Roles & Responsibilities Workshop Grey County Tourism Action Plan 2010 Roles & Responsibilities Workshop South Grey February 16, 2010 The Resource Management Consulting Group www.rmcg.ca

Today... Input to Tourism Destination Development Action Plan Focus on Roles & Responsibilities of South Grey organizations Start with Paul... RTO 7 Then, introductions & your input to Grey County’s tourism brand Followed by two group discussions of R&R Destination Marketing – 3 groups, 3 topics Destination Development – 3 groups, 3 topics Wrap up... Next steps 10/8/2017

Roles & Responsibilities - Overview Ontario Product Development - IDO Investment – IDO Research – Tourism Branch Signage – Tourism Branch Marketing – OTMCP New RTO Region 7 Leadership & Strategic Planning Strategic Marketing Strategic Partnership & Collaboration Innovation & Product Development Investment Attraction Workforce Development & Skills Training Grey County Municipalities, Chambers, BIAs 10/8/2017

Welcome... About Your Roles Introduce yourself Name Organization Tourism role Grey County as a tourism destination... What makes it a great place for visitors? What’s not so great... 10/8/2017

Roles & Responsibilities How can Grey County best support tourism development and marketing? So far... 2008-2009 stakeholder workshops Who is doing what? What needs to be done? RMCG reviewed Workshop outcomes What Grey is currently doing How that relates to what others are doing The questions for today Can we align areas of duplication? How do we fill the gaps? 10/8/2017

Two Important Roles Destination Development Destination Marketing Natural resources stewardship Parking Publications, brochures, websites Visitor information centres Strategic planning Industry training and development Market development programs Municipal planning, infrastructure, transportation Publicity & media strategy Partnership development and collaboration Market Research Retain & attract investment Direct marketing – e-mail/direct mail Municipal/Provincial/Federal Relations Advertising campaigns Community beautification, revitalization Attend tradeshows Demand generators Develop & enhance products/experiences Market segmentation & advertising plan Signage Tracking & monitoring 10/8/2017

Looking at Our Destination Marketing Activities Get ready to communicate with our visitors Market research Market segmentation & advertising plan Publicity & media strategy Prepare publications, brochures, web sites Print ads, radio & television All levels of government, DMOs, product/private MOs, chambers, events, attractions, accommodations Communicate with our visitors Advertising campaigns (individual and groups) Attend Tradeshows (regional experiences) Direct marketing – e-mail/direct mail Visitor Information Centres 10/8/2017

How do they get info about us? Looking From Our Visitors’ Perspectives How do they get info about us? Why are they here? How do they get info? Where can they get info? Nature experiences Camping Hiking Waterfall Golfing Skiing Scenic viewpoint Swimming Plus... Events Attractions Accommodation Meals etc. Been here before Friends/family Visitor centres Visitor guides Online/e-mail Before they get here (+85% of our visitors are from Ontario) Regional DMOs & collaborations While they’re here Visitors + residents Municipalities – Chambers – BIAs Attractions – Accommodations – Festivals & Events 10/8/2017 8

How We Connect With Our Visitors Organizations that distribute info about Grey Attractions – Accommodations – Festivals & Events Municipalities – Chambers – BIAs 15 Visitor Information Centres Grey County Grey Roots Museum DMO Saugeen Country TA Georgian Triangle Chambers Blue Mountain Chamber Meaford & District Chamber Flesherton Chamber Durham Chamber Markdale Chamber Municipal City of Owen Sound Town of Hanover Business Associations Village at Blue Thornbury BIA Owen Sound DIA Neustadt BA Private OSTC 20+ Organizations’ Websites/pages Regional DMOs and collaborations Most of the VICs plus Grey Highlands, West Grey, The Blue Mountains, The Blue Mountains Chamber, Village of Clarksburg, Town of Meaford Plus… attractions, events, accommodations, restaurants etc. Print Visitor guides, brochures, maps etc. Social Media? 10/8/2017

Let’s Talk Destination Marketing Group 1 Overall advertising & media strategy Success & challenges of attracting media attention How could we organize to increase media attention... Role of Grey County Tourism in making this happen? Getting Ready Market Research Market segmentation & advertising plan →Advertising & media strategy →Prepare publications, brochures, web sites Print ads, radio & television Group 2 Aligning our tourism websites/web pages Top websites/website challenges How could we better organize online info.? Social media? Role of Grey County Tourism in making this happen? Doing It! Advertising campaigns Attend tradeshows Direct marketing – e-mail/direct mail →Visitor Information Centres Group 3 Aligning visitor information centres Success & challenges faced by VICs How could we better organize distribution of visitor info.. How could we improve visitor tracking... Role of Grey County Tourism in making this happen? 10/8/2017

Looking at Our Destination Development Activities Make the region appealing to visitors Natural resources stewardship Community beautification, revitalization Municipal planning, infrastructure, transportation Signage Parking All levels of government, CAs, BIAs, property owners, all operators Georgian College, other trainers, all operators Ensure excellent service quality Industry training and development Develop & Enhance Tourism Experiences Strategic Planning Demand Generators Tracking & Monitoring Develop & Enhance Products/Experiences Retain and Attract Investment Grey County, Saugeen Country ,GTTA, RTMP Municipalities, BIAs Grey County, Saugeen Country, GTTA, RTMP Facilitate Stakeholder Co-operation Municipal/Provincial/Federal relations Partnership development and collaboration 10/8/2017

Our Visitors’ Perspectives They come for the outdoor experiences... 10/8/2017

Our Visitors’ Perspectives 10/8/2017

Our Visitors’ Perspectives They are extremely satisfied with their experiences N=607 N=636 How do they get info? Been here before Friends/family Visitor centres Visitor guides Online/e-mail 10/8/2017

Let’s Talk Destination Development Group 1 Make the region appealing to visitors →Natural resources stewardship Community beautification, revitalization Municipal planning, infrastructure, transportation Signage Parking Grey’s land & water essential to visitors’ experiences What do you see as South Grey’s most import natural assets? Any concerns from a tourism perspective? What can be done to address these concerns? Grey County’s role? Group 2 Ensure excellent service quality Industry training and development Consider the Waterfalls Tour as a tourism experience What are its strengths as a product to attract/hold visitors in the region? What are its weaknesses? What needs to be done to make it better? Develop & Enhance Tourism Experiences Strategic Planning Demand Generators Tracking & Monitoring →Develop & Enhance Products/Experiences Retain and Attract Investment Group 3 Think about the efforts Grey Tourism has been making to increase regional collaboration What do you see as some of the best successes? Anything that isn’t working or could be improved? What needs to be done to improve co-operation? Facilitate Stakeholder Co-operation Municipal/Provincial/Federal relations →Partnership development and collaboration 10/8/2017

Next Steps in the Destination Development Action Plan Continue Information Gathering until early March 2 more Roles & Responsibilities Workshops Demand Generator Workshop Research Online visitor survey Online survey of tourism organizations Visitor tracking from accommodations, attractions, events By the Spring… Grey County Tourism Brand Action Plan for Roles and Responsibilities Good ways to partner & communicate for destination development & marketing Demand Generators Attracting and holding our visitors Logo & positioning Ongoing research Visitor surveys, tracking at accommodation, attractions & events, geographical analysis 10/8/2017

Thank You! 17