Site Inspection Program

Revised as of  08/01/07

The CTC Site Inspection Program is designed to assist our Canadian partners in maximizing their sales efforts by subsidizing the cost of airfare and providing an opportunity for the customers to experience first hand our meeting, convention and incentive destinations.  It is also meant as a “negotiating” tool to provide our Canadian destinations an edge over their competitors and cannot  be used for confirmed meetings or conventions.

The CTC receives numerous requests on an annual basis and in order to provide the best possible service to customers, the following requirements must be met:

1. A CTC sales person must authorize all site inspection requests in advance.  Please forward to the appropriate CTC sales manager based on territory.   The Air Travel Request Form (enclosed copy) must be completed for consideration.  Please submit all potential guests’ contact information with a profile containing the following:

   • Name of meeting
   • Number of attendees
   • Peak room nights (minimum 100 rooms peak)
   • Specific dates that the destination is being considered for
   • Please note that the correct salutation (e.g. Mr. Ms. Dr.) is necessary for ticketing. All information must be clearly legible to avoid any mistakes on the travel documents.

     Please type out the form and forward via e-mail to the appropriate CTC Manager and cc:   usoperations@ctc-cct.ca

   *Client profiles are required before any consideration by the CTC.  Note: One form must be completed per customer.

2. The CTC will cover airfare for a potential client who meets all the qualifications required if the client has not sited your destination within a 24-month period.

3. The CTC will provide airfare for a potential customer who meets all the qualifications according to the following:

   One ticket for each 100-999 room’s peak
   **Two tickets for each 1000-2999 room’s peak (if necessary)
   **Three tickets for each 3000-6000 room’s peak (if necessary)
   ** Please note that two tickets would include one for the client and a third party meeting company or two people from the same organization providing one is a meeting planner and the other one a decision maker.
   Requests for additional tickets will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

   Only tickets purchased through the CTC’s travel agency will be paid for.  All tickets not issued through our travel agency will be at the client’s expense and can’t be reimbursed.

4. The CTC Sales Manager will confirm authorization via e-mail.  All requests must be submitted at least three weeks prior to departure date.  If a customer requires specific flights and is not flexible, please note this on the request form.  If you are not sure of schedules, please consult the Air Canada web site at www.aircanada.ca.

   Should any requests arise less than three weeks prior to the desired travel dates and the site inspection fare is not available, the CTC will evaluate on a case-by-case basis depending on the cost of the ticket.  The CTC reserves the right to cover cost to a maximum of 50% of the ticket should the site inspection rate not be available, to a maximum of $1500 CDN.  This decision is based on budget allocation.

   Please note that Air Canada, our official partner of the site inspection program reserves the right to limit the site fares to two site fare tickets per organization, which includes spouses/guest ticket.

5. While discounted “spouse/companion” fares maybe available, these are not intended to be discounted vacation fares for family members of customers.  We have had several requests to use these fares for children under 18, and we cannot accommodate these requests. (Note: CTC will not pay for spouse/guest ticket).

   PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL TICKETS MUST BE ROUND-TRIP FROM THE  SAME ORIGIN CITY AND NO OPEN JAW TICKETS WILL BE PROVIDED WITHOUT EXCEPTION (where the customer wants to add another routing.  For example: A Chicago client is invited to Montreal but wants to return via Los Angeles and then on to Chicago from there.  The site inspection fare is not available on these types of tickets and their cost is prohibitive. We will not provide these types of tickets even if the client offers to pay for the additional portion as it inflates the cost of the original ticket).

6. In order to process site tickets, the customer is required to sign an agreement letter, acknowledging acceptance of the itinerary and confirmation of their participation.  This letter will be sent directly to the customer by ATCO Travel (our Visit Canada Program travel agency) and must be returned to ATCO before the airline ticket can be purchased.  Please advise your clients of this procedure to avoid any confusion.

7. The CTC site inspection form is attached.  Please ensure that this form is distributed to your Sales Team (Copy enclosed).

8. The site fare program does not extend to covering partner’s airfares (hotels, NSO’s, CVB’s, DMC’s etc…)

9. Any other airfare requests outside the Site inspection and Fam trip programs will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  All are subject to approval by the CTC.

10. FOLLOW UP:

    It is now, more than ever, critical to the survival of the program to evaluate the return on investment.  In an effort to provide you with an efficient system, we have streamlined procedures.

    All potential business to Canada is entered into Epiphany database.  Reports will be run on a monthly basis and sent to partners for their review.  If there are any discrepancies, please contact  usoperations@ctc-cct.ca  Upon receipt of that document, please reply back within two weeks with the status of that particular lead.

    In addition, please note that we are sending out customer surveys to be completed upon their return from the site inspection to evaluate their experience.  A copy of the completed survey will be sent to each partner upon receipt.  You will get only the survey that applies to your CVB or hotel.

The CTC is making a significant financial investment in this program and it remains one of the best of its kind in the world.  We want to ensure that it continues to be successful for all of us and your assistance is critical.

Thank you for your ongoing support.