Northumberland County Tourism Services

TOURISM SERVICES FOR NORTHUMBERLAND BUSINESSES

ALNWICK/HALDIMAND • BRIG HTON • COBOURG • CRAMAHE • HAMILTON PORT HOPE • TRENT HILLS • ALDERVILLE FIRST NATION

WHAT WE DO Key Activities

Industry Services

• DEVELOP integrated marketing and promotion plans to excite and attract visitors.

There are over 600 tourism-related businesses in Northumberland with tourist receipts reported at $120 million annually.

• POSITION Northumberland as a diverse four-season destination to increase tourism spending.

Our goal is to attract new visitors and increase tourism spending by working with our industry partners on tourism development and marketing initiatives.

• DIFFERENTIATE the region by creating publications and campaigns to underscore its many unique experiences.

Northumberland Tourism works to grow tourism and assist the

600 tourism-related businesses in the County.

OUR SERVICES

• WE OFFER workforce development training, e.g. industry workshops.

• ENGAGE consumers by continuously growing our digital marketing platforms, including NorthumberlandTourism.com.

• WE SUPPORT experience and product development, e.g. development of the Trent-Severn Waterway corridor.

• EXPAND partnership networks, working in collaboration with Destination Ontario, Kawarthas Northumberland and others to grow the tourism offering.

• WE IDENTIFY funding resources, market trends, industry news and partnership opportunities.

• COLLABORATE with businesses, effectively using technology to offer an online business directory at great value.

Research & Marketing

• CULTIVATE media interest and coordinate press tours to increase the region’s travel media coverage.

• We access and utilize information on regional market segments, campaign metrics, travel intentions and trends, and competitive intelligence from other tourism resources.

• NURTURE travel trade relations by working with tourism operators, coordinating product tours and assisting with site visits.

• We track online activity with analytics to get a current pulse on consumer interests and motivation, which then drives our campaigns.

• SOURCE engaging photography and video talent to further develop Northumberland’s key digital image library.

• WORK with businesses to create new assets for Northumberland County, e.g. Cheers Tour.

Consumer Services • Services include responding to visitor and travel trade inquiries and referrals.

• We coordinate press tours or site visits for media, group tours and travel trade to increase visitation.

Tourism Call Centre 02

1-866-401-EAST (3278) or info@NorthumberlandTourism.com

7.3 million potential visitors are within a

3 hour drive 03

BUILDING BUSINESS A 24/7 Resource NorthumberlandPartners.com This industry site is a resource for Northumberland businesses and partners. It covers the following topics for tourism stakeholders: • INITIATIVES – opportunities, product development, workshops • FUNDING – funding resources for businesses and organizations • MARKETING – best practices, promotion, research, digital marketing, festival tool kit, customer service • RESOURCES – business resources and partner contacts

Workforce Development We work with industry partners to deliver workshops to expand the marketing expertise of businesses, and to improve the customer tourism experience.

PARTNERSHIPS People, Partnerships & Possibilities Northumberland Tourism works collaboratively with many sector partners to increase travel intentions to the region.

LOCAL • Business Operators • Member Municipalities • Alderville First Nation • Brighton Cramahe Chamber of Commerce • Cobourg Tourism • Port Hope Marketing & Tourism • Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce

PROVINCIAL/FEDERAL • Government Ministries • Destination Canada • Destination Ontario • Tourism Industry Association of Ontario • Parks Canada/ Trent-Severn Waterway • Greenbelt Foundation

CURRENT KEY PARTNERSHIPS “As business owners in Northumberland, we’ve had access to fantastic business-related workshops, opportunities to advertise, and great support from Northumberland Tourism.”

~ Rhonda Cook

Co-owner Primitive Designs

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Online Business Directory

Tourism Industry eNews

NorthumberlandTourism.com provides a comprehensive directory where businesses can be listed. Categories also include:

The eNewsletter Build Your Business communicates:

• • • •

shopping and restaurants arts, culture and attractions outdoor recreation accommodations

• • • •

best tourism practices improving the tourist experience accessing marketing resources industry news, workshops, marketing and partnership opportunities

REGIONAL • Kawarthas Northumberland • Kawartha Lakes Tourism • Peterborough & Kawarthas Tourism • Quinte West • Durham Region Tourism

ORGANIZATIONS • Regional & Local Associations • Ontario By Bike • Waterfront Regeneration Trust • Travel Media Association of Canada • Trans Canada Trail

Working together to

maximize

the region’s potential to

attract visitors.

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OUR MARKET 1

Connected Explorers

• Want to break away from the everyday.

• Use their disposable income for unique travel and adventure.

• Want to research, plan, book and share travel experiences through

new technologies – before, during and after trips.

2

Nature Lovers

• Want to be outdoors and are aligned to Ontario’s parks and lakes.

• Prefer camping and associated activities,

i.e. hiking, fishing, canoeing and kayaking.

• Identify with a basic travel style.

3

• 45% are visible minorities and 40% are immigrants.

• Recently-affluent, upwardly mobile, youth-oriented group,

five target groups provides the greatest

growth potential for Northumberland County.

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Family Memory Builders (ages 34-54) • Have families with children under 18 years of age.

• They want a playful vacation.

• Trips are centred on building family memories.

Marketing to these

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Consumers Tell Us Our ongoing research and consumer feedback identify these key tourism experiences. Collaboration with tourism operators will see these and other experiences bring new visitors to Northumberland County.

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THE GREAT OUTDOORS

• • • •

Trail systems Provincial parks Cottages, campgrounds Cycling

Up and Coming Explorers (ages 18-34) some with young families.

• Looking for nearby trips that are considered a tourist attraction.

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OUR STRENGTHS

Outgoing Mature Couples (ages 55 plus)

• Active seniors driven to maintain their connection with the world.

• Not overly adventurous, but maintain their vitality by interacting

with new people, i.e. other travellers or locals.

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WATER-BASED ACTIVITIES

• Exploring waterways, lakes and rivers • Fishing – lake, river, stream, ice fishing and fly fishing • Pristine beaches

3 • • • •

TOWNS, VILLAGES & RURAL LANDSCAPES

Driving tours (by car and motorcycle) Small towns and villages Heritage sites, specialty shopping, festivals and events The performing arts, galleries and museums

Three areas of core attractors

bring visitors to Northumberland County annually. We focus on developing and marketing these areas.

• Important for them to feel competent.

Research provided by Destination Ontario and Kawarthas Northumberland, conducted by TSN.

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TRAVEL TRADE

PUBLICATIONS

Travel Media With concentrated efforts on publicity, Northumberland Tourism has connected with travel media whose publications and outlets include: • The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Star • The Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Outdoors

The Northumberland County Travel Media Kit can also be easily downloaded by travel journalists and the trade. It continues to increase our editorial exposure internationally and attract new travel media.

• Metro newspaper group, Le Devoir

• Zoomer, 55 Plus, Forever Young • Conde Nast Traveler, Food & Drink • Canoe Roots, Travel & Escape, Adventure Cyclists

• Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Reader’s Digest, Today’s Parent

• Aol.ca, BucketTripper.com, HikeBikeTravel.com, MSN.com, Vacay.ca

• Canadian Geographic, National Geographic Traveler

• CBC TV, BestTrip TV and Gusto TV

• CAA Magazine, Travel Writers Tales

• Air Canada’s enRoute, Westjet’s Up!

Product and Experience Tours We provide product tours to interest the travel trade, who are key influencers to consumers. We feature local travel industry businesses in these successful tours. The tours provide a hands-on understanding of our region’s unique experiences. Our tours have been highly successful with:

A very popular brochure, this map guide is updated using analytics and research to determine the top unique experiences that differentiate Northumberland County.

This frequentlyrequested map guide is very user-friendly.

It successfully increases visitation and length of stay county-wide.

It also targets touring motorcyclists.

The new Outdoor Adventures lure publication creates visitor excitement around Northumberland as a leading, preferred outdoor destination in Ontario.

Our series of publications are

• Ontario and Quebec travel writers and photographers • Destination Ontario, including the staff of its Ontario Travel Information Centres • Group tour operators and hotel concierge services • VIA Rail, Parks Canada, etc.

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This latest map guide in the series promotes Northumberland County’s position as Ontario’s leading cycling destination.

Online Publications NorthumberlandTourism.com has many new easy-to-download maps of individual Cycling Routes and Family Fun destinations, in addition to customized Google maps.

highly sought-after in both print and digital formats.

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PHOTOGRAPHY Our images are used for promotion of the region. We also share them with key influencers, media and partners.

Capturing Northumberland • Statistics on core attractors set the agenda for photo shoots.

• We use professional photographers with different photographic styles and scout out shoot locations in advance.

• We feature real people and places, not generic models.

VIDEO

We have a library of

20,000

Northumberland images that have been thoughtfully photographed to give a

distinct sense of place.

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Exhilarating and exciting.

That’s how viewers describe our videos, which put them in the heart of the Northumberland experience. Perspectives include drone footage showcasing the landscape and close ups showing people, places and experiences.

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WEBSITE

SOCIAL MEDIA

Strong Online Presence

Social Media Reach

NorthumberlandTourism.com This consumer site has features such as a business directory, themed videos, travel blogs and print-friendly maps.

ExploreRiceLake.ca is another consumer site we oversee.

Visitors by Location

Canadian Visitors

About 91% are from Canada, 5% from the U.S., 2% from Europe, with the remaining 2% worldwide.

About 94% are from Ontario, 5% from Quebec, followed by British Columbia, Alberta, then Nova Scotia.

We reach out with our consumer enewsletter

What’s Happening in Northumberland

1.8 M+

41,600

People Reached

People Reached

15,985

4,743

Likes On Page

Likes

5,698

Video Views

20,400

People Reached

1,306

Likes On Page

Industry Influencers Here are some of our Twitter followers and their audience numbers: • Jeanne Beker, journalist/celebrity ....................................................................................... 75,900 • Ivana & Gianni @NomadBeautiful, travel writers/bloggers ............. 93,000 • One Modern Couple @OneModernCouple.......................................................... 126,000 Exploring Ontario Canada • Ontario Travel @OntarioTravel................................................................................................... 87,200

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We continue to customize our

• Ontario Parks @OntarioParks ................................................................................................... 64,200

based on what we learn from

• Anne Marie Scheffler @Clearyblond, actress ....................................................... 25,400

online tools

• YYZ Living Magazine @YYZMag ............................................................................................. 14,680

consumer analytics.

• Dena Roche @Denaroche, travel writer ......................................................................... 18,700 • Food Bloggers Canada @FoodBloggersCA............................................................ 41,700

Facebook proves to be the

most effective platform.

Our target audience is digitally savvy, but not limited to a younger age group.

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PRINT & DIGITAL ADS Sample Magazine Ad

Facebook Ads

We are collaborating with businesses to develop authentic experiences and offer exceptional customer service to make Northumberland a truly unique destination.

Northumberland Tourism Sponsored

northumberlandtourism.com Navigate Northumberland

FUTURE PROJECTS

LEARN MORE

Just east of Toronto - Get your Free Road Trips map, which includes one of Ontario’s most scenic motorcycle routes. Take your most memorable road trip yet. Visit Farmers’ markets, historic towns, unique shops and sandy beaches.

Developing Key Assets Sample Web Banner Ads Our advertising shows

what makes us unique – differentiating our

products & experiences

from other Ontario destinations.

NAVIGATE FUN Shmurgle with goats

Haute Goat, Port Hope

NAVIGATE TOGETHER Relax. Get comfortable

We are collaborating with provincial and national partners to develop a destination corridor along the Trent-Severn Waterway.

“We’ve been working with Northumberland since 2001 and have benefited from their innovative ideas and programs.

I feel fortunate to have them as a resource.”

~ Donna Bennett Co-founder, Westben Arts Festival Theatre

This includes cycling linkages, paddling itineraries and cultural highlights.

Westben Arts Festival Theatre, Campbellford

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TOURISM MATTERS

FOR VISITORS: info@NorthumberlandTourism.com

• 1-866-401-EAST (3278) FOR BUSINESSES: info@NorthumberlandPartners.com • 905-372-5615 Copyright © 2018, Northumberland Tourism