A tourism plan for South Bruce Peninsula has been unveiled.
Its priorities include boosting tourism and creating a better visitor experience, extending the tourism season, and ensuring the right infrastructure is in place to support tourism.
The Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) Association, which was created to decide how accommodation tax revenue would be spent, hired consultants McQueen and Galloway to create a one-year action plan and a five-year strategic tourism plan.
The accommodation tax adds four per cent to short-term accommodation bills for customers. By provincial rules, half of that revenue goes to promoting tourism and the other half to the Town.
This new plan has some recommendations including developing a tourism website which is expected to launch in 2024.
The hope is to also have active representation from Saugeen First Nation, and also create the positions of tourism coordinator and a summer seasonal ambassador.
Of note, the group has brainstormed some ideas to boost tourism.
The plan looks at extending the tourism season initially into May and October through new events and themes in the off-season. The plan includes boosting winter tourism later on in the strategy (2026-27).
Brainstorming and goals for infrastructure include more way finding signage for drivers, developing a parking strategy and looking at using shuttle services, enhancing the Wiarton visitor centre or considering the feasibility of a ‘one stop’ visitor centre for the whole peninsula, as well as ensuring there are enough electric vehicle chargers along the way.
With a goal of ‘elevating the visitor experience’ the plan includes keeping concerts and events fresh, ensuring off season events are supported by adequate food and accommodation services, exploring an e-bike sharing program, hiring a summer seasonal ambassador and web content creator and developing an an online photo, video, drone library that can be used as a marketing resource for all tourism entities, conduct a survey of visitor experiences and come up with strategies to attract water traffic at local marinas. Other ideas include exploring a weeknight market in Wiarton.
With regard to recruitment and housing for tourism staff, one idea that was floated was to work with Georgian College and others to consider establishing a culinary/hospitality satellite campus for the Bruce Peninsula. They plan to also work with planning staff to reduce red tape when it comes to approving short-term housing options.
Other ideas include promoting working in the community to local students as well as post-secondary students and pursue government sponsored foreign worker programs.
In 2022, the Town’s net MAT revenue was about $555,000 meaning $277,500 was allocated to the MAT Association. In 2023, the net MAT revenue is estimated at about $345,000 with $172,500 going to the MAT Association for tourism promotion.