the 149 recipients to finalize an individual agreement and workplan and begin to flow funds.
- Establish the new digital Toronto VIP Pass for clients and media.
- Develop key communications tools to roll out our new membership program
- Implementation of the new data management platform. First phase to be ready for wide use in September.
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SELF-GUIDED LEARNING RESOURCES
Destination Toronto is an Employer Partner with the Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion (CCDI) which provides us with a number of benefits that will support us on our diversity and inclusion journey. The following benefits are available to you:
- CCDI monthly newsletter – Diversity Ink. CCDI’s monthly newsletter provides information about CCDI events and research, and other pertinent news from the Canadian diversity and inclusion realm. Click here and provide your contact information to subscribe. Also, you can view past editions of their Diversity Ink newsletter here.
- CCDI Knowledge Repository. As part of the “Members Only” portal on their website, CCDI has an e-library with over 1,000 documents containing Canadian-specific and international diversity and inclusion research, reports, toolkits and news, which are indexed and searchable by multiple parameters (e.g. by keyword, by topic, etc.). This e-library is an evergreen resource and new content is continually being added. If you would like access to the Knowledge Repository, you can self-register here.
- CCDI monthly webinars. CCDI offers educational webinars which are free for all of our employees. Registration is currently open for the 2022 calendar year. Click here to see a list of topics and dates. Previously recorded webinars can be accessed via the Knowledge Repository.
- You just need a Destination Toronto domain email to register.
Destination Toronto also has LinkedIn Learning Licenses available. If you are not familiar with LinkedIn Learning, it is on-demand learning with unlimited access to 7,000 courses that range from 1 to 9 hours. For more information on the courses available through LinkedIn Learning, click the link below. www.linkedin.com/learning.
If anyone does not use their assigned license for 20 days it will be unassigned to make available for another colleague. To request a license, please send Monique an email and a license will be assigned. If all of the licenses are out, a waitlist will be created.
If you have any questions please reach out to Monique directly.
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Each edition of PULSE, we’re asking 3 questions to 3 phenomenal DT team members. We’re willing to bet you’ll learn a few tidbits about some of our fave DT people.
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Ruida Lu (he/him)
Sales & Service – China (Asia)
Tell us something about your job we might find surprising?
When I conduct site inspections/FAMs, I usually escort my clients for the entire duration they are in Toronto due to cultural and/or language barriers: sometimes it means 120+ hours of not getting home while in Toronto. Talk about being a “tourist” in Toronto!
Tell us about your most memorable trip?
Immediately before joining Destination Toronto, I backpacked throughout Sri Lanka solo for two weeks using only public transportation. I had the opportunity to drive a Canadian-made locomotive pulling multiple train cars in active passenger service on the scenic Coastal Line for a few stops. At 2:30AM on a full moon day, I climbed Adam's Peak (considered a holy site by Buddhists, Hindus, some Muslims and Christians) to see the sunrise and pray. I also caught the National Day military parade and the Navam Maha Perahera parade in Colombo. The safari to Yala National Park to see the elephants was the best safari I have been on.
What’s one Toronto hidden gem you swear by?
This is not one hidden gem, but multiple hidden gems: The ever-expanding international food scene in Scarborough with its own flair! In comparison to downtown restaurants, Scarborough’s restaurants are often overlooked and/or underrated. From Bosnian to Guyanese, from Indonesian to Sri Lankan, from Tanzanian to Uyghur, cuisines hard to find elsewhere thrive here.
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Audree Atendido (she/her)
Content & Brand Lead
Tell us something about your job we might find surprising?
I started my DT journey in the Creative Services department on a 6-month contract. At the time, this was to be my temporary job while I had my sights set on pursuing a graphic design role at some luxurious ad agency… well, that was 16 years ago! Turned out that I didn’t need to chase creative opportunities outside of DT as I was able to continuiously learn, grow, and contribute to so many incredible creative projects here over the years that surpassed my expectations. That in itself was always rewarding, but the best part has been marketing TORONTO–which never gets old and only gets better as it evolves!
Tell us about your most memorable trip?
One of my first major international trips was to Egypt. I was big into photography at the time and wanted some epic National Geographic-type subject matter to be inspired by. And that’s exactly what I got as I visited the Great Pyramids, ancient sites, Mount Sinai, cruised the Nile River, dined on the shores of the Red Sea and hung out with local bedouins. It was a fascinating other-worldly experience that I’ll forever appreciate.
Tell us about the best Toronto experience you’ve had this year?
A friend invited a group of us to a surprise night out in the city on a Tuesday. He wouldn’t tell us where we were going or what we were doing, but it piqued our curiosity enough to commit to coming out. Are we having dinner? Going to an art exhibit? Escape room? Comedy show? So many questions. We met for drinks at The Drake patio then he brought us down to the Drake Underground to see a live performance by Yussef Dayes – a young, innovative jazz-funk-hip hop-electronic drummer from the UK, with BIG talent. A spontaneous summer evening downtown, good venue, good friends, good crowd, good vibes, good music… that’s the Toronto I love :)
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Andrew Weir (He/him)
EVP, Destination Development
What project are you most looking forward to in the coming months?
The work we are doing with the new Toronto Inc partnership is very exciting. It’s really the tip of the iceberg of working more collaboratively with the broader business community. This partnership is already opening up business leads and growing our reach throughout the community.
What is your favourite destination outside of Toronto?
Madrid has always been my favourite city apart from Toronto. I’m a night owl and I love late dinners. Last time in Madrid we made a reservation for paella at midnight. And, of course, capped it off with chocolate and churros from San Gines, near Plaza Mayor, at 2am.
What’s something in Toronto that is at the top of your Never Have I Ever bucket list?
I have never been to Guild Park to see the Toronto “ruins,” old fragments of buildings that were torn down that now live on in that park as benches and monuments. I’m an amateur (very amateur) photographer and it seems like the park would have so many great angles and truly unique shots.
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CELEBRATING WORK ANNIVERSARIES!
Indira Murli - thirty year anniversary (August 4, 1992)
Audree Atendido - seventeen year anniversary (August 15, 2005)
Andrew Franklin - ten year anniversary (August 27, 2012)
Stanton Singh - seven year anniversary (August 10, 2015)
Margaux Cabais - seven year anniversary (August 17, 2015)
Meredith Donaghey - four year anniversary (August 17, 2018)
Anna Yu - one year anniversary (August 16, 2021)
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ARE YOU FOLLOWING OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS?
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