OUR GLOBAL SUCCESS STORIES

The majestic snow of the Spanish Pyrenees

This popular resort north of the Spanish Pyrenees is known for its abundant snow, seeking to get a lift from a global PR push wanted to rekindle its visibility with the worldwide skiing community. SCIJ returned to the global resort for the third time in the winter of 2015.  SCIJ descended with 185 participants from more than 30 countries and rekindled with the people, the culture, culinary and political perspective.

Our Radio-Canada journalist from Montreal, Myriam Fimbry, claimed the top prize for the Pica d’Estats for her report on Val d’Aran, defending an identity and language battle.

Xavier Ubeira, chief commercial officer of the ski resort was pleased by the resounding success of the meeting and the subsequent media coverage from SCIJ. Our Association was quickly able to support the goals and objectives of the global marketing program and SCIJ managed to bring early returns which ultimately translated in a lift of International visitation from several SCIJ markets. Today, our partnership with Bacqueira-Beret continues and they are always a willing partner to support think tanks and networking opportunities for SCIJ.

From Palm Trees to the Caucasus

Until the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia wasn’t known for well-established ski resorts of broad commercial and global tourism appeal. With state-of-the-art installations and the post-Olympic wave behind them, local tourism expanded their horizons to the International market and quickly landed on SCIJ as one of the ways to extend their own story globally.  

As a global association with 30 member nations, Russia was appealing destination given our last visit was many years prior under Soviet rule.

Rosa Khutor targeted SCIJ ”as we are investing in a number of large events, SCIJ was a perfect organization to help tell our story to the broader markets and raise awareness that we are a world-class resort that is easily accessible to may of the western European and North American markets, ” said Sergey Khvorostyanyy, Deputy General Director for International Relations and Tourism for Rosa Khutor. 

One hundred and fifty participants met in January 2020. The initial impact or the organization of the meeting was impressive as it motivated Kazakh Tourism to host our next winter meeting.

SCIJ visits The Land of the Rising Sun

As part of an overall objective to expand SCIJ’s global Asia-Pacific footprint, ten members from Europe and North America accepted an invitation from the Niseko Tourism Board to visit Hokkaido, in the North of Japan in December 2018. 

SCIJ was successful in forging new relationships with local tourism organizations as well as journalism organizations to begin driving new memberships from that part of the world. 

With claims of the best snow in the world, ski resorts are undergoing massive transformation to prepare the expansion of global ski markets. Our visit resulted in a 100 per cent coverage and a tenfold media return for the resort  and the region. Most importantly, we have developed strong relationships with officials to eventually hold a winter meeting in Japan. 

We have also established and continue active communication with the American  Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo as well as a number of number of media organizations to attract new journalists to SCIJ. 

 We are actively working with local authorities to bring SCIJ back to Japan for the first time in more than thirty years.  

The Power of Mojo

When you have a compelling story to tell SCIJ journalists won’t be too far to tell it and bring back home. During our winter meeting in Val d’Arly, France, this was the case for a manufacturing organization making therapeutic devices to help remove the pain some people experience while skiing. Ski-Mojo is a British-based maker of a specialized suspension device designed to remove pain in the leg and knee area while completing high-impact sports like skiing. The device, unique in its sense, was shown to our members. This exposure provided several news stories, and the company has extended its relationship with SCIJ.

Rossignol brands a SCIJ ski

The renowned and premier French ski manufacturer has regularly associated its brand with SCIJ over the years. While ad-hoc, our relationship has spanned several decades and the organization has been generous by providing us with some prizes, a tour of their manufacturing facilities, organized advanced demos of their latest models and made key personnel available to SCIJ. To honour our 50th anniversary as an Association, Rossignol produced a limited edition ski honouring our legacy. 

The Land of the Rising Sun

After forty-eight years, 192 SCIJ members returned to the Canadian Rockies in 2011 as part of a provincial post-winter Olympic strategy to increase awareness of the cultural, economic, culinary and outdoor diversity the region and province of Alberta had to offer. Skiing events were held at Lake Louise, Sunshine Village, Norquay and the Canmore Nordic Centre. 

The Association worked closely with local associations to help reach their business objectives. The program included pre and post-tours throughout the province of Alberta and exposed the very best of the region. The press book coverage was estimated to be in the range of 4-million dollars. “I like the fact that SCIJ worked its member network, and that allowed us to develop relationships that we continue to work with to this day,” said Noelle Aune, Director of International Media Relations, Travel Alberta