VISITOR CHEAT SHEET | GRANDE PRAIRIE REGION
The Whole Region
What international visitors want, and how to reach them, when you promote everything the region offers
What Matters Most
The Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association commissioned research on what matters most to international leisure travelers who could visit the region. They live in the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan and South Korea, in cities with direct flights to Calgary or Edmonton.
What matters most to people shapes the choices they make. This sheet sets out what the research means for anyone who promotes the region as a whole: the regional tourism team, hotels, visitor services, and every business whose guests come for more than one thing.
What all visitors told us
Positive EnvironmentsAdventure with Care Built In
They want calm, safe, well-run surroundings. Safety worries turn away four of the five visitor groups.
Personal GrowthThe Growth Story
They want to go home a little different. The most common reason visitors pick a destination is that the trip will leave them changed.
TraditionThe Story Behind the Place
They want respect for those who came before. It matters nearly three times more to visitors than to residents.
What sets visitors apart from residents
76%
of visitors put Personal Growth first
2.7x
Tradition matters 2.7 times more to visitors
Every visitor group is a strong or moderate fit for at least three of the region's six pillars.
VALUES STRONGER FOR VISITORS THAN RESIDENTS
48%
Tradition: respect for those who came before (residents 18%)
62%
Positive Environments: calm, safe, well-run surroundings (residents 34%)
71%
Community: feeling part of the places they visit (residents 52%)
THE FIVE VISITOR GROUPS
22%
Travel to learn and grow, and care about the environment
21%
Travel for the people they love, and want trips well planned and safe
19%
Rely on advice from people they trust, and want clear value for money
17%
Seek out experiences they already enjoy, on their own terms
11%
Guided by spiritual practice and care for nature
Key point: Sell the region as one trip that changes people. Lead with the dinosaurs, add Indigenous culture, heritage and named wild places as reasons to stay longer, and make the whole trip easy to plan from Calgary or Edmonton.
Messages to push out
- Come home knowing something you could not have learned anywhere else.
- Dinosaurs, living culture and wild places, all in one region.
- Fly into Calgary or Edmonton, then on to Grande Prairie.
Things to emphasize
- Named places found only here: the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, Kakwa Falls, Willmore Wilderness Park.
- Getting here and getting around, with travel times, in one place.
- Guided, well-run experiences with clear prices and safety information.
Things to avoid
- "Explore the great outdoors" language that could describe anywhere.
- Leaving visitors to work out the route, the cost or the booking themselves.
- Places listed with no people or history behind them.
Ways to reach them
- Personal recommendations and reviews from past visitors.
- Facebook and sponsorships.
- One shared story told by every business in the region.
Source: The Valuegraphics Research Company, for the Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Association. Visitor and resident figures come from the study; fit ratings come from analysis of what matters most to visitors, and the study did not ask about specific activities. Group shares exclude 10% of visitors in groups too small to profile.