HomeMy WebLinkAboutTOWN OF NEWCASTLE PROMOTION DAY - TOURIST SEMINARCORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF NEWCASTLE'
OFFICE OF THE TOWN CLERK
40 TEMPERANCE STREET �� � ;,m, ["` TELEPHONE 623.3379
BOWMAN ILLE,ONTARIO
REPORT TO MAYOR G. B. RICKARD AND MEMBERS OF COUNCIL
FROM: COUNCILLOR ANN COWMAN
SUBJECT: TOWN OF NEWCASTLEi26MOTION DAY" - TOURIST SEMINAR
DATE: MAY 31ST,
CLERK'S FILE:"10.2.17.1
r
The responses and general commen gelating to "Promotion Day" have been
very positive. It appears that the program was a good first step, and the
program ought to be carried further. With that view in mind, this report
proposes to briefly review Tourism in the Town of Newcastle within the
following parameters:
1. The short term results;
2. The long term potential.
1. Tourist Seminar - Short Term Results
The "Tourism in Newcastle" Seminar was attended by approximately forty
people. As outlined in the Promotion Day Program, the thrust of the
seminar was aimed at:
(a) Identifying and promoting tourism in Newcastle;
(b) Reviewing the advantages of Tourism to the local economy; and
(c) Learning how to promote points of interest within the area, to
tourists within the major tourist promotion area.
In the brief time available, the three speakers were able to show how
all of these objectives could be achieved without great cost. The
underlying theme of their talks was simply:
(a) "Tourism is important to your economy;
(b) The Town has many points of interest;
(c) Business should establish a local tourism committee;
(d) The committee should spend a few dollars on advertising;
Continued ..... /2
"Promotion Day" - 2 - May 31, 1982
(e) Serious consideration should be given to the promotion of the
Town as a place of interest to tourists, and then see what happens."
At the conclusion of the program rather than ask questions, the people
gathered in groups and directed their comments more to the method by
which a program could be implemented locally. One positive commitment
to local tourism came from Mr. Tom Clark, Tom Clark Tours, who because
of his attendance at "Promotion Day", indicated that he would establish
a day trip tour package and bring tourists to the Town.
As a result of the Tourism Seminar, the Town of Newcastle received an
invitation .to attend the Central Ontario Travel Association Annual
Conference in Peterborough on May 4th 1982. Mr. Oakes, Town Clerk and
the writer attended for the purpose of assessing the opportunities
available to the Town of Newcastle by active participation in tourist
promotion.
2. Long Term Potential
There are many economic opportunities to be realized from the active
promotion of tourism in the Town of Newcastle. Available to the community
is participation in Provincial Tourism Program "Ontario - Yours to Discover."
Through this program, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism promotes Tourism
in Ontario and, according to their representatives, have achieved an 85%
awareness level within the selling area, which includes the border states.
As an adjunct to the umbrella program, the Ministry publishes and
distributes materials which includes a booklet of "Coming Events."
Publication of events is undertaken by the Ministry without cost to
contributors. The listing of local events such as the Orono Fair could
result in a considerable increase in attendance; and that translates into
tourist dollars left in the community.
The area Tourist Councils recognize the advantage of tourism and
virtually every other area outside Durham Region have embarked upon
programs designed to attract tourists. Until very recently there has
not been a concentrated effort to promote tourism at the Regional level.
And even now, apathy prevails among many of the Region's Councillors.
Continued ..... /3
"Promotion Day" 3 -
May 31, 1982
There is now an opportunity to reverse the process by becoming involved
and building upon the foundation established by the newly formed "Travel
Association of Durham Region ," whose objective is to create an awareness
within the Region of the value of tourism in Durham. The goal is to
identify, publicize and promote facilities within the Region that might
be of interest to tourists. Included in the promotion will be the
availability of the following:
1. Parks and Recreation Facilities
2. Art Galleries and Museums
3. Accommodation
4. Food Services
5. Attractions
6. Shopping
7. Community sponsored groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and B.I.A.'s.
Possible Local Action
Having regard for the potential that the Town of Newcastle has for the
development of a significant tourist industry, it would be appropriate to
propose that a "Tourism Development Steering Committee" be created and
that membership of the Committee be made up of area residents and business
people interested in establishing such an industry in the Town.
Assistance other than financial in forming the Committee could be obtained
from the Province and the area tourist councils, all of whom would benefit
from its formation.
If members of Council support the proposition that tourism is a valuable
contributor to the economy of the community, the following resolution should
be given serious consideration:
"THAT the Council of the Town of
Newcastle go on record as being in
support of the creation of a 'Tourism
Development Steering Committee';
AND THAT the Committee have as its primary
objective the establishment of a Tourism
Council for the Town of Newcastle."
Respectfully submitted,
Ann Cowman,
Councillor.
TOWN OF NEWCASTLE
"PROMOTION DAY
Tourism in Newcastle
A. Campagnola, Central Ontario Tourist Association
Bud Tress, Great Pine Ridge Tourist Council
Nancy Church, Via Rail Canada
- Must be advertised externally to attract visitors.
- Advertised internally to create public awareness in own community.
- Good roads leading into the community
- Comfortable and reasonable accommodations.
- Things for people to do and see.
- Showed a short film on a place called "Broken Bow Nebraska" on how
that particular community promoted tourism in their area, such as:
Rodeos, Amusements, Playground for Children, Horse -cart Rides to the
Museum, Costume Parade, Etc., to attract tourists.
- Advertise by distributing pamphlets, booklets, magazines to the
U.S.A., as well as surrounding areas and throughout Canada.
- Suggested a Tourist Information Centre be established in the Town of
Newcastle, perhaps on Highway #2.
- Miss Church showed a short film of a trip which is promoted by Via Rail
Canada, specifically Via One, showing the good meals, confortable
accommodation, relaxing atmosphere and yet a quick way to travel.
She indicated that the trips offered by Via Rail are well advertised
in magazines, posters, radio and television.
She felt that the Town of Newcastle had a number of attractions to
Nromotion uay - iown OT newcastie
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offer tourists, such as an Apple Festival, Wilmot Creek - Annual Event,
the Town Hall Auditorium, etc.
A number of other attractions in the Town of Newcastle which would be
of interest to tourists: Museum, Zoo, Marina, Orono Fairgrounds,
Conservation Areas, Darlington Provincial Park, Visual Arts Centre,
May 4, 1982
Central Ontario Trovel Affociation
P.O. Box 191,165 King St., Peterborough, Ont. K9J 6Y8 (705) 745.3780
YOUR SHARE IS OUR CONCERN
OUR SHARE IS YOUR CONCERN
TOTAL TOURIST SPENDING IN CENTRAL ONTARIO ..... $500,000,000. per year
TOTAL PERSON TRIPS TO CENTRAL ONTARIO 16,000.,000. per year
These figures are proof positive that tourism is big business
in Central Ontario. But let's not kid ourselves ... other areas
around the province feel the same way and are aggressively going
after their share of tourism visits and dollars. In fact, here
is how we shape up to the rest of the province:
CENTRAL ONTARIO IS VISITED BY ONLY 11% OF TOURISTS TRAVELLING IN ONTARIO
CENTRAL ONTARIO RECEIVES ONLY 5.6% OF TOTAL TOURIST SPENDING IN ONTARIO
In order to MAINTAIN and INCREASE our share of the market, here
are a few statistics we should all keep in mind:
1) WHO is travelling and spending in Central Ontario? The following
table indicates WHERE the 16 million person -trips originate and
HOW MUCH of the $500 million each group is spending
VISITOR % of person -trips % of total spending
ORIGIN to Central Ontario in Central Ontario
Ontario 95.5 85.5
United States 2.4 9.4
Other Provinces 2.1 4.5
Overseas .05 .6
- Almost half of the total (48%) number of Ontarians travelling to
Central Ontario are from Toronto, and only one third (30%) reside.
in Central Ontario itself.
- Over half of our visitors from other provinces in Canada are from
Quebec (57%). Of the American visitors 77% come from Ohio.
- Most overseas visitors are from West Germany, England and Holland.
r - 2
2) Again, HOW
do we shape up to the rest of
the province? The following
table shows
our share of the provincial
totals for
person -trips and
spending:
4.0
Overseas
.05
.4
Central Ontario's share
Central Ontario's
share
% of total annual
VISITOR
% of total annual
person-
spending by tourists
ORIGIN
trips made to Ontario
in Ontario
Ontario
15.5
6.7
Other Provinces
2.5
2.5
United States
1.3
4.0
Overseas
.05
.4
3) Central Ontario's Share of Total Ontario Tourist Spending by Component:
SERVICE STATIONS 7.5%
ACCOMMODATION .................... 6.9%
FOOD/BEVERAGE .................... 6.0%
RECREATION ......... 5.1%
RETAIL SALES/MISC. ............... 4.4%
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ............ 3.0%
WHAT do all these statistics mean? They indicate to us how important
the tourism industry is to Central Ontario and how necessary it is to
continually keep in touch with what is happening to the industry. The
Central Ontario Travel Association is supported in part by the Ontario
Ministry of Tourism and Recreation with the mandate to assure that
visitors and potential visitors are made aware of what We have to offer.
The rest is up to you.. We'll keep you informed of our new programs by
newsletter and special notices which we hope you will retain in this
special folder, and we hope that you'll take advantage of the many
packages tailored to your advertising needs... and let us know if there
is any special project you feel is a worthwhile addition to what we
are doing.
COTA wants to work WITH the various local associations and individual
operators within this region to insure that every dollar spent on
tourism marketing is spent effectively. Together we have the strength
to MAINTAIN and INCREASE our share of Ontario's second largest industry...
and that's why we say that
YOUR SHARE IS OUR CONCERN
OUR SHARE IS YOUR CONCERN
LET'S GET GOING!
Councillor Ann Cowman
David W. Oakes, A.M.C.T., Town Clerk
May 7, 1982
Information on C.O.T.A., and Tourism littaeities
Our file: 10.2.17.
The Central Ontario Travel Association is a non-profit organization for the
development of tourism in the counties of Central Ontario. Included within the
Central Ontario Travel Association is the Great Pine Ridge Tourist Council which
includes the Region of Durham within its area of Jurisdiction.
C.O.T.A.
Membership in C.O.T.A. is open to any person or business included directly or'
indirectly in the tourism industry in the Central Ontario travel area.
Members of the various Tourist Councils are automatically members of C.O.T.T.,
upon payment of dues by the particular tourist association. Anyone not a member
of a local tourist council may become a member of C.O.T.A. upon payment of dues.
Benefits of Membership in C.O.T.A. and the local Tourist Council are:
1. Direct access to Provincial funds for the support of tourism
programs and projects;
2. A voice in the promotion of tourism within the area;
3. Access to advertising prepared and distributed by C.O.T.A. and
the Province;
4. Direct input of items of interest locally in Provincial
tourism materials.
Possible Local Action
Having regard for the potential the Town of Newcastle has for the development of
a significant tourist industry, it would be appropriate to propose the creation
of a Tourism Development Steering Committee, the membership of which could be
comprised of area residents and businessmen interested in establishing a
Tourist Industry in the Town.
Continued ..... /2
Qouncillor Ann Cowman - 2 - May 7, 1982
Assistance in forming the Committee could be obtained from the Province,
C.O.T.A., and probably the Great Pine Ridge Tourist Council, all of whom
would stand to gain by such a project.
It would also be appropriate to encourage the Town of Newcastle to become a
member of the Great Pine Ridge Tourist Council and support the promotion of
Tourism locally through such a membership.
Membership Fees•
- Chamber of Commerce, Tourist Associations $100.00
- Municipalities - fee for service
- Businesses - rate depends upon number of employees
and vary from a low of $50.00 to a high of $200.00.
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