Better Connectivity for Victoria
In the competitive world of aviation, a strong partnership between an airport and its destination marketing organization can be the key to unlocking new routes and tourism growth.
On the west coast of Canada, our team interviewed Elizabeth Brown, CEO of the Victoria Airport Authority. Brown spoke about the important role that Destination Greater Victoria plays in the community and how it raises the profile of the destination. "We’re very fortunate to have a strong destination organizationhere," says Brown. She also highlighted the importance of airports being aligned with their destination organizations in terms of air service development, strategic plans, and understanding the strongest market potentials.
In terms of direct partnerships and how they continue to contribute to the success of the Victoria Airport Authority, Brown explained that Destination Greater Victoria helps with the incentives. The Airport Authority does not have marketing dollars, and so in a sense, its ability to provide incentives is somewhat limited as it can only waive fees. However, the cooperative efforts offered by Destination Greater Victoria to the airlines are often the tangible investment the airline is looking for and is what “seals the deal”.
As a result of this great partnership between the Airport Authority and Destination Greater Victoria, Porter Airlines expanded its presence in British Columbia with service between Victoria and Toronto Pearson in September 2023 with a year-round daily service. Destination Greater Victoria played a major role in that expansion by advocating the need for more capacity and by providing incentives.
Brown says this recent air service development has been very successful, to the extent that Porter Airlines is looking at increasing their services next year and possibly adding another origin city. “This is all a testimony to the success Porter has seen”, said Brown.
The Destination Effect is a joint initiative by Destinations International and Tempest. To share your destination's success story, please email join@destinationeffect.com.
