Grey County Tourism Plan Gets County Council Stamp of Approval

On July 5, 2016 Grey County Council approved a new Destination Development Action Plan that will help grow tourism and strengthen Grey’s reputation as a destination of choice in Ontario.

The three-year plan focuses on activities under four pillars:

• Stakeholder Collaboration
• Destination Development
• Market Research and Tracking
• Resource Allocation at the County

“Tourism is a critical sector in Grey County’s economy. It touches all of our communities and it’s important we all work together to grow the benefits it brings,” said Grey County Warden Al Barfoot.

A steering committee of external stakeholders and experienced consultants led the development of the strategy. Tourism partners participated in one-on-one interviews, online surveys, an information session and a workshop.

Gary Gingras, Chair of the Tourism Advisory Committee, says he’s committed to putting the “Action” in Action Plan.

“We had excellent feedback from our industry partners and now we’re anxious to get started providing more value to tourism stakeholders,” said Gingras. “Enhanced collaboration and improved data to support marketing and promotional efforts are key.” 

Grey County will host a “Lets’ Talk Tourism” session for industry partners on September 20th.

The Grey County Tourism Destination Development Action Plan is available online at VisitGrey.ca. Grey County Council reviewed the draft strategy in May and industry partners had a chance to share comments in early June.

Background

In late 2015, Grey County, in partnership with Regional Tourism Organization 7, hired Bannikin Travel & Tourism to update Grey’s original Tourism Destination Develop­ment Action Plan. The goal was to create a new plan to guide Grey County’s tourism staff to continue increasing sustainable tourism revenues. Supporting economic development and growth is a high priority for Grey County.  Grey County’s first economic development strategy “Made in Grey,” was completed in early 2015. Tourism was identified as a key sector within the seven themes of the plan and updating the Tourism Action Plan was a key action.

For more information please contact Bryan Plumstead, Economic Development and Tourism Manger, at bryan.plumstead [at] grey.ca (Bryan[dot]Plumstead[at]grey[dot]ca) or 519‑376‑3365 ext. 6110.

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