Get Your ING-On In Alberta! ​
_edited.png)

Steps to Success (Strategic Plan)
Introduction:
Federally incorporated in June 2024 the Travel-ING On Tourism Cooperative was formed to cooperatively market travel services and tourism opportunities while engaging, and educating the public with local and regional history.
Our goal is to make exploring fun and educational, while supporting and marketing our members in the travel & heritage industries. Our initial marketing tool will be an award-winning, searchable, map-based, travel and heritage app. It will be released in Alberta, our first chapter, and then expand across Canada.
Our start-up 'year' began with our incorporation. The goal is to have a strong, and varied, membership base for our first AGM, in the late fall of 2026. A board of directors will be elected from this group of people. Other business matters and decisions on dividends will be made through the democratic process by this diverse membership base.​
The following is a summary of the steps the founding members will be taking to establish and present a successful co-op to the members at the first AGM.
​
Name Recognition
Perhaps the most vital and important step is to achieve name recognition. Social media is being utilized as well as email campaigns with 'Travel-ING On' always in the description line.
Specific campaigns include the 'Hang It Up Contest' where businesses and organizations are invited to hang the poster to the right for a chance to win 1 of 3 Premium Advertising Packages. For more information on the contest, Click Here.
​

Establishing a Membership Base

Membership in the cooperative is open to any individual, business or other entity that has an interest in, or is a stakehplder in the travel or heritage industry. Lifetime Membership is $25.
​​
We are approaching 100 members. Promotions have begun to attract members, both travellers and businesses. Membership will grow exponentially as name recognition and awareness increases.
​
To see our business members list, Click Here.
​
To apply for a Lifetime Membership ($25) Click Here.​
​​
Marketing Tactics - Hang It Up Contest
Our poster, to promote the app and allow people to register for an email notification when it is available for download, has been printed and hung by municipalities, museums, businesses, AG societies, chambers of commerce and on community boards across Alberta.
​
On February 1st, 2025 we begin the 3-month 'Hang It Up' contest. Businesses and organizations are invited to hang the poster, share it on social media, or add it to their website. Each qualifies as an entry towards 3 prizes of a Premium Advertising Package.
The QR Code leads potential app users to this link where they can register for an email notification when the app is available for download. This give us a ready-made following and we can provide the number of interested people to our potential advertisers.
​
This combination of marketing attracts app users, and creates awareness of the cooperative and its benefits in the heritage and travel industries.
​
To register for the 'Hang It Up' contest, Click Here.
​



App Upgrade, Reload & Marketing

Once the necessary funds have been raised through memberships, advertising and other means, we will contract our coding team to begin the rebranding and improvement of the Travel-ING On mobile app.
Internally we have begun the process, documenting the needed changes. Once the financial needs are in place, and the rebrand begins it should take approximately 3 to 4 weeks to have the app available for download.
​​
After making the App IOS and Android compatible to current standards, and any needed changes to reflect the new name and ownership are made, it will be loaded to the APP Store and Google Play under the accounts of the cooperative.
​
This initial re-load may include some of the following. Other features will follow as the budget allows.​
-
Change to community menus (categories) for easier selections by app users.
-
An added features where approved advertising members can edit their listings, allowing for real time updates to their specials, and events.
-
A feature where approved Lifetime Members from the historical sector can add the sites and stories from their region.
-
The ability for users to submit historical information and stories for review.
-
Internal automations of standard images, icons and local community links.
-
Audio story telling.
-
User created itineraries.
-
Alerts to users when they are nearing a place that may interets them based on their choices.
-
Addition of other provinces or interests across Canada. Users will select where or what they want to explore, such as designated historical sites, Indigenous experiences, ghost towns, etc.
​​
Any other suggestions are always welcome.
​

Human Resources - Creating the Team
We are actively looking for a customer service & sales rep. This person will have or start their own business and be contracted on a commission basis at 25% of first year sales of Premium Advertising Packages. As the fees are annual, a commission for renewals can be negotiated. Our goal is to find someone who wants to grow with us, and potentially have their own team that expands with us as we move into other provinces and countries.
​
As we grow we will be adding people in executive roles, and to assist with marketing, accounts receivables and to ensure the accuracy and presentation of data. Our prelimary budget, based on 3,000 advertising members, allows for and initial team to effectively operate the cooperative & ensure its success.
​
​
​
​
Background
In 2017 Sheila Willis created the History Check mobile app. In 2023 she realized that her resources would not allow the app to grow to its potential and began searching for another business model. Forming a cooperative was the perfect fit. It aligned with her goals of using the app as a social enterprise where all people & organizations could benefit from it.
As a cooperative, collaborators from stakeholders in the heritage & tourism sector can work together for the benefit of all. As member owners they can drive the direction of the business and expand it in other ways that supports the industries.
​
Prior to ownership by the Travel-ING On Tourism Cooperative the app received numerous awards and mentions, including an 'Outstanding Achievement in Heritage Awareness' award and the 'Marketing Award' for Growing Rural Tourism; both from the province of Alberta. It was also short-listed for a Governor General's award in community programming. (To see the basic functions click here.)
​
When Sheila sold the app to the cooperative her efforts had generated 3,000 downloads. As a cooperative, with the app marketed by each advertising member, it is positioned to go viral in Alberta and to expand across Canada, North America and beyond.
​
As the cooperative is in its infancy, changes may be made to thie information provided as the board works through the business plan and bylaws, and input is received from members. ​
​​
More About Cooperatives
In short, cooperatives are owned by their members and they have a say in how the cooperative progresses. They are made up of people or organziations with the same goal - in this case those with an interest in heritage and tourism.
Resource Links:
-
Open Alberta - Consumer Tips - Cooperative Act
-
Province of Alberta - Cooperatives Act (The Act)
​