The Quinte West Economic Development and Tourism Advisory Committee heard a presentation on the draft tourism development strategy at its meeting Wednesday.
The plan, developed by MDB Insight, an economic development consulting firm based in Toronto, is centred around recognizing and building on the tourism-based assets already in Quinte West.
Some of the main assets that were identified are the Bay of Quinte, the Trent-Severn Waterway, the National Air Force Museum, Trent Port Marina, Centennial Park and area golf courses.
Paul Blais of MDB explained the asset assessment.
“You can see here, a little more than 200 assets or attractions were reviewed for their online presence. How easily they’re found on Google, for instance. Does the attraction have a Facebook page or an Instagram account, does it have a website, do they have an online booking system. How visible are they? Also, assessing the viability of the business. Is it a reliable service, is there any kind of critical acclaim?”
The total number of assets assessed is 208 with nine of them being deemed “significant drivers”, 39 being deemed “emerging attractions” and 160 being deemed “supporting attractions”.
According to 2016 census data, the tourism industry in Quinte West accounted for 270 total jobs and $15.2 million in total GDP.
Blais presented survey data that was taken from 364 Quinte West residents that indicated that 94% of those people strongly agree that tourism is good in Quinte West and that tourism makes a valuable contribution to the local economy.
Blais said that, based on the survey data, there’s a favourable opinion of tourism among Quinte West residents.
In terms of next steps Blais and his colleagues said that there needs to be a doubling down on networking in the local tourism industry, opportunity for workshops and professional growth for members of the tourism industry and general building on the higher and lower end assets that are already present.
It was also suggested that the city consider a Municipal Accommodation Tax to help support the tourism industry financially.
The topic of branding and marketing was also discussed. Councillor Sally Freeman said that since Quinte West amalgamated in 1998 it’s been difficult to solidify the identity of Quinte West apart from all the communities that make it up.
“From the moment that we amalgamated we’ve been struggling getting Quinte West to the forefront of what’s going on here. And that’s okay, it did happen. I can go to a conference anywhere now and say I’m from Quinte West and they know exactly where I’m from and that it was part of an amalgamation. It is coming, but the one thing I’ve tried to get the city to do and that I want to do more of is banners. All through our area saying Quinte West, Quinte West, Quinte West, in Frankford, in Trenton…”
The item was not a decision item and will continue to be worked on by staff and MDB before it reaches the council table.
