Regional Municipality of Halton Premier Ranked Tourist Destination DRAFT Recommendations

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Regional Municipality of Halton Premier Ranked
Tourist DestinationDRAFT Recommendations

• Working Group Meeting
• May 29, 2007

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Project Status May 29

• Industry consultations held
• March 20 - North
• April 3 South
• Feedback received and incorporated into this
  presentation
• Preliminary recommendations presented to Steering
  Committee April 17
• Industry meeting, final validation May 29

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Attractors

• Towns, Countryside, Rural Landscapes
• Outdoor Recreation and the Niagara Escarpment
• Royal Botanical Gardens
• Gaming Mohawk
• Authentic Farm Experiences
• Equestrian Experiences

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Towns, Countryside, Rural Landscapes

• The 5 cities/towns of Halton are the core of this
  experience (Oakville, Burlington, Milton,
  Georgetown, Acton), charming streetscapes, a
  variety of shopping, dining, entertainment, and
  annual festivals provide a year-round guest
  experience, supplemented by smaller villages that
  in their own right offer character and diversity.
• This cluster of experiences is best be
  appreciated as a drive through picturesque Lake
  Ontario waterfront towns, rural landscapes and
  rolling countryside
• Guests will find numerous locations to stop along
  the way and find a variety of accommodation
  options from hotels, motels to BBs

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Outdoor Recreation and Niagara Escarpment

• A cluster of experiences that exploit the regions
  physical attributes, especially the Niagara
  Escarpment, and involves a vast number of soft
  green outdoor activities
• Cycling, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, mountain
  biking, birding, swimming, fishing, boating,
  cross country/downhill skiing, snow shoeing, rock
  climbing, golf

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Royal Botanical Gardens

• Canadas largest botanical garden and one of the
  countrys premier cultural, education and
  scientific institutions.
• 480,000 visitors in 2005
• Paid visitors, school groups, conference
  attendees, trail users
• 2005 Annual Report
• 1,100 hectares of cultivated gardens, indoor
  plantscapes and natural lands provide a 12-month
  wave of colour.
• The glory of the Arboretum is the Katie Osborne
  Lilac Garden, the worlds largest living
  collection of lilacs.
• In 2006, Halton Region contributed 677,000 as
  transitional funding for the RBG this is in
  addition to funding that the RBG receives
  annually from Halton Region.

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Gaming Mohawk

• Harness racing, 5,000 seating capacity
• 750 slots machines in 20,000 sq. ft.
• Racebook for North American race tracks
• 500,000 annual visitation
• Future development plans include hotel complex
  and championship golf course

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Authentic Farm Experiences

• Greenhouses, nurseries, pick-your-own, farmers
  markets, farm entertainment
• Terra Greenhouses, Van Dongens, Sheridan,
  Tuitmans
• Activities gardening seminars, landscape design
  services, perennial swap, picnic/play area,
  special events, pumpkin hunt, maze, paddle-boats
  
• Springridge Farm, Andrews Scenic Acres,
  Chudleighs Farm, Clembrook Christmas Farm, Fish
  4 Trout
• Activities school and public farm tours,
  birthday parties, corporate parties, seasonal
  events - Easter Christmas, pony wagon rides,
  hayrides, pumpkin patch, picnic/play area, animal
  corral, fall haunted forest, straw mountain,
  straw maze, face painting, licensed eating and
  entertainment areas, pick-your-own, fishing

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Equestrian Experiences

• 22 year-round facilities providing public access
  to a wide variety of equestrian experiences
• Riding lessons, summer, day, vacation camps,
  boarding stables, competitions, shows, training
  facilities, breeding, lectures, riding trails
• Most open throughout the year

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Product... high quality tourist experiences

• Attractors are part of a regional complex linked
  to the physical setting of the region, the
  waterfront and Niagara Escarpment
• Attractors are not unique, are not considered
  memorable and have some potential to motivate
  travel
• York, Durham, Simcoe and Niagara Regions offer
  similar tourism experiences

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Product... high quality tourist experiences

• Quality Critical Mass
• The region offers a range of experiences but most
  sustain interest for less than 24 hours
• Product available year-round at varied price
  points with both mass and niche appeal
• Purchasing options are limited outside the region
  
• Range of experiences are widely promoted within
  the region
• On theme activities do exist to encourage
  overnight stays

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Product... high quality tourist experiences

• Quality Critical Mass
• There is a wide variety of dining options and
  several offer wine lists with more than 25 labels
  and do have accredited chefs
• There is a wide variety of shopping options
• Dining and shopping options have minimal
  notoriety beyond the region
• A difference exists in product and experiences
  north to south

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Product... high quality tourist experiences

• Satisfaction Value
• The reputation for being friendly, hospitable,
  for providing good service and delivering value
  for money is not measured

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Product... high quality tourist experiences

• Access / Location / Transportation
• Suitably positioned to capitalize on huge
  population base, 10.8 million people within 3
  hours
• Transportation to the region is excellent
• Few transportation options within the region
  other than personal vehicle
• 63 transient boat slips on Lake Ontario as well
  as a slip for larger cruise ships

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Product... high quality tourist experiences

• Accommodation
• There is a variety of accommodation options at a
  range of price options 2740 rooms, 728 RV/camp
  sites
• Well represented with chain hotels/motels and
  BBs
• Limited room inventory in the north

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Performance ...quality of tourist experience
validated by

• Visitation 2004 Stats Can CTS/ITS
• 2.8 million visitors
• 2.1 million day trip visitors
• 2.0 million Ontario, 70,000 U.S.
• 740,000 overnight visitors
• 509,000 Ontario, 100,000 U.S.
• 62,000 MC trips 2.2 of Ontario
• The destination is not getting its share of
  visitation to or within the province

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Performance ...quality of tourist experience
validated by

• Occupancy Yield - 2005
• 56.8 average occupancy, below Ontario average of
  65
• Visitation highest in Q4 lowest in Q1
• Average visitor spending
• Day Trips 34.84 vs. Ont. average (62.56) -
  1.6
• Overnight 154.35 vs. Ont. average (270.27) -
  .9
• Most travel is made by adults living in Ontario

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Performance ...quality of tourist experience
validated by

• Critical Acclaim
• Is not a must-see/must do destination
• Some core attractors have critical acclaim
• RBG
• Glen Abbey
• Sound of Music, Oakville Waterfront festivals

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Futurity ...ability to thrive into the future

• Destination Marketing
• There is stable or growing market demand for the
  destinations offering
• This demand is demonstrated in the 2005 TAMS
  study
• Outdoor recreation
• Touring

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Futurity ...ability to thrive into the future

• Several DMOs in place
• Tourism Burlington Elevate Your Experience
• Oakville Indulge in a Little Oakville
• Milton/Campbellville Escarpment Country
• Halton Hills Head for Our Hills
• All dont have sufficient funding to effectively
  target potential markets Burlington, may be the
  exception

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Futurity ...ability to thrive into the future

• Tourism marketing strategies are in place in most
  DMOs but with limited benchmarking / tracking
• Formal Tourism Development plans are not in place
  regionally or locally
• Little/no customer service training is in place

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Futurity ...ability to thrive into the future

• Product Renewal
• Significant investment has been made in the past
  2 years 20 million
• Commitment to reinvest in programming
  infrastructure especially Attractors
• Limited funding to revitalize under developed
  under performing assets
• RBG, Country Heritage Park

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Futurity ...ability to thrive into the future

• Managing Within Carrying Capacities
• Tourism is a net positive contributor to the
  economy of the region
• Stable investment and trained labour force is
  available
• Prepared to manage water treatment and delivery
  capacity, sewage treatment and trunk capacity,
  road, transit, parking and trail capacity and the
  environmental effects of infrastructure
  expansions

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Recommendations

• DRAFT for discussion

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Recommendations

• Initiate an industry lead Halton Tourism
  Destination Development Strategy facilitated by
  the Region
• Rally the tourism industry
• Align with Regional Municipal Strategies and
  HEDP
• Develop a series of initiatives designed to grow
  tourism revenues, focus on
• Product development associated with anchor
  attractors
• Improvements to experience delivery
• Initiatives that capitalize on the physical
  setting Lake Ontario waterfront and the Niagara
  Escarpment
• Convert day trippers to overnight guests, growing
  expenditures

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Recommendations

• Clearly Define Roles Responsibilities Who does
  what?
• Region, Chambers, DMOs, Eco. Dev. Depts., BIAs
• Region focus on future destination development
  and the enhancement of experience delivery
• DMOs, Chambers, BIAs Eco. Dev. Depts.
  collective focus on collaboration, experience
  development, packaging, marketing
• Establish the industry-lead Halton Region Tourism
  Alliance

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Recommendations

• Explore possibilities of a co-ordinated DMF
  strategy
• Becomes a role of the Halton Region Tourism
  Alliance to establish parameters and a formula

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Recommendations

• Introduce a Tourism Awareness Campaign to
  reinforce importance of tourismtarget
• Local government get on the municipal agenda
• Use IDO Making the Case For Tourism tool kit
• Owner/operators focus on dining retail
• Reinforce that they ARE in the tourism business
• Local influencers, resident groups, service clubs
• Use unpaid media strategy

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Recommendations

• Create a Sports Tourism Task Force
• Explore the opportunities (if any) associated
  with the development of a regional sports tourism
  strategy
• Burlington can take the lead based on their
  experience
• Understand current venues and facilities and
  their capacities
• Dialogue with local sport organizations and
  neighbouring communities
• Secure frequent rotation for the Canadian Open
  Golf Championship

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Recommendations

• Identify and prioritize underdeveloped and
  underperforming assets and develop specific
  strategies to fully exploit these assets, for
  example
• Event development
• Enhance existing, add new ones in shoulder season
• Canadian Golf Hall of Fame
• Country Heritage Park
• Equestrian experiences
• IKEA
• The Bruce Trail and other trails 36

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Recommendations

• Anything else?

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Next Steps

• Deadline for additional comments from Industry
  June 6
• Final Report Mid June
• Regional Council July 11