SNAPSHOT: Canada's Quebec City

SnapShot with Stefanie Gorder

SnapShot is a monthly column offering a collection of travel & networking concepts to destinations and activities worldwide.
Expose yourself to travel!
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I first went to Québec City as a guest of Anderson Vacations, an established Canadian tour company offering both independent and group tour programs. Anderson Vacations selected this destination for their annual company planning meeting and I was honored when they asked me to lead a session on successful sales techniques. To make this a winning trip from a networking aspect, the owners of Anderson encouraged participation from the community. As a major tour company, the city pulled out all the best venues and ideas to host this distinguished group. They planned night time walking tours featuring ghostly twists, dining in elegant restaurants and even a scavenger where participants ran from site to site on foot to ensure their knowledge of the city. The showcase of Québec was a definite hit and now the city benefits with increased visitors & tour promotions.


Québec City - Quaint and International
Quebec City is located within the Capitale-Nationale region and is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec. After Montreal, this is the second most populous city in the province with a population nearing 500,000 and even more in the metropolitan area. Upon arriving into the city, one can sense an international flair. Quebec has easy air connections from major US cities, and after clearing customs upon arrival, I hopped into a cab. As a seasoned English-speaking traveler, I was delighted when the driver spoke very little of my native language, instead I learned broken French quickly.

Founded by French explorer Samuel de Champlain, Quebec City celebrated its 400th Anniversary in 2008. The mixes of my “oooohhh and ahhhs” were filled with giggles as we passed familiar sights like Target and McDonald’s. After all, a city that speaks French should be romantic enough to not have these American brands, right? It then became a game with my driver and me … to see who could point out the American sights. By the time we arrived to my hotel our inability to speak the language was not a concern as we had enough basics to comprehend.

Montmorency Falls
Quebec City is filled with fascinating history and spectacular scenery. One of my favorite sights was the Montmorency Falls, located a short distance from downtown. Measuring 90 feet higher than Niagara Falls, the falls drop over the cliff shore into the Saint Lawrence River. The legend is that a woman let herself fall off the cliff in 1759 (the same year of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham) out of despair because her fiancé was killed in battle. Since then, it is said her spirit floats on top of the falls on rainy days. As my friend Katie Lepage at the Québec City Tourism office told me, the Legend of the White Lady is just that … a legend. Be sure to take in the stunning site from the ground and from the neighboring lodge. In the summer this is the site of an International Fireworks competition and in the winter the formation of snow and mist at the bottom of the falls is famous for photographs.



Murals of the City
Another favorite were the murals of the city. Visitors to Old Quebec must see the spectacular Fresque des Québécois which recounts the story of the city. It has larger than life personalities which weave visual illusions within the unique architecture. From the quaint courtyard adorned with cobblestone walkways, see 15 historic figures and stare in amazement at the grand mural. Of course, the shopping and dining in this area is also phenomenal. The lush grounds surrounding the city make for great growing of crops such as grapes so taste a local beverage! For a truly marvelous vantage point, admire the city and surrounding region from the rotating restaurant atop the Loews Le Concorde Hotel. Speaking of hotels, it’s hard to mention a Québec stay without showing off the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac for the ultimate experience. Known for warm hospitality and unparalleled charm, the fabled chateau welcomes all visitors to explore whether or not accommodations are secured.
The Walls
Surrounding Old Quebec are fortifications that are erected on a beautiful site atop the cliff and overlooking the Saint Lawrence River. These contribute to the designation of Québec as a world heritage center by UNESCO. Walking around the walls, learn about the defense system of North America’s only remaining fortified city. There are four gates in the city walls with many fascinating museums tucked away in the old town.


When to visit
As a tour planner, I love to ask the question “when should we go?” Katie Lepage’s favorite months are July and August due to the abundant festivals and warmer weather. During summer months visitors will find public shows such as musicians, artists, painters, and street performers a delight. Be sure to check out the Summer Festival, New France Festival and Expo Québec Fair with rides and live shows. Temperatures in July are in the high 70’s and dress warm in January as the average is around twenty degrees. Of course, winter offers a different kind of fun with the famed Carnaval, the largest winter festival of its kind in the world!

The Hotel de Glace Québec-Canada provides a taste of the great outdoors and is just 30 minutes from the city. Their famous cocktails in ice glasses and special events make this enchanting property a must for winter season travelers. Activities include sleigh rides, snowshoeing, cross country ski trails and of course, dog mushing. Québec City is a magical destination that leaves the visitor wanting to return in a new season.


For additional information, contact:

Québec City:
For both seasonal videos and to order brochures, see www.QuebecRegion.com.

Tour assistance throughout Canada:
Visit our friends at Anderson Vacations for your independent or group travel needs: www.canadatravelsolution.com


A shout out to Katie Lepage and Québec City Tourism for assistance provided to create this article and the promotion of Québec City! Thank you for the great introduction to Québec City and I’ll see you soon to explore your winter offerings!

Special thanks to Anderson Vacations for the invitation to participate in their Staff Retreat and making me feel like a member of their award winning team. - Corey and Karen, you are true gems in this business and your team rocks! Keep on touring!
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Submission for: February 2010

Stefanie Gorder, ctp, ds
marketingCents, llc

Email Stefanie Gorder at Stefanie@marketing-Cents.com
Web: marketingCents.com
Twitter: @Stefanie Gorder

SnapShot is a monthly column offering a collection of travel & networking concepts to destinations and activities worldwide. Expose yourself to travel!

For more information, please visit Stephanie's TNNW Bio.







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SNAPSHOT: Canada's Quebec City

RISK AND REALITY: Part 2: Updating our prediction, One Year Later --After The Fall Of Lehman Brothers

Risk and Reality with Dr. Franco Oboni

foboni@riskope.com
http://www.riskope.com/
Riskope Risk and Crisis Management Blog: http://foboni.wordpress.com/ 
http://www.slideshares.net/foboni
http://www.youtube.com/foboni

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Prologue from Part 1:

In Part 1 of this series, we spoke about our having forecasted the effect on the financial services and capital markets sectors (i.e., the probability of a market collapse and the magnitude of loss caused by the meltdown of a major financial institution [in this case, Lehman Brothers, which went down in flames on the 14th - 15th of September 2008]), and we described the resistance on the part of so many businesspeople and professionals to take our prediction and the forecast model upon which it was based seriously. We discussed the reasons for this hesitancy  in terms of behavioral psychology; many individuals simply assumed that the meltdown was a one-time catastrophe, or that no multivariate predictive model could possibly be sufficiently encompassing and sophisticated enough to yield any outcomes worthy of serious attention and taking preventive or remedial measures.

One common reason for resistance on the part of so many was because of a negative prior experience with poorly-design models, or forecasts which were rigged (i.e., biased) to yield a certain desired result in support of someone's private agenda. A forecasting model which is inherently designed to generate a preconceived outcome is not a valid forecasting tool -- it is merely an instrument of propaganda. These tainted models, studies and surveys have made it difficult for any legitimate, objective risk analyst to get proper attention, often with tragic results. 

To Today's Discussion - The Results of the Forecast:  

The prediction, as we had published it over one year ago, is condensed and outlined  as follows:


1) Duration Forecast:

80% chance the crisis will be shorter than 3 years (ending by Fall, 2011).
30% chance the crisis will be shorter than 1.5 years (ending by Spring, 2010),
10% chance the crisis will be longer than 6 years (ending after Fall, 2014)

NB: From the data above it can be inferred that the probability of the crisis lasting between 1.5years (Spring 2010) to 3 years (Fall 2011) is 80%-30%=50%

2) Magnitude Forecast:

20% chance the present situation will persist (The Blues; see the Measurements Section of the published forecast).
25% chance there will be a significant worsening (Getting to Generalized Poverty; see the Measurements Section of the published forecast).
55% chance we will reach a critical level of disservice (Severe Impoverishment and Catastrophic Disruption, see the Measurements Section of the published forecast).

Those were the possibilities (expressed as percentages) of each possible category of outcome, in terms of the length and severity of the recession.

--Franco Oboni




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RISK AND REALITY: Part 2: Updating our prediction, One Year Later --After The Fall Of Lehman Brothers

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: Five Years of TNNW, Part II

As we celebrate our five year anniversary this month, I have been looking back over our first five years; the milestones that made a difference and have kept us growing over the years.

Just six months into what would become TNNW, I had a publication called The Networker; we weren't exactly "National" yet but we were growing and I was becoming more comfortable with writing. In July of 2005, I attended an IBI Global (now known as "CEO Space") Conference in Los Angeles, California. I served on the staff, which meant working hard, getting up earlier and finishing later than everyone else. By the time I was done with my responsibilities, I was exhausted so I had very little time to network for myself.

As folks who attend such conferences know, the goal is to get the highly-coveted "See Me" cards, which indicate referrals, key connections, interest in your product or service, and going into the last few days, I had very little. It was on Saturday, however, that as being a staff member, I got to do my elevator pitch in front of about 350 people. Thanks to a bit of coaching from my friend Cher Bertrand, I put together an extremely powerful pitch: "I think that we can all appreciate the power of networking to get the things we need. I am starting the world's first 'Consumer Reports of Networking' with tips and tricks about how to be a better networker. If you would like a free subscription, please give me your card with valid email address."

I received over 250 cards mostly from people outside of my native New Jersey/Pennsylvania area...we were now National. In August, 2005, we officially became The National Networker (and even though we are international today, we kept the name and the branding).

But something far more interesting was about to happen...

One of the cards I received was from a woman from Texas with her contact information and a written question, "Are you looking for writers?"

I didn't expect this, although it was a pleasant surprise...someone wanted to write for us! The same month we went "National" was also the same month that we introduced Patricia Parham, Ph.D. with her popular Power Thought of the Month (now its Power Thought of the Week as we went to a weekly format later).

To me this was awesome on several levels: my newly-national publication now had an additional writer located somewhere other than NJ/PA and that TNNW (which I always knew was bigger than me) was no longer just "the Adam show". I began figuring out how to bring on more folks as writers from around the country.

Another card I received was from a friend from Oklahoma telling me that she wanted to introduce me to a friend who was writing his first book about networking and that we should talk. I had begun to formulate a plan to have "Bureau Chiefs" in other parts of the country (and eventually, the world) who would report on networking activities in their respective regions to give us a truly National flavor and my new friend from Oklahoma would help me devise the regions. In January, 2006, Peter Biadasz debuted his first article as our "Southern Plains Bureau Chief".

By the end of 2006, we went from being Adam's simple e-newsletter to having our own website (www.thenationalnetworker.com). I had started my first State of the Industry Address (now known as the State of the GICBC Address). We had twenty-five writers (other than me), 10 of which were Bureau Chiefs, one of which was in Canada - we were not just national, we were now international.

And things were about to get a whole lot better...

...more next week.

All my best,

Adam





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A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: Five Years of TNNW, Part II