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Home My WebLink About2020-04-21Clarington (k� CLARINGTON TOURISM ADVISORY COMMITTEE Minutes of Meeting April 21, 2020, 9 a.m. Teleconference Members Present: Petra Schwirtz, Chair Christine McSorley Ann Harley Evan King Kim Neziroski Laura Holmes Councillor Ron Hooper Bonnie Wrightman, CBOT Regrets: Brandon Pickard, Durham Tourism Amy Verwey Fred Archibald Staff: Ashlee Kielbiski, Tourism Programmer Basia Radomski, Communications and Tourism Manager Jess MacGregor, Tourism Clerk 1. Call to Order o Meeting was called to order — 9:01 a.m. 2. Adoption of Agenda Moved by, Ron Hooper, seconded by, Ann Harley: That the agenda for April 21, 2020, be adopted. Carried 3. Approval of March 12, 2019, Meeting Minutes Moved by, Ann Harley, seconded by, Evan King: That the meeting minutes of March 12, 2020, be approved. Carried 4. Presentations o None 5. New Business Update from Clarington Tourism Current status: o Checking in on tourism stakeholders and assisting them with the new challenges of this current landscape. Learning/researching new tools to help guide stakeholders as they pivot their business models. Examples include learning about online shopping platforms, how to create videos for social media, advising on virtual events and the possibility of using Facebook Live to stream events. o Using social media to share information about what businesses are open, takeout and delivery food options, store hours for seniors and vulnerable people. We are also sharing light-hearted content, beautiful pictures, and sharing the Municipal #SpreadLove campaign. Post Covid-19: Our plan for when the economy re -opens has two priorities as set out below. We are operating with the knowledge that there's a great deal of uncertainty and questions regarding timelines, when everything will reopen, what time of year, what businesses are open, and how we can promote our community safely. o Priority #1. Focus 100% on our local community. Get residents out of their homes and into our community, supporting local businesses and contributing to our local economy. Our focus for the near future will be striving to have residents act as Clarington ambassadors. o Priority #2. Assisting businesses with their individual needs. Working with partners, CBOT, Durham Tourism, Central Counties Tourism and Community Services to provide resources and necessary support. o The planned 2020 Summer Event Guide will not be produced. Marketing and advertising materials, when used, will be simple and community - specific. Ideas include a community scavenger hunt, Clarington passport and bucket list as potential ideas to encourage residents back into the community. The timing of these campaigns will depend on when distancing measures are relaxed. o Clarington Canada Day celebration has been cancelled. Community Development and Tourism are brainstorming ideas on how to celebrate Clarington in a new way. This will include content from the #SpreadLove campaign. Plans from the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism, and Culture for the recovery, rebuilding and re-emergence post Covid-19 include: o $20 million in funding to Celebrate Ontario. Apply as of April 20 on the Ministry website. o $7 million in funding to the Ontario Music Fund through Ontario Creates. This opens May for 2021 funding. Three categories: music creation, live music, industry initiatives. Musictogether.ca has launched to promote and support Ontario musicians and artists. o $67 million in Ontario Trillium grants. o The Ministry is working with RTOs and Destination Ontario on recovery plans. These plans will consider cultural and social impact as well as economic growth. Plans for three months, 18 months, three years and five years are in the works. There will be sector -specific strategies and metrics in place. o Destination Ontario is working on an advertising campaign to say `Welcome Back to Ontario' when it is safe to do so. o All new information will be shared in the Clarington Tourism stakeholder newsletter as it is made available. Update from Clarington Board of Trade o The current situation has created a new opportunity for businesses to shift their business model, for example, offering curbside pick-up. This new way of doing business will continue after Covid-19. o CBOT has checked in with over 300 businesses. Many have adapted to new delivery models but are seeing decreased revenue. o Concerns from the business community about how long this will last. CBOT is researching what the transition to recovery may look like. o CBOT has held Town Hall with Mayor Foster, Town Hall meeting with Regional Chair John Henry, has hosted a `Work from Home' webinar, and is planning a social media webinar. o Money is earmarked for a support local campaign including print and radio ads. o Working on a webpage devoted to emergency services in the community. Ron Hooper shared information from OBIAA calls that discuss best practices and what communities around Ontario are doing to pivot their business models. He shares this information with CBOT and the other Clarington BIAs so all can benefit. Newcastle BIA could potentially put together a Canada Day event with short notice if the emergency orders and social distancing rules are lessened. Newcastle usually runs an Easter Scavenger hunt around Newcastle. It is a great event that introduces locals to available businesses. The idea of a scavenger hunt could be scaled to a larger community and benefit local businesses. Question was asked about funding available to the Municipality at this time. Funding to Municipalities has not been announced, the focus is on stakeholders and business owners. The Municipality continues to work with our partners, Durham Region and Central Counties and will share when new funding is available. Question was asked about how the community will re -open safely post Covid-19. The Municipality takes advice from Durham Region health department and Dr. Kyle. Its up to the Province to clearly communicate how the economy will re -open and how to do so safely, when the time comes. `Downtowns of Durham' project lead by Durham Tourism involves 8 Durham BIAs to promote shopping local. Launch of website and dedicated marketing campaign on Monday, April 27. Website will promote businesses that are operating in any capacity at this time to provide a single source of local services information. This includes BIA businesses only. 6. Other Business o None 7. Date of next meeting: o Date to be determined and emailed to committee members. Possible date of May 15, 2020. 8. Motion to adjourn Moved by, Ann Harley, seconded by, Christine McSorely, Carried. The meeting concluded at 9:54 a.m. Attached are speaking notes from Brandon Pickard, Manager of Durham Tourism, as he was unable to make the conference call.