Tourism Victoria is giving British Columbia, Alberta and Washington residents a reason to use a phone booth — other than a lost cell phone.
Its new Victoria Calling campaign will see special Tourism Victoria phone booths, with tablet phones instead of traditional phones, set up in Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle and Vancouver. The campaign looks to engage potential travellers with first-person perspective video tours of definitive Victoria experiences.
“Victoria Calling allows our target traveller the chance to truly experience what a trip to Victoria has to offer through rich media that puts them in the driver’s seat,” says Trina Mousseau, Director of Destination Marketing.
In addition, travelers will be offered incentives to book their stay while they’re in the Victoria Calling booth, like $100 in cash for booking a two-night stay. The campaign has 500 of these cash incentives to offer and their goal is to sell out. Other incentives include room rates starting at $69, a promo code for 10 per cent off flights with Air Canada, and the chance to win a $1,000 cash prize.
“We really want to close the loop and get them to book a trip now,” says Mousseau.
As an added promotional feature, the tablet telephones will randomly ring and those that answer Victoria’s Call will be connected to a Tourism Victoria representative through live video chat, and awarded prizes ranging from hotel stays and dining experiences to adventurous encounters and cash.
The campaign launches in Calgary on April 1, and in Edmonton on April 15, with further stops in Seattle and Vancouver through the spring and summer.
The first person video tour experience will also be available on TourismVictoria.com and Tourism Victoria’s Facebook page to amplify the reach beyond the people that can physically interact with the booth.
According to Tourism Victoria’s press release, the four colourful booths harken back to Victoria’s English heritage, while completely embodying the vibrant Victoria that exists today.
