1. TRAIL TOURISM INTEGRATION PROJECT
A Reasoning Document for Trailhead North
By Patrick Connor CAE, SSA, BAH
Executive Director, Ontario Trails Council

2. TRAIL TOURISM PROJECT
To improve the capacity of the trails community to increase access to and awareness of trails,
Ontario Trails Council (OTC) will consult and engage with Regional Tourism Organizations, (RTOs), and the broader tourism sector and key stakeholders where appropriate, to develop tourism­ supportive website enhancements and other trails tourism supports.

3. TRAILS TOURISM PROJECT
Go to OTC website

4. TRAIL TOURISM PROJECT 2 Phases
Phase 1 - Conduct consultations with the RTOs, as well as the broader tourism sector and key stakeholders as appropriate, to identify and prioritize short term and long term tourism­ supportive OTC website enhancements and other trails tourism supports.

5. TRAIL TOURISM PROJECT 2 Phases
Phase 2 - Develop a Trails Tourism Action Plan based on the key results of the RTO consultations and other factors as appropriate. The Trails Tourism Action Plan will identify and prioritize short term and long term tourism­ supportive OTC website enhancements and other trails tourism supports.

6. TRAIL TOURISM PROJECT
i. Direct engagement, through face to face meetings;
ii. Engagement through on­line survey;
iii. Engagement through on­line webinar or meeting;
iv. Chapter representation by RTO in the Trails Tourism Action Plan; where chapter
means sub­region of regions;
v. Inclusivity with RTO Boards defining additional key outdoor tourism and trails
stakeholders; so that any ancillary “trail” arts, quilt, food – can be determined

7. TRAIL TOURISM PROJECT
according to fit, to merge with existing RTO marketing strategies;
vi. RTOs will define areas and products for representation on the OTC website
(including trip planning itineraries);
vii. Representation of trails in a format similar to, but not necessarily exactly like the OTC
RTO12 Trails Tourism Integration Report 2011; and
viii. Regional uniqueness will be noted and documented for representation

8. TRAIL TOURISM PROJECT
Phase 2 Tourism Action Plan Recommendations will include processes to:
i. Content management system (CMS) enhancements;
ii. Additional on­site RTO data ­points;
iii. Mapping capacities;
iv. Trip­ planning capacities;
v. Service purchasing capability;
vi. Destination and experience promotion;
vii. Event/trail/festival synchronicity;

9. TRAIL TOURISM PROJECT viii. Seasonal transformations;
ix. Vertical (i.e. from local to national) and lateral (i.e. across sectors and regions) system linkages and integrations;
x. Regional template of requirements that can be adapted and updated in a secure
fashion by RTO staff;
xi. Multilingual variations;
xii. Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) compliance testing;
xiii. Specific product or service marketing by layer; and
xiv. Other

10. TRAIL TOURISM PROJECT Next steps – Project awareness circulation
Database improvements – office logistics for survey
Cloud set up with project docs, connectivity
Calendar logins for consultations
RFP process releases for specific skills, web mapping, trip planning
Data collection through upload and consultation, includes trail inventory updates, photos, video, other libraries

11. TRAIL TOURISM PROJECT Improved methods of representation and use
Content Management Systems Integration capability
Google Based, Google Integrated Data
Trip stories, trip blogging, supportive products, must sees, other regional or local highlights
Rotating representations
Continuous intake and representations

12. TRAIL TOURISM PROJECT We’ll be in touch soon! Thanks Patrick Connor