Playing Cowboys & Culture, The Many Sides Of Texas

with Adrienne Lem Burkett

What’s the 1st thing that comes to mind when you think of Texas? Cowboys, rodeos and dude ranches? Well, according to Rosalyn Hunter of VoX International, Texas Tourism’s Canadian representation company, you’re not alone with this generalization.

“The 1st thing that people think of when they think of Texas is its Western heritage,” she said. “But did you know, the state also has 1,000 km of Gulf Coast beaches, 900 golf courses and resorts, it’s the #1 birding destination in the U.S. and the arts and culture is thriving in some of the larger cities. We want to educate the trade that there are all different vacation options in Texas.”

80 travel professionals gathered for the dinner event at Archeo Restaurant in Toronto’s Distillery District last week. There was live musical entertainment and the servers donned black cowboy hats. Along with the venue’s rustic ambiance, it felt as though guests stepped right into a Texas hoe-down the moment they walked through the door.

Approximately 416,000 Canadians visited Texas in 2012 but Texas Tourism is pushing to attract even more... especially snowbirds this coming winter. Canada is their 2nd largest market, Mexico being #1. Most travellers stemmed from Ontario, while Albertans followed close behind. Prior to the Toronto event, a dinner was also hosted in Calgary. “Calgary is a big deal for us this year,” Hunter said. “This past May, WestJet started non-stop service from YYC to DFW.”

Along with the VoX International team, 15 partners from Texas were also on hand to share updates on their specific regions and products. They represented the Grapevine CVB, Greater Houston CVB, San Antonio CVB, Simon Shopping Destinations, Texas Tourism, Fort Worth CVB, Experience Arlington and the Dallas CVB. According to Hunter, this has been the biggest delegation to visit Canada yet.

The Texas Tourism reps dosy doe’d from table-to-table to give mini presentations. It was similar to speed dating and the concept allowed for a more personalized, one-on-one approach. However, with more than 8 people talking at the same time, if you weren’t sitting directly next to, or in front of the rep, it was very difficult to hear. A traditional presentation style may have been more effective.

Nonetheless, agents seemed engaged and the conversation was abuzz. Whether it was about catching a Dallas Cowboys football game in Arlington, shopping at one of Simon Shopping Destination’s outlet malls or wine tasting in Grapevine, the message was clear that Texas is a world-class destination with more than cowboys, rodeos and dude ranches as its selling points.

The entire Texas Tourism delegation