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LANARK COUNTY TOURISM / DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT PLAN / 1

Prepared bythe Partnership of

In collaboration with, and support from

PHOTO: MARK WHEELER


The Lanark County Tourism Association and Lanark County, in partnership with the Valley Heartland Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) and the Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization (OHTO), invested in a tourism destination development plan with a three to five year outlook. Through an RFP process, the Tourism Café Canada and Brain Trust Marketing and Communications were awarded the contract in October 2013 to lead this project with an advisory committee representing the stakeholder interests of the County.

MARIE WHITELanark County Tourism

JACKIE KAVANAGHLanark County Tourism Association

NICOLE WHITINGOntario’s Highlands Tourism Organization

STEPHANIE HESSELOntario’s Highlands Tourism Organization

JULIE MULLIGANOntario’s Highlands Tourism Organization

Along with the numerous tourism stakeholders who participated in consultation sessions in April 2014 to provide feedback on the recommendations, the project

team provided valuable insight and regional knowledge that shaped and informed this plan.

We would like to express our deepest appreciation to everyone whose knowledge and expertise contributed to this iterative, developmental process which led to the findings of this report.

Yours sincerely,

DR. NANCY ARSENAULTManaging Partner of

the Tourism Café Canada

MR. RICHARD INNESPresident of Brain Trust

Marketing & Communications

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PHOTO: HELEN MCKAY


THE MAJORITY OF IMAGES IN THIS DOCUMENT WERE PROVIDED BY LANARK COUNTY TOURISM. WHERE THIS DIFFERS, THE SOURCE HAS BEEN PROVIDED.

TABLE OF CONTENTS04 Introduction

09 The Tourism Barometer

15 A New Opportunity: Making the Shift

20 A New Approach: Focus on the Visitor

30 Roles and Responsibilities

35 Commit to the Journey

48 Getting Started

53 Appendix I: Glossary of Terms

56 Appendix 2: Knowledge Seeker Visitor Profile (OTMPC)

58 Appendix 3: Connected Explorer Visitor Profile (OTMPC)

60 Appendix 4: Cultural Explorer Visitor Profile (CTC)

62 Appendix 5: Experiential Travel Videos & EQ Case Studies

64 End Notes

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PHOTOS: TREVOR LUSH (TOP); RANDY DEKLEINE-STIMPSON (BOTTOM)PHOTOS: TREVOR LUSH (TOP); RANDY DEKLEINE-STIMPSON (BOTTOM)


The geographical assets include over 100 lakes, rivers and waterfalls that set the stage for outdoor adventure recreational activities including cycling, paddling, camping, fishing, birding, and cross country skiing. Connected to the 202 km Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the region is home to some of the oldest towns in Canada, as evidenced by more than 140 built heritage properties and the Seven Wonders of Lanark County.

The diversity of Lanark County’s tourism assets has attracted thousands of visitors annually to the area, but the region is falling behind other areas of the province relative

to the per-person spend which is nearly 50% less than the provincial average. Recognizing the necessity of making a shift from the status quo to embracing change that would aid the long-term future of tourism, Lanark County Tourism and the Lanark County Tourism Association, in partnership with the Valley Heartland Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) and the Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization (OHTO), invested in the creation of a destination development plan (DDP) with a three to five year outlook that would provide a common vision and framework for collaborative action to guide tourism development priorities and actions in Lanark County.

A short drive from the nation’s capital is a dynamic tourism region with diverse visitor activities, festivals and events, and tourism attractions available to entice a wide range of travellers from Ontario, Canada and afar. Lanark County is known as the Maple Syrup Capital of Ontario.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

PHOTO: DESA PHOTOGRAPHY


Through an RFP process, the Tourism Café Canada and Brain Trust Marketing and Communications were contracted in October 2013 to work with appointed stakeholders to develop the DDP.

The overarching objectives of the DDP are to:

• Provide a focus for tourism product and market development in Lanark County to 2018;

• Provide a visitor-centric review for tourism development and identify where investment is needed to create new reasons to visit or strengthen existing travel opportunities;

• Achieve a collective understanding of, and support for, the regional strategy among stakeholders; and

• Provide a framework for collaborative action that supports successful implementation of the plan within the region, articulating how all layers of government and industry at the national, provincial, regional, county and municipal levels can align and engage in achieving the desired outcomes.

Specifically, this involved:

• Identifying Lanark County’s ideal guest and the travel experiences they are seeking; Examining what Lanark County has to offer relative to the infrastructure, activities, people

INTRODUCTION

PHOTOS: TREVOR LUSH (TOP); SIMON LUNN (MIDDLE LEFT & RIGHT, BOTTOM);


and programs that visitors can experience, including the natural visitor corridors to the region from major centres such as Ottawa and Toronto;

• Assessing how the destination is currently performing; and

• Recommending the roles, responsibilities and levels of engagement of the key municipal, marketing and product development stakeholders in developing tourism.

By undertaking the process and implementing the recommendations identified in the plan, Lanark County and its tourism stakeholders will strengthen their ability to increase the benefits from tourism.

The DDP IS NOT Lanark County Tourism’s annual business plan. Nor does it come with a budget funding request for specific activities. Rather, it is a document that provides a foundation to guide investment and regional activities based on an assessment of the assets, people and possibilities in the region.

Informed by research to understand trends, attitudes, values and motivations, and demographic profiles of today’s travellers, the DDP identifies the opportunities that stakeholders then prioritize to implement, seek funding if necessary, and begin to work together on targeted initiatives.

Without such a plan to unify stakeholders and guide development, Lanark County is at risk of losing competitive appeal in an increasingly competitive marketplace by offering the same products year-after year to the same visitors.

DEVELOPING THE PLAN

The project team was led by Nancy Arsenault (Tourism Café Canada) and Richard Innes (Brain Trust Marketing & Communications). An advisory committee, representing the interests of municipalities and businesses in Lanark County and validating the directions set forth in this document included:

MARIE WHITE Lanark County Tourism (LCT)

JACKIE KAVANAGH Lanark County Tourism Association (LCTA)

NICOLE WHITING Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization (OHTO)

STEPHANIE HESSEL Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization (OHTO)

JULIE MULLIGAN Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization (OHTO)

INTRODUCTION


As the project came to a close, Bob Mingie the Chair of LCTA, participated in multiple stakeholder meetings and joined the team to strengthen the review process of the final report.

PHASE 1 (OCT - DEC 2013):

A review of a wide range of reports, studies and marketing materials informed this plan including:

• 4 national, 7 provincial, 15 regional, 19 County reports and 4 recreational geology documents;

• 165 print and electronic samples of marketing materials, plus 19 maps;

• 18 consumer insight research reports and 1 performance data report;

• 3 conference presentations: and

• 3 documents from the Rideau Canal VEOC workshop.

This produced a staging document with a 3rd-party overview of tourism in Lanark County and its tourism development potential.

INTRODUCTION

PHOTOS: LES HUMPHRIES (MIDDLE LEFT); TRACY LAMB (MIDDLE RIGHT); HILARY LONGTIN (BOTTOM)


PHASE 2 (JAN - APR 2014):

The staging document provided the insight needed to engage in multiple meetings to:• Confirm the ‘ideal guest’ for Lanark County;

• Narrow down the priority product development themes;

• Identify roles and responsibilities;

• Propose evolutions to select marketing priorities;

• Propose a new tourism mandate for Lanark County Tourism; and

• Propose a strategic shift to becoming a destination management organization, whereby marketing and promotions are considered one of the many elements that contribute to tourism growth.

Preliminary findings and draft recommendations were then presented to stakeholders through presentations and workshops where valuable feedback was received, considered and factored into this plan. Five sessions in two communities attracted different stakeholders and perspectives:

• Carleton Place (April 14) and Perth (April 15): Presentations to industry on the proposed directions and recommendations in the DDP to tourism businesses;

• Carleton Place (April 14) and Perth (April 15): Two workshops with businesses interested in expanding the priority themes of ‘Maple’ and ‘Rocks and Minerals’ as destination drivers; and

• Perth (April 16): A presentation on the proposed directions and recommendations in the DDP to tourism businesses, municipal stakeholders and government partners who invest in tourism.

Immediately following these sessions, the project team discussed the stakeholder input and the consultants then drafted the plan which was reviewed, revised and finalized.

INTRODUCTION


THE DEMAND FOR TRAVEL CONTINUES

The demand for travel continues to increase and the competition for visitors is fierce, particularly with emerging destinations, some of which are increasing at a rate of 13% per year.2 Despite a global economy in low gear, an additional 52 million tourists traveled worldwide in 2013, bringing the total number of international overnight travellers to 1.087 billion. This represents a 5% increase over 2012, above the 4% long-term trend projected by the United Nations World Tourism Organization3 and well above Canada’s 1.7% growth rate in 2013.4

In Canada tourism is an $84 billion industry representing

2% of GDP. In 2013 it generated $21.3 billion in tax revenues, employed more than 618,300 people in over 157,000 businesses and all major national tourism indicators increased, including visitation (+2.9%), tourism total spending in Canada’s 10 leisure markets (+4.6%), arrivals (2.9%) and employment (2.6%).5

UNPRECEDENTED CHOICE

Travellers will continue to have unprecedented choice in their travel options domestically and internationally. In a world of limited resources and increased connectivity,

Over the past six decades, tourism has become one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the world.1 Tourism is a trillion dollar global business that sees tourists spending $3 billion a day. That’s $2 million a minute. Accounting for one in every 12 jobs worldwide, tourism has become one of the world’s fastest-growing industries.

THE TOURISM BAROMETER




collaborating to compete and focusing on enhancing the visitor experience is today’s opportunity to differentiate in order to increase the volume and yield from visitors.

“Many Canadian companies choose to do business in the same markets they’ve operated in for years . . . Working with familiar clients and markets is a comfortable option, and in the short-term, it may reduce risk . . . but over the long term, playing it safe can cause companies to lose their edge.”

- DELOITTE’S PASSPORT TO GROWTH (2013)

A study commissioned by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada6 revealed, “Canada must develop niche products and services tailor-made to match the unique characteristics of its diverse regions.” Seven years later, this remains true and an important element of success when combined with the understanding of specific traveller types that will provide the greatest return on investment.

ONTARIO MARKET PERFORMANCE

In 2011 there were 138.8 million person visits in Ontario, representing spending of $20.8 billion, an average of $150/trip7 (Table 1).

While the Greater Toronto Area (GTA - Region 5) is the largest region, representing 22% of visits and 32% of

TABLE 1Visits and Spending by Region

ONTARIO

Region 1

Region 2

Region 3

Region 4

Region 5

Region 6

Region 7

Region 8

Region 9

Region 10

Region 11

Region 12

Region 13

138.8

11.5%

8.2%

7.3%

7.7%

21.5%

8.2%

9.2%

4.0%

5.7%

6.4%

4.1%

3.4%

5.7%

20.8

7.0%

8.0%

3.7%

5.2%

32.3%

4.0%

5.9%

2.3%

3.9%

7.3%

2.1%

2.9%

6.8%

2011VISITS

(MILLIONS)VISITOR SPENDING

($ BILLIONS)

INTERNATIONAL BORDER CROSSINGS

JAN.-DEC.2013

% CHANGE FROM 2012

TABLE 2Ontario Tourism Performance Summary

Total Inbound

From the U.S.

From overseas

Hotel Occupancy

Hotel Average

Daily Rate

13,111,793

11,185,671

1,926,122

62.4%

$126.57

-2.4%

-3.3%

2.8%

0.8

1.3%



spending, this could be viewed as an asset if the lure out of the GTA to Lanark County could be enhanced.

Of note also is that:

• 65% were same-day visits driven by Ontario residents;

• 46% were visiting friends or relatives;

• 31% were pleasure travellers;

• 65% stayed in private homes except U.S. visitors who are more likely to stay at a hotel/motel (46%)

• Transportation (35%) and food and beverage (28%) represented the largest proportions of expenditures; and

• U.S. visitors represented 8% of visits and 15% of expenditures; overseas visitors accounted for 2% of visits and 13% of spending.

While American visitation has been low for many years, 77% of U.S. visitors came from border states with 32% from New York and 29% from Michigan. Ontario’s nine target overseas markets (U.K., Japan, Germany, France, Mexico, India, China, South Korea and Brazil) represented 51% of overseas visitors to Ontario (Table 2). The U.K. was by far the leading overseas source market at 16% of overseas visits.


FIGURE 2Visitation and Spending by Ontarian’s

0 20 40 60 80 100

85%

94%

62%

86%

% OF SPENDINGFROM ONTARIANS

% OF VISITORS FROM ONTARIO

Ontario’s Highlands Lanark County

FIGURE 1Ontario’s Highlands Visitation

24%

17%

28%

31%

Lanark County

Haliburton County

Renfrew County

Frontenac, Hastings,

Lennox & Addington


Additionally:

• The majority of overnight visitors used unpaid accommodations at private homes and cottages;

• U.S. visitors accounted for 3% of visits and 9% of expenditures;

• Visitors from elsewhere in Canada made up 3% of visits and 5% of spending;

• Overseas visitors accounted for less than 1% of visits and spending; and

• On average, overnight visitors spent over twice as much as same-day visitors.

The top five tourism activities in Ontario’s Highlands were

TOURISM IN ONTARIO’S HIGHLANDS REGION

In 2001, nearly 5.7 million people visited the Ontario’s Highlands region, consisting of Renfrew, Lanark, Haliburton, and parts of Frontenac, Hastings, Lennox and Addington counties (Figure 1 & Table 3).8

Nearly 1.4 million visitors came to Lanark County, yet the majority are likely same-day guests based on the OHTO visitation research.

While the numbers may appear high, the per-person expenditure is only $77, nearly 50% less than the provincial average of $150/per person.

In the Ontario’s Highlands region (2011)9 visitors spent $442 million, accounting for 2.1% of total provincial visitor spending.


OHTO - TOTAL

OHTO - OVERNIGHT

OHTO - SAME-DAY

LANARK COUNTY

5,724,848

2,441,740

3,283,108

1,388,028

5,537,180

2,303,747

3,233,432

1,314,148

5,389,732

2,242,970

3,146,762

1,273,936

173,249

125,324

47,926

70,638

122,948

79,834

43,114

54,625

23,022

24,470

2,546

5,215

ALL ORIGINS CANADA ONTARIO U.S. U.S. BORDER STATES OVERSEAS

TABLE 32011 Visitation (Person Visits) to Ontario’s Highlands (RTO 11) and Lanark County by Origin


100,000 adults age 40 plus, mostly females in Lanark County & Leeds Grenville;

• Several thousand potential visitors reached through consumer show presence;

• 100+ events submitted annually for the online events calendar;

• 12,000+ unique visits to www.lanarkcountytourism.ca;

• Print advertising results in direct inquiries.

• Reached over 1.3 million potential visitors through a web-based getaway contest in 2014 ;

• Shifted investment from consumer shows to more digital marketing, responding to where travellers are seeking information;

• Launched a custom tour tool to create your own itinerary for Lanark County in 2014;

• Developed publications such as the Lanark County Festivals and Events Guide, the Experience Map, the Outdoors Map, the Maple Routes Map; and

• Supported partnership initiatives such as the Lanark County Billboard project; and

• Launched a new experience based website in 2012.

boating, fishing, outdoor activities, sporting events and festivals. This high recreation focus on the natural outdoor spaces in Lanark County also contributes to the lower per person spend in the region, as does the fact that 57% are single day visits and the majority are visiting friends and relatives (VFR).

The vast majority of visitors and visitor spending to the Ontario’s Highlands and Lanark County are from Ontario. Figure 2 confirms Ontarians as a strong market; identifying more specific target markets and offering new visitor options will be required for future growth.

LANARK COUNTY’S TOURISM ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2012 - 2014

• A finalist for the OTMPC Award in 2012 “Best Tourism Marketing Partnership”;

• Generating a Facebook and Twitter presence of 1000+ fans and 900 followers;

• Media relations generates approximately $1 million in value per year;

• Print publications are in demand and distributed in 10s of thousands;

• Radio advertising reaches an estimated



With You development guidebook, Figure 3 synthesizes the key elements of a successful tourism destination and the core challenges being faced, all of which can be applied to Lanark County.

SUCCESSFUL DESTINATIONS

The OHTO has done extensive research on what makes a destination successful in a competitive marketplace. Published in the newly released (Apr 2014) Tourism Starts

FIGURE 3Successful Tourism Destinations

Destinations that deliver in the above areas are better able to inspire and motivate visitors, deliver memorable visitor experiences, grow tourism

by working together, and ensure a sustainable industry. While, operationally, the OHTO has been busy setting up programming designed to support

each of these critical areas of success, the region still faces some significant challenges in terms of realizing our full potential.

Know and understand their ideal visitor

Focus beyond what the visitor can see and do (activities) to what the visitor will feel and remember (experiences)

Deliver on their brand promise

Recognize the full range of economic benefits that are derived from visitation

Collaborate to compete as an engaged destination

Tourism is still not perceived as a significant economic driver in our communities

Tourism activities within the region are predominantly supply/supplier driven with an emphasis on promotion

There is confusion among stakeholders regarding the various levels of tourism support

Activities are fragmented due to limited collaboration



THE VISITOR ECONOMY

It encompasses everything that contributes to attracting visitors to a destination; everything that makes a place special, distinctive and capable of engendering pride and interest and a place worth experiencing.

A successful visitor economy requires managing all of the components in an integrated and long-term way, with a clear focus on the needs of the visitors the destination is seeking to attract and the destination brand.

Broader than a marketing plan, annual business plan, or specific project plan, destination development examines the entire tourism investment cycle, over a defined period of time, to identify strategic and tactical opportunities for tourism (Figure 4).

A Destination Development Plan identifies what is needed to grow the Visitor Economy, and achieve the desired results for tourism. In Lanark County this has been identified as increased visitation and revenues

Destination development is a continuous process of investing, coordinating, developing and marketing the tourism potential of an area in ways that provides value to visitors, businesses and municipalities.

A NEW OPPORTUNITY: Making the Shift

A NEW OPPORTUNITY



particularly the return on investing in product and community tourism development, is not fully understood or appreciated at the national, provincial or regional basis. Current measures such as hotel occupancy, airlift capacity, website hits or the number of visitors stopping at information centres tell only a fraction of the tourism story.

SHIFT FROM FOCUSING ON THE TOURISM ECONOMY TO THE VISITOR ECONOMY

Tourism is a vital component of the economic health of the municipalities in Lanark County providing jobs and generating tax revenues. Yet, the value of tourism,

A NEW OPPORTUNITY

MANAGE THEVISITOR LIFECYCLE

CONTINUAL INNOVATION

& INVESTMENT

INVEST IN & MANAGE THE DESTINATION

EXPERIENCE

LISTEN & CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION

THEMES & STORIES

DELIVER ONTHE EXPERIENCE

PROMOTE & ADVERTISE

GENERATEDESTINATION AWARENESS,

DRIVE SALES

DESIGN MEMORABLE, ENGAGING VISITOR

EXPERIENCES

INCREASED VISITATION, LENGTH OF STAY,

SPEND, PROFITS & STRENGTHEN BRAND

VALUECREATION

(C) NANCY ARSENAULT (2011). ADAPTED FROM CHRIS VOSS (2003)

FIGURE 4The Tourism Investment Cycle


Additionally, many businesses who see direct or indirect benefit don’t see themselves ‘in the tourism industry’. This includes gas stations, grocery stores, local area festivals, some restaurants and campgrounds, and retail shops. The fact is, they all benefit in one way or another. By increasing the number of travellers to the region or community and by encouraging guests to stay longer, the economic impact is multiplied.

Tourism is one element of a sustainable community, but vitally important as it generates income for government to spend on social programs such as health and education. An investment in tourism is an investment in a healthy community as it brings new on-going revenue.

It is recommended that Lanark County shift from focusing on the narrower ‘Tourism Economy’ to the broader ‘Visitor Economy’ (Figure 5) in the future.

SHIFT FROM DESTINATION MARKETING TO DESTINATION MANAGEMENT

For many destinations, growing their visitor economy has relied solely on their marketing efforts through a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). More recently, tourism leaders have recognized the need to take a more holistic approach in order to increase the benefits derived from investing in tourism.

A NEW OPPORTUNITY

VALUECREATION

TOURISM TO VISITOR ECONOMY

TOURISM ECONOMY

SUSTAINABLEVISITOR ECONOMY

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

TOURISM AS ONE ELEMENT OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITES

FOR BUSINESSES

FOR VISITORS

FOR BUSINESSES

FOR VISITORS

FOR COMMUNITIES

FIGURE 5Shifting to the Visitor Economy


Particularly at the regional level, the need to manage all aspects of tourism to a destination has resulted in a shift to Destination Management, a broader tourism focus that often includes:

• Developing compelling new or enhanced visitor experiences among stakeholders;

• Training that is designed to improve the quality of tourism service delivery;

• Assessing gaps in the tourism infrastructure, activities or programs, roles and responsibilities and establishing tactics designed to fill or correct these gaps;

• Industry group’s ability to advocate on behalf of the industry in order to support policy change that may positively impact the growth of tourism;

• Attracting new investment for product and infrastructure development;

• Promoting the destination through traditional, online, media and travel trade distribution channels, ensuring brand integrity and alignment; and

• Providing support to increase sales and drive more visitors along the path-to-purchase.

Merely promoting what currently exists is no longer enough to grow tourism and stand out in a competitive market place.

A NEW OPPORTUNITY

PHOTOS: STEPHANIE GRAY (TOP); TAY VALLEY (MIDDLE LEFT & RIGHT); TREVOR LUSH (BOTTOM)


is important and as a result, a new mandate for Lanark County Tourism is proposed.

PROPOSED NEW MANDATE FOR LANARK COUNTY TOURISM

Tourism in Lanark County encompasses everything that contributes to attracting visitors to the region. It celebrates the special people, places and experiences that are distinctive, engenders community pride, increases visitation and generates revenue.

DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATION:

A Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) is an organization whose primary function is to attract visitors to a specific location or destination through the use of a variety of promotional and sales tactics for the purpose of enhancing the local economy through purchase of accommodation room nights, food and beverage, retail items, transportation, visitor services, attractions, museums, galleries, etc.

DESTINATION MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION:

Facilitates the understanding of the full social and economic dimension of tourism in terms of demand (international and domestic arrivals, characteristics of their visits, and their consumption of goods and services) and supply (characteristics of local industries involved in tourism and details of their production and use of labour and capital), thereby guiding tourism policy and planning, while providing a useful lobbying tool to National Tourism Administrations to advocate the cause of tourism.

- SOURCE: UNWTO

In harmony with Lanark County’s vision statement, crafted 20 years ago and remaining valid to this day, are the threads for sustainable, strong communities of which tourism adds a revenue positive contribution to government. Aligning tourism destination development with this vision

A NEW OPPORTUNITY


Why use visitor profiles? They go beyond traditional demographic profiles and include travel motivations, attitudes and values. They allow businesses and destinations to examine their current customers against the new research about travellers to Canada and within Ontario and use this information to focus product development towards attracting an ‘ideal guest’. This same information source then guides promotion and advertising investments.

To raise the bar on value, price point, experience and attract new markets, it is vital to use the new leading edge research to identify Lanark County’s ideal guest, and use this information to inform product development and marketing.

The destination development planning process involved an extensive review of the visitor profiles produced by the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC) and the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC).

Lanark County’s current market is largely family and friends visiting the region, enjoying recreational activities. While this market cannot be ignored, it is well established and helping to sustain the status quo.

A NEW APPROACH: Focus on the Visitor

A NEW APPROACH

PHOTO: SIMON LUNN


By shifting from a mass-market approach with large segments such as the family market, visitor profiles have a greater potential to:

• Increase Lanark County’s competitive positioning;

• Differentiate on value through investing in tourism development that responds to what travellers value;

• Bring businesses together to partner on new product development based on what travellers are seeking, rather than just what they offer;

• Attract higher yield markets;

• Increase the length of stay; and

• Achieve a higher spend per person.

The analysis revealed out of the 12 Ontario market segments (Figure 6), the profiles with the greatest potential for new growth and development were the Knowledge Seeker10 and the Connected Explorer.11

The Knowledge Seeker was selected for Lanark County as the visitor type holding the greatest potential for focusing new product development considering the current tourism assets and the desire to increase visitation and revenue. Appendix 2 provides a profile of the key characteristics of this visitor type. While the Nature Lover represents a profile of many current visitors, it represents much of the current

FIGURE 612 Ontario Market Segments

FIGURE 7Canada’s Travellers Types (EQ)

5%5%

7%

9%

8%

8%

6%14%

15%

6%

6%

10%Pampered Relaxers

Sports Lovers

Knowledge Seekers

Up & Coming

Explorers

Connected Explorers

Aces

Outgoing Mature

Couples

Family Memory

Builders

Mellow Vacationers

Nature Lovers

Solitaires

Youthful Socializers

A NEW APPROACH


Looking to appreciate and understand the

places they visit. Travel is typically about

expanding their knowledge and stimulating

their minds rather than resting and relaxing.

Driven by a desire to explore and learn about

culture, history, architecture and natural

landmarks, they often focus on sight-seeing,

museums, galleries and historical sites.

They enjoy experiencing a different way of life.

Travel is about expanding their horizons.

These travellers have a psychological need

to take a break from everyday life. They

are confident, youthful, optimistic and have

a deep seated need to travel and expose

themselves to new experiences and knowledge.

Choosing places where they are awe-struck

by natural beauty, they enjoy walking around,

eating and socializing like the locals.

Family vacations are important to making

family memories.

Defined by their love of constant travel

they seek continuous opportunities to

embrace, discover and immerse themselves

in the culture, people and settings of the

places they visit. They love unstructured

travel, hands-on learning opportunities,

street performances, farmers markets and

destinations that allow them to experience

nature, parks, shared experiences and

interacting deeply with the locals. More likely

to tent and fish than other national types.

42% plan less than a month in advance,

76% stay in paid accommodations.

Average trip (1-3 nights), average spend

by Ontarian’s $1,824; $1,903 USA

50% plan less than a month in advance,

80% stay in paid accommodations.

Average trip (1-3 nights), average spend

by Ontarians $3,429; $2,021 USA.

Will pay for unique experiences.

Average trip (10.4 nights) and spend

by Canadians $3,720; $5,321 globally.

Shared enjoyment for: Getting off the beaten track, dining in restaurants

and visiting scenic landmarks.

Shared enjoyment for: Small towns & villages, shopping, unstructured travel/sight seeing on their own.

KNOWLEDGE SEEKERS LANARK COUNTY

CONNECTED EXPLORER OHTO

CULTURAL EXPLORERS LANARK COUNTY

TABLE 4Priority Visitor Profiles (2 Provincial, 1 National)

A NEW APPROACH


Attracting the targeted visitors, delivering an excellent product or experience, and creating the emotional connection with guests has the potential to increase the direct and indirect operator benefits as the number of travellers increases, along with length of stay, visitor spending and enjoyment.

Combining a strong understanding of the attitudes, values, motivations and demographic profile of the ideal guest (demand), with the tourism assets in a region (supply) sets the stage for identifying new development opportunities that will differentiate Lanark County (Figure 8).

Lanark County has a special history and unique culture tied to its geology and agriculture lands, dotted with communities with a long, proud past. The ideal guests selected are seeking authentic experiences that engage the senses and provide opportunities to learn, connect with locals and travel off the beaten path. The County is well positioned to differentiate itself by bringing the current places and infrastructure to life by layering on activities, programs and opportunities to connect with the people. This enhances the experience and visitors are willing to pay more for this type of engagement.

Whereas tourism development to date has focused primarily on the physical assets, today’s savvy travellers are looking to connect emotionally with the people and places they visit. This represents a strategic, long-term opportunity to attract a broader base of visitors by focusing on new niche markets but also introduce new ways to engage existing

market which is sustaining the industry, but not significantly growing tourism.

The Connected Explorer was chosen as the best opportunity to leverage regional tourism development since this is the lead visitor profile for the Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization. The details of this profile are located in Appendix 3.

The CTC’s national visitor profiles (Figure 7) were used to inform the Visitor Experience Opportunity Concept (VEOC) project for the Rideau Canal National Historic Site, partially located within Lanark County. As a Parks Canada site, they use the national visitor profiles to inform their product development and marketing. Following a review of the nine CTC profiles, the Cultural Explorer emerged at the priority visitor profile for national and international development (Appendix 4).

Table 4 summarizes the key differences and areas of overlap between the three ideal guest profiles.

Tourism operators may ask “what about me?” if they choose to focus on a different visitor profile. First, it is not practical to try to be all things to all people, even if the resources were endless. Second, the training and development process that will be needed to assist operators in learning to work with this information will benefit any business who wants to make business decisions based on current, relevant information vs. past practice or gut intuition alone.

A NEW APPROACH


RAISE THE BAR ON VALUETHE EXPERIENCE ADVANTAGE

To succeed in today’s visitor economy, destinations must have a range of travel assets that provide differentiated value to visitors and businesses alike. The Progression of Economic Value 12 was introduced in 1999 and has since been embraced by the tourism industry as a way to examine what an individual business offers and what can be done in partnership with others in a region to develop a destination (Figure 9).

Commodities, goods, activities, services and experiences all provide a different economic return, and a different connection with travellers. To optimize the spend per traveller, the destination development process looked at what Lanark County had to offer guests relative to these four main categories of commerce.

Whether a hotel, museum, farm or restaurant, the potential for offering increased value to visitors is possible. Edible Canada, a Canadian Signature Experience, demonstrates what can be done when targeting innovation and new products and experiences on an annual basis. (See case study on next page).

FIGURE 8Lanark County Destination Potential

IDEAL GUEST + ASSETS = DIFFERENTIATION

POTENTIAL

KNOW YOUR IDEAL GUESTS:

Desired BenefitsAttitudesValues

MotivationsDemographicsGeographics

UNDERSTAND YOURTOURISM ASSETS:

InfrastructureActivities

People/Programs

IDENTIFY &DEVELOPUNIQUE

DIFFERENTIATORS

THEMESSTORIES

CORRIDORS

DEMAND SUPPLY

A NEW APPROACH

visitors, such as cottage owners and their guests, to participate in regional activities and spend money.

For businesses, this means examining the commodities, goods, services and experiences currently offered and determining where there is greater opportunity by layering on new, more engaging experiences to the current product offer.


FIGURE 9Progression of Economic Value

PRICING & PROFIT

COMPETITIVEPOSITION

VOLUMEVS YIELD

MARKET PRICE

GREATERDIFFERENTIATION,

EMOTION, ANDENGAGEMENT

LOWERDIFFERENTIATION,

EMOTION, ANDENGAGEMENT HIGH VOLUME

LOW YIELD

LOW VOLUMEHIGH YIELD

PREMIUM PRICE

COMMODITIES(maple trees)

GOODS(maple products)

EXPERIENCES(maple producer)

ACTIVITIES & SERVICES(tasting, dining)

Rasin

g the

bar o

n eng

ag

ement, p

ersonaliza

tion, connections and value.

FIGURE 10Benefits from Raising the Bar on Engagement, Personalization, Connections & Value

COMPETITIVE APPEAL

PARTNERSHIPS & CONNECTING TO PEOPLE, PLACE & CULTURE

INCREASED SALES, BRAND STRENGTH & ADVOCACY

PRICE, PROFITS & VALUE

Greater Differentiation, Emotion & Engagement

Market Pricing© 2013 Lesley Anderson & Nancy Arsenault

Value-Pricing

No to Low Differentiation, Emotion & Engagement

ROI

Return on Investment &

Return on Emotion

PhysicalEngagement

EmotionalEngagement

PLACE & INFRASTRUCTURE

ACTIVITIES & SERVICES

PROGRAMS & PEOPLE

A NEW APPROACH


weave together experiences that grows tourism. Destinations that anchor tourism development and marketing in storytelling are seeing success for their efforts. The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has over 200 awards for marketing since they shifted their focus.

Stories and themes are powerful destination development tools because they:

• Provide a strong foundation for generating interest with the travellers who have the desire to learn, discover and immerse themselves in the cultural character of places while on vacation;

• Create an effective reference for businesses and communities to align and collaborate to attract and retain a visitor to the region;

• Bring physical assets to life in ways that create an emotional connection;

• Present opportunities to engage locals in the community by sharing their stories, contributing to the visitor experience, and generating new income;

• Set the stage for creative marketing, and

• Enable a region to showcase the people, culture and special places in ways that truly differentiates the visitor experience from other destinations.

Layering on goods, activities and experiences can be done within a single company or through partnerships with other businesses to create a richer experience, and ideally one that presents opportunity throughout the region. As the differentiation increases, so does the potential for increasing the price per person and potential return on investment (ROI) as well as the visitor’s emotional engagement and connection (Figure 10).

There are three categories of companies that can collaborate to compete to weave a holistic guest experience - infrastructure/place based businesses, activity/service based businesses and people/program based businesses (Table 5). All are needed in the visitor mix to increase the reasons to visit, stay and spend. In Lanark County there are significant place and infrastructure assets, fewer activity/service-based businesses, and a unique and strong festivals and events invitation to the region (people and program businesses).

The opportunity exists for Lanark County to partner between different types of companies, aligned with the insights on what travellers are seeking from the visitor profiles, and weave together new experiences that take a guest through the region, enjoying contact with a number of businesses.

FOCUS ON THEMES & STORIES

Themes and storytelling presents unique opportunities to

A NEW APPROACH


CASE STUDY: EDIBLE CANADAediblecanada.com

$49/pp Daily @ 10:30 2 Hours 15

$69/pp M-F @ 2:00 3 Hours 12

$129/pp Daily @ 7:00 3 Hours 12-24

$750/pp 4x Jul./Aug. 3 Days/2 Nights 8-15

Granville Island Market Tour

Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour

Whiskey Dinner

Gourmet Kayaking Weekend

Behind the scenes access, to where Vancouver’s

to chefs shop for the freshest ingredients

Gastronomic adventure indulging in the tastes

of Vancouver while meeting award winning

chefs and gourmet food artisans

Join whiskey expert Andrew Sarrit of Cask Strength

for an evening of culinary magic pairing whiskey

and sultry dishes in a private dining area

Your chef/kayak guide will excite you with

west coast paddling, fine wine, gourmet

food, otters, eagles and seals on this

unique coastal culinary weekend

COST OFFERED LENGTH GROUP SIZEENGAGE AND INDULGE! EXPERIENCE

Located in the heart of Vancouver’s Granville Island, Edible Canada is a multifaceted culinary tourism company

focused solely on promoting local food and highlighting Canadian cuisine. Designated a Canadian Signature

Experience in 2011 for their Granville Island Market Tour, chef and owner Eric Patemen is the epitome of an

entrepreneur who gets experiential travel and creating engaging customer experiences!

More than a restaurant, a retail outlet, or a tour company; in nine years Eric and his team have created an

award winning company based on a passion for food! Introducing new tourism offers annually, to complement

his evolving menus and retail items, this is no typical restaurateur. Here’s a small sampling of what they

offer beyond - retail items that sell from $4 to $75, lunches available from $16 - $24; dinners $23 to $26.Photo: scoutmagazine.ca

A NEW APPROACH

Source: Edible Canada website 26 Jun 14


TYPICAL BUSINESSES Hotels, restaurants,

heritage sites, parks, theatre,

sports facilities, museums.

Kayak or canoeing companies,

outfitters, tour operators.

Guiding companies, story

tellers, artists, musicians,

experience brokers, festivals.

INFRASTRUCTURE-PLACE BASED COMPANIES

ACTIVITY-SERVICE BASED COMPANIES

PEOPLE-PROGRAM BASED COMPANIES

TABLE 5Categories of Tourism Businesses

CHARACTERISTICS High fixed costs, typically

operate year-round, need volume or

on-going base funding (e.g. parks),

target mass and niche markets

Moderate fixed infrastructure

costs, often seasonal, target

smaller niche groups.

No or low fixed costs, use other

people’s infrastructure. Cater to

small niche and custom groups,

low volume, high yield required,

with the exception of festivals

LANARK COUNTY

(SAMPLES ONLY)

Rideau Canal World Heritage Site

100+ lakes, rivers, waterfalls,

30 farms & markets, beaches, and

parks, 35 trails, 65 accommodations,

60 restaurants, 146 designated

heritage properties, 13 museums.

2 tour operators 20 fairs, festivals, carnivals

and derbies, 200+ special

events, storytellers, writers,

singers, performing artists

A NEW APPROACH


of themes were identified as having the potential to attract the ‘ideal guest’ based on an understanding of the current asset base and knowledge of the area. They are:

• Maple - A Taste of Lanark: The Terroir of the Land

• Geology - Rocks and Minerals

• Our People, Our Roots, Our Heritage

• Architectural Treasures

• Military Beginnings

• The Cultural Impacts of the Canadian Shield

While each theme has the potential for story development, two themes emerged with the most immediate short-term promise based on existing product and operator-level engagement: Maple and Geology.

Two preliminary workshops were held in April 2014 with stakeholders to gain insight into the thematic potential of each theme and identify early adopters for development during implementation.

Lanark County, like much of the Ontario’s Highlands region to date, has built its tourism industry on undifferentiated tourism products with low emotion and engagement (e.g. lakes, trails and museums with static exhibits). More diversity with a range of visitor appeal, at different price points and levels of engagement, is needed because positioning on:

• Price has not been effective, as the region generates nearly 50% less per traveller than the provincial average;

• Generic types of visitors - such as the family market - only addresses a demographic of who is travelling together, and does not include or respond to their travel motivations and benefits sought;

• Generic assets and activities such as lakes, fishing, trails, without delving into what makes them special from other similar assets in all regions of Canada, generates a local area focus, and local travellers do not spend as much as people from away.

An untapped opportunity lies in thematically weaving together Lanark County’s physical assets, people and programs to experience a range of people, places, and special activities unique to Lanark County through stories and visitor corridors that encourage travel between communities.

Through the destination development process, a number

A NEW APPROACH


To this end, 12 stakeholder groups were reviewed and leadership, partnership and support roles were identified relative to seven areas of importance to destination development. This will require further discussion with stakeholders as part of the implementation process, but efforts have been made to articulate this for the first time in a County document.

1. Tourism Industry Businesses and Organizations:Any private sector or not-for-profit business, or government entity that directly sells travel opportunities to visitors and benefits from an increase in tourism to Lanark County can support the DDP by taking a:

This means there will be times to lead, opportunities to partner or participate, and other times to merely support the process knowing that together Lanark County will be stronger.

While the destination development planning has been led by three organizations representing the interests of municipal government (Lanark County Tourism), tourism businesses (Lanark County Tourism Association) and regional destination development (Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization), successfully implementing the plan is the responsibility of all who benefit from increased visitors to the County.

A core theme of this plan is collaboration. If Lanark County wants to differentiate itself within Ontario’s Highlands and Ontario, as well as strengthen its unique identity and core visitor experiences, it is important that business and municipalities support the strategic directions of the DDP and participate in specific initiatives that could impact and benefit communities and businesses.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES


PHOTO: LES HUMPHRIES


• Leadership role in: Developing the goods, services, activities and experiences to attract and welcome visitors to Lanark County;

• Partnership role in: Promoting the destination, collaborative marketing initiatives;

• Participation role in: Engaging in industry training and community tourism development; and

• Supportive role in: Measuring results, contributing to destination research.

2. Municipal GovernmentAll municipalities that financially support tourism and wish to attract travellers to their community can support the Lanark County DDP by taking a: • Leadership role in: Approving the implementation

and tactics in the destination development plan, base funding support, defining measures of success and providing resources to track or access metrics;

• Partnership role in: Fostering inter-community collaboration and project funding;

• Participation role in: Promoting the value of tourism within the community; and

• Supportive role in: Providing guidance and strategic input to tourism development.


PHOTOS: SIMON LUNN


• Partnership role in: Promotions and advertising, identifying new tourism opportunities;

• Participation role in: Industry training; and

• Supportive role in: Community tourism development.

5. Lanark County Tourism AssociationThe non-profit, member-based organization that represents industry to create a climate which stimulates the development of tourism and a quality tourism experience in the Lanark County Region, promotes awareness and provides leadership and direction in the promotion and development of tourism. The LCTA can support the Lanark County DDP by taking a:

• Leadership role in: Destination research, product and market development;

• Partnership role in: Implementing the DDP with Lanark County Tourism and promoting the role of tourism, setting policy and lobbying for change;

• Participation role in: Industry training and community tourism development; and

• Supportive role in: Measuring results, funding, promotions and advertising.

3. Community Organizations, Chambers of Commerce, Business Industry AssociationsAll entities, either membership-based or stakeholder-based, that have a mandate to support and grow tourism, or for their businesses to benefit from tourism. These organizations and associations can support the Lanark County DDP by taking a:

• Leadership role in: Industry training, collaborative business development and welcoming guests;

• Partnership role in: Promotions and advertising;

• Participation role in: Promoting the value of tourism within the community; and

• Supportive role in: Assisting tourism businesses to develop the goods, services, activities and experiences to attract visitors to Lanark County.

4. Lanark County TourismThe lead destination marketing/management organization for Lanark County responsible for overseeing the implementation for the Lanark County DDP.

• Leadership role in: Implementing the plan, promoting the value of tourism within Lanark County, reporting results, securing funding support, and facilitating product/experience development;



• Participation role in: Tourism events, visitor experiences, and visitor servicing; and

• Supportive role in: Promoting the value of tourism.

8. Ontario’s Highlands Tourism OrganizationThe Regional Tourism Organization (RTO) whose mandate is to build and support a competitive tourism region through product development and marketing, collaboration with tourism organizations and municipalities. OHTO can support the Lanark County DDP by taking a:

• Leadership role in: Regional product and market development, regional promotions and advertising, providing access to provincial and regional research, which may have applicability within sub-regions;

• Partnership role in: Targeted partnership program funds, industry training;

• Participation role in: Promoting the value of tourism and representing the interests of Lanark County at provincial tourism development meetings; and


6. Funding PartnersAll organizations with program or project funding to support tourism initiatives beyond the base funding provided by the joint municipal councils to fund Lanark County Tourism. These organizations can support the Lanark County DDP by taking a:

• Leadership role in: Prioritizing funding requests for projects within the DDP, in particular those that advance product development and inter-community tourism development;

• Partnership role in: Implementing the DDP and promoting the role of tourism within their organization;

• Participation role in: Industry training; and


7. Local CitizensThe people of Lanark County who are the ambassadors for their community and contribute to creating a welcoming environment for guests, and also provide the human resource base for the tourism workforce and volunteer contributions. Local citizens can support the Lanark County DDP by taking a:

• Leadership role in: Welcoming visitors in their towns and businesses, providing local area knowledge and insight to encourage them to stay longer;



11. Educational OrganizationsColleges and universities can support the Lanark County DDP by providing research support and educators for training and development.

12. Travel TradeTour operators, wholesalers, receptive operators, and travel agents that package and sell tourism can support the DDP by remaining connected to tourism businesses to ensure they are aware of the products, services and experiences in market and available for sale.

9. Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation and the Canadian Tourism CommissionThe provincial and federal destination marketing organizations responsible for promoting Ontario and Canada within defined target markets. Indirectly, these organizations can support the Lanark County DDP by taking a: • Leadership role in: Providing tourism marketing

programs that may present opportunities for tourism operators in the region, conducting national and provincial destination research;

• Partnership role in: Targeted marketing campaigns and familiarization trips;

• Participation role in: Community tourism development (OTMPC); and

• Supportive role in: Promoting the value of tourism or provide expertise to training initiatives.

10. MediaIncludes all organizations that promote Lanark County tourism through print, video, audio, and online methods (e.g. online bloggers). These businesses and media writers can support tourism in Lanark County.


This is a roadmap against which core business decisions of various tourism stakeholders can examine their tourism investments to advance implementation in ways that are aligned with the overall direction for the County.

Future investments in product and market development projects should:

• Give priority consideration to projects that deliver on the DDP;

• Fund projects that strengthen the ability of businesses and municipalities collaborating to attract customers

based on the market research of an ideal guest, and layering new value through innovative and collaborative product development;

• Support training that helps operators and municipal tourism staff alike learn about and respond to today’s travellers; and

• Focus on developing new products, services and experiences aligned with a theme that drive visitors through the region and encourage an increased length of stay.

The success of a plan is only as good as the commitment to implementation. Done well, this should yield direct and indirect benefits to the communities and businesses in Lanark County.

COMMIT TO THE JOURNEY


PHOTO: JUSTIN JAMES


The six key directions for tourism development have been used to align the tactical actions that will pave the way towards successfully implementing the Lanark County DDP (Figure 11).

SIX KEY DIRECTIONS FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Six areas to focus destination development on emerged from the review process; each contributing to the net investment in growth and development needed to advance tourism in the region. These are:

1. Collaborate to Compete: Build capacity with and between businesses and municipalities through investments in training, cluster development and providing industry with the tools needed to enhance their tourism development.

2. Focus on the Ideal Guests: Optimize the current research available from the OMTPC and CTC to focus new tourism development on the Knowledge Seeker and Connected Explorers provincially, and the Cultural Explorer for national initiatives, such as the Rideau Canal project.

FIGURE 11Six Key Directions on the Road to Success



3. Raise the Bar on Visitor Value: Design and deliver visitor experiences that will raise the bar on value by layering on activities, people and programs to existing infrastructure based businesses and physical spaces to differentiate and drive new revenue potential.

4. Invest in Product and Market Development with Multiple Benefactors: Shift to managing the destination development potential, rather than merely promoting what currently exists.

5. Promote, Connect & Build Relationships: Place priority for investment towards tourism initiatives that benefit multiple stakeholders who commit to working together to enhance the visitor experience within Lanark County.

6. Operational Excellence: Ensure operational excellence in supporting product/experience development and marketing.

Key Direction #1: Collaborate to CompeteCollaborating to compete and reducing duplication will improve the Lanark County’s destination development prospects in the years ahead. Suggested key actions, results, and proposed timelines are identified in Table 6 (Pg. 39).

Key Direction #2: Focus on the Ideal GuestsBy optimizing the value of the OTMPC research on the Knowledge Seeker and Connected Explorer, plus the CTC research on the Cultural Explorer, Lanark County has the

FIGURE 12Focus on your Ideal Guests



other for visitors, supports the existing fragmented, supply-side approach to tourism development. Lanark County has the potential to lead the way establishing product and market development investment funds with a priority focus on supporting projects and tourism development initiatives that benefit multiple businesses and multiple communities. Suggested key actions, results, and timelines are identified in Table 9 (Pg. 43).

Key Direction #5: Promoting Tourism: Connect & Build RelationshipsPlace the priority for marketing and promotions on those that benefit multiple stakeholders and complement the OHTO’s regional focus on the Connected Explorer while uniquely differentiating Lanark County by targeting the Knowledge Seeker. The goal is to build the unique selling proposition and unforgettable experience of Lanark County within the Ontario’s Highlands region. It is a shift from marketing a general array of opportunities and physical assets to creating an identity that will resonate with travellers, attract and drive business to operators in all municipalities. Suggested key actions, results, and proposed timelines are identified in Table 10 (Pg. 46).

Key Direction #6: Operational ExcellenceStrong central leadership from Lanark County Tourism , Council, staff and funding partners will provide the foundation for successfully implementing the Destination Development Plan. Suggested key actions, results, and timelines are identified in Table 11 (Pg. 47).

ability to delve into these rich sources of information and use them to help inform future product and market development, realign existing activities and experiences, and drive marketing and collaborations with businesses of all types, destination marketing organizations and tourism partners (Figure 12).Suggested key actions, results, timelines are identified in Table 7 (Pg. 40).

Key Direction #3: Raise the Bar on Visitor ValueThe opportunity for Lanark County to differentiate itself by focusing on an ideal guest sets the stage for designing and delivering visitor experiences that raises the bar on value. Optimizing Lanark’s history and heritage assets, artisans, agri-tourism activities and festivals is an opportunity to differentiate beyond the physical assets and create visitor activities and programmatic activities that offer increased engagement, interaction and personalization with guests.

Suggested key actions, results, and timelines are identified in Table 8 (Pg. 42).

Key Direction #4: Invest inProduct & Market DevelopmentThe shift to destination management for Lanark County enables time, energy and resources to be dedicated to product and market development to create new reasons to visit and stay longer.

Investing more money in marketing, and continuing to have towns within the County competing amongst each



SUGGESTED TIMELINE WHO

TABLE 6Collaborate to Compete

#1: KEY ACTIONS KEY RESULTS

Dec 2014 LCT, LCTA, BIAs,

Chambers,

Municipal Partners,

Operators

Build consensus around the roles

and responsibilities to support and

drive implementation, particularly within

and between municipalities.

A collaborative understanding

of when to lead, partner or support

project initiatives.

First in 2015, then

updated in 2017.

LCT, LCTA & OHTOCreate a ‘value of tourism’ fact sheet

for Lanark County to demonstrate the

contribution to communities.

Citizens, politicians and businesses who

indirectly benefit from tourism will become

better educated regarding the contributions.

2014 LCTEngage with the Rideau Canal VEOC group

to confirm who is leading implementation and

how businesses/communities can contribute.

VEOC stakeholders understand where and how

Lanark County’s visitor experiences complement

the macro initiative. Lanark stakeholders are

kept up to date on opportunities to engage.

Launch Fall/

Winter 2015

Chambers of

Commerce/BIAs

Create an annual ‘Be a Tourist in Your Own

Town’ for citizens in all Lanark municipalities

to discover the tourism assets in their

own back-yard with tips on how

to promote what’s available to visitors.

Each municipality hosts an annual

event during the slow season at different

times to encourage local engagement.

Annual training

element.

LCT Facilitate new and enhance existing training

to the Visitor Servicing staff on the ideal

guest types so they may enhance their ability

to recommend activities.

Front line staff/volunteers engaged

in learning about the ideal guest types.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE







2015 & 2016 LCT and OHTOCelebrate success through investing in

case studies that profiles businesses and

communities that are collaborating to compete.

A minimum of 2 case studies

provide evidence and learning on

how collaboration works.

Summer 2014 LCT, LCTA & OHTOCommunicate to industry the rationale and value

of focusing on a key local, regional and national

visitor profile for new business development.

Key stakeholders understand the rationale

and can begin to look at their current offers

for alignment and appeal in these categories.

2015 LCTAExplore introducing a Destination Marketing

Fund to increase the resource base for tourism.

Host stakeholder meetings. Develop a

position paper & decide to advance or not.

Oct 2014 -

Mar 2015

OHTO, OTMPC,

LCT, LCTA,

through the

BIAs & Chambers

Provide ongoing training to tourism operators,

organizations and associations on how to use

the OTMPC & CTC research to develop tourism

experiences and invest in marketing that is

aligned with the values and expectations of the

Knowledge Seeker and Connected Explorer profiles.

Operators will have worked with either

the Knowledge Seeker or Connected Explorer

visitor profiles and understand how to benefit

from using this information in their product

development and marketing activities.

TABLE 6 CONTINUEDCollaborate to Compete

TABLE 7Focus on the Ideal Guest




SUGGESTED TIMELINE WHO#2: KEY ACTIONS KEY RESULTS

2014 -

2016

LCT with the

VEOC committee

Engage with the Rideau Canal

proponents involved with the Visitor

Experience Opportunities Collaboration

(VEOC) for collaborative experience

development along the canal.

Develop the CTC Cultural Explorer

based experiences with links to the

OTMPC Knowledge Seeker and /or

Connected Explorer visitor profiles.

Oct 2014 -

Mar 2015

LCT and LCTAReview current marketing images, text

and videos to determine gaps with

existing products against the Knowledge

Seeker and Connected Explorer.

Identify where investment is needed to

harmonize and enhance communications and

promotions around the ideal guest profiles.

2015 -

2018

OHTO & LCTOngoing support and mentoring

on applying the visitor profile

research to businesses.

Critical mass of experiences and marketing

materials emerges aligned to attract the

Knowledge Seeker and the Connected Explorer.

TABLE 7 CONTINUEDFocus on the Ideal Guest




2 new: 2015

4 new: 2016

LCT with IndustryIdentify venues and companies where people and

programs could be developed for the Knowledge

Seeker to add value to the guest experience.

6 venues and companies willing to invest

in product development through enhanced

people and program development are identified.

2015 - Kilt

2016 - 2nd

2017 - 3rd

2018 - 4th

LCT with

Festival organizers

Identify one festival per year to expand

the story base and connection to community

(e.g. music, art, heritage) to create demand

for additional festival experiences that could

then be offered year-round or on a period

basis year round. (E.g. Kayaking with a Kilt).

A broader festival experience is available

that appeals to a targeted ideal guest.

Begin with the Kilt Run Festival and

Cultural Explorers for international

positioning, and the Maple Festival with

Knowledge Seekers for provincial positioning.

2015 LCT and LCTACompare the visitor profile for the Knowledge

Seeker and Connected Explorer against the

current ‘cottage crowd’ to determine where

to increase their experience and add new

revenues from this loyal, regular customer base.

Increased revenue from current

cottage visitors and an enhanced

visitor experience.

Winter 2015

then ongoing

OHTO, BIAs

and Chambers

of Commerce

Provide pricing training to operators to

increase the number who understand

cost-based vs. value based costing for

single experiences and packages.

Operators have the skills and knowledge

to use value based pricing within their

company and when packaging with others

resulting in increased revenue for all.

2016

One per year

Business with LCT,

OHTO support

Support businesses in applying for Signature

Experience status to increase the profile for

Lanark County businesses and leverage the

national marketing benefits.

1 CTC - International on the Rideau

Canal and 5 Ontario Experiences

TABLE 8Raising the Bar on Visitor Value




Fall 2014 Lanark County

Council

Secure agreement with Lanark County

Council to allocate a minimum of 25%

of their tourism budget implementing

the DDP, and staff effort as required to

lead or support various DDP initiatives.

Successful implementation

of the DDP

2014 - initiate,

2015 - in-market,

2016 -18 steady

increase in offer.

LCT, food and

beverage providers

Connect with the Ontario Culinary Tourism

Alliance to strengthen the local food and

beverage visitor opportunities in Lanark County.

Unique dining experiences will be further

enhanced and co-marketed in ways that

meet the needs of the ideal guests.

2014

2015

2016

LCT, OHTO,

community members

and businesses

Identify and coach a group of local area

experience providers to offer programs that

can be sold direct-to-market or packaged

with a tourism business to enrich the visitor

experience and diversify the choices available.

Capacity is built with

10 new experience providers.

2014

2015

Council, CFDCs, Eastern

Ontario Development

Corporation

Develop a multi-year plan and request

seed funding to support developing and

marketing the experience theme routes.

Stakeholder meetings.

Approval of plan with funding partners.

TABLE 9Invest in Product Development


2014 initial

development,

2015 & 2016 in

market with new

product/routes

LCT, OHTO and

tourism businesses

with assets / interest

in the theme

Develop Experience Theme routes that

present a journey through Lanark County

for visitors that links multiple businesses

and municipal assets.

Business clusters are formed and

collaborate on developing the theme

route with their product, targeted

to a specific visitor profile.




2014 - 2015 Create

2015 Onward use

LCT and industry

task team

Establish decision criteria for evaluating

partnership proposals with priority given

to those that benefit multiple stakeholders

and/or aligned with the DDP.

A filter against the DDP and marketing

plan to assess marketing support requests.

2015 - Investigate

2016 - Develop if viable

2017 - in market

LCT and theatre

community

Build on the theatrical excellence by broadening

to more communities and responding to the

Knowledge Seeker’s interest in cultural events.

Examine Alberta’s award-winning Boomtown

Trail Dessert Theatre as a creative example

to stimulate expanded use of performing arts

venues and community storytelling that extends

the use of existing assets and brings Lanark’s

heritage stories to life in creative ways.

(http://www.scribd.com/doc/190760490/

Walk-Among-Us#ScribdDocs)

Identified if this type of community

programming represents an opportunity

for Lanark County.

Performers extend their opportunities

beyond existing activities and add value to

other businesses on a contract basis.

2015 - 2017 LCT with select

operators

Work with transportation companies who are

willing to package and sell 2-day packages

around the county (connected to themes,

experience providers).

Secured 1 or 2 transportation/packing

partners and introduced new product.

2016

2016 - 2017

2017 - 2018

LCT & trail

owners/community

organizations

Bring to life the investment in trails for

niche markets (e.g. birders, cyclists) by

examining the Knowledge Seeker profile and

determining ways to layer on new, revenue

generating experiences onto the trails.

Identified trails and experience that could

be developed to the ideal guests and the

businesses willing to invest in development.

TABLE 9 CONTINUEDInvest in Product Development



‘Bringing History and Culture to Life’ immerses audiences in the past with first-person presentations of Alberta’s once colourful residents.

Adorned in turn-of-the-century authentic costumes, local volunteers share their characters’ experiences and legacy.

Their stories are the collaborative effort of area residents and members from museums, historical societies and the university.

These characters have appeared at events like Dessert Theatre and Walk Among Us and this model is now being adopted by other communities in Canada.

http://www.boomtowntrail.com/character/

For fostering community pride and enhancing civic memory, the Boomtown Trail Community Initiatives Society’s ‘Bringing History and Culture to Life’ project is this year’s English recipient of the 2013 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Community Programming.


A CASE STUDYBoomtown Trail



Summer 2014 LCTRevisit the story pages of the Lanark

County website and delete stories that

are not directly linked to, or promoting

visitor experiences, that streamline

increased awareness and drive sales.

Build on story-based promotions for visitor

activities and promote businesses.

2014 Review

2015 -2018

Build marketing

plan around

LCT & LCTAReview Lanark County’s current marketing

investments and tactics through the lens of

the ideal guest to determine which should

be continued and which dropped.

A strategically prioritized and

aligned tourism budget.

2015 Secure

Educational Partner

2015/16

Conduct study

LCT &

University Partner

Conduct an audit of tourism businesses

to benchmark the degree of operator

engagement with the leading social media

channels such as: company websites,

Trip Advisor, Facebook, YouTube.

Lanark has a baseline of data

against which to benchmark change

in the next 5 years.

On-going OHTO & LCTMaintain the current level of

brand presence through the Lanark

County website and support strengthening

and aligning with the Ontario’s Highlands

regional branding initiatives.

Lanark County’s position is

harmonized with OHTOs.

TABLE 10Promote, Connect & Build Relationships




2014 LCT/OHTO

& Municipal

Councilors

Meetings with municipal councils to garner

support for the DDP within their community.

Approval from each Council that supports

the DDP, including the shift in focus to a

Destination Management Organization.

2015 development

and approval

LCT, OHTO &

Ontario Ministry

of Tourism,

Culture and Sport

Develop a performance measurement framework

and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aligned

with the primary accountability pillars of OHTO

• Product Development

• Marketing

• Skills Development

• Investment Attraction

Aligned with OHTO

and Council expectations.

2015 Secure

Educational Partner

2015/15 Conduct study

LCT &

University Partner

Conduct an economic impact study on

the value of tourism in Lanark County.

The economic contribution from tourism

in the County supports investment.

2015 new plans and

approach approved.

LCT & CouncilRevise the business and marketing plans

to reflect the priorities and activities of a

destination management organization.

Guiding documents reflect new direction.

TABLE 11Operational Excellence



As this is the first DDP for the County, it is suggested that:

1. Lanark County Tourism and OHTO jointly present the strategic directions and tactical activities to ensure understanding and appreciation for the process leading to this report and its outcomes. This will be important in building champions for tourism within each community and supporting the collaboration goal. Appendix 5 highlights some videos that may be useful for the sessions to explain concepts and tell the story to bring the report to life.

2. Lanark County Tourism seeks approval from each municipal council for the key strategic shifts including the:

• Proposed new vision statement for tourism;

• Six key directions for investing in destination development;

• Shift from the tourism economy to the visitor economy;

• Focusing of new development on priority visitor segments (ideal guests);

• Shift to destination management whereby marketing and promotions is considered one of many essential elements of tourism growth;

To set the stage for success, the first step is for Municipal Councils that fund Lanark County Tourism to ratify the plan and the strategic shifts recommended.

GETTINGSTARTED

GETTING STARTED

PHOTO: SIMON LUNN


• Prioritizing of new investment in product and market development for projects that demonstrate collaboration between business and municipalities to attract visitors;

• Investing in training that supports business and community tourism organizations to learn how to: (a) use the research to understand the ideal guest and apply it to their business development, (b) how to develop experiential tourism products; and

• Introducing targeted performance metrics.

3. Lanark County Council support, in principle, the tactical actions aligned with the six key directions, and prepare to receive requests for reallocation of current resources, or potential new project based funding as the plan is implemented.

• Lanark County Tourism confirms a few of the proposed performance goals and ensures the resources are available to measure them. Suggested performance indicators to monitor progress and proposed targets are presented in Table 12. The proposed growth percentages are based on consideration of the projected national and international growth rates for tourism, paired back to allow for the time to invest and develop new products and the associated marketing to drive visitation.

GETTING STARTED

PHOTOS: JOHN CLEMENT (TOP); TAY VALLEY (MIDDLE LEFT & RIGHT); SIMON LUNN (BOTTOM)


.05% GROWTH 1% GROWTH 1.5% GROWTH 2% GROWTH 2% GROWTHVISITATION & REVENUE

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

1,394,968 1,408,918 1,430,052 1,458,653 1,487,826Current (2011): 1,388,028

Development

year

6 new

experiences

18 new

experiences

24 new

experiences

24 new

experiences

New/enhanced market ready products

for sale in-market (Net 5-year increase)

Development year 2 Launched 2 Refined 3rd Launched 3rd RefinedNew themed experience routes

2 2 2 2 2OHTO Industry Training programs

50 65 80 80 80Participants Trained

Set Benchmarks 10% increase 15% increase 15% increase 15% increaseNumber of new partnerships

+ 6,940 +13,950 + 21,134 +28,601 + 29,173Net 5-year increase (+99,798)

NOTE: The growth rates were set based on consideration of the international growth rate of 4% reported by the UNWTO

in 2013 and Canada’s comparative growth at 1.7% for the same time period. Investing in destination development

takes time to build the capacity, shift investment and status quo practice, and cultivate the new markets.

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018PROPOSED KPI

TABLE 12Potential Key Performance Indicators for Lanark County


GETTING STARTED


MARKETING

INDUSTRY ENHANCEMENT

Set benchmarks Measure

growth against

Measure

growth against

Measure

growth against

Measure

growth against

Increase awareness of, and

engagement with Lanark County

Tourism plans and activities

Benchmark 80% 90% 100% 100%% of tourism businesses

represented with a Website

Benchmark +10% +20% +20% +30%% of tourism businesses on Trip Advisor

Benchmark +10% +20% +20% +30%% of tourism businesses on Facebook

Benchmark +5% +10% +10% +10%Survey to measure the increase

awareness of Lanark County

Tourism’s activities with elected

officials & community influencers

Benchmark +5% +10% +10% +10%Inform, consult, collaborate &

empower stakeholders with a

vested interest in the success of

Lanark County Tourism initiatives

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018PROPOSED KPI

TABLE 12 CONTINUEDPotential Key Performance Indicators for Lanark County


GETTING STARTED


INVESTMENT

Benchmarks 1:1 1.5:5 2:1 2.5:1Leveraged marketing investment

(return:invested)

Benchmarks +10% +15% +15% +20%Value of Earned Media

Benchmarks +10% +15% +15% +20%Value of program funds accessed

for tourism development

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018PROPOSED KPI

TABLE 12 CONTINUEDPotential Key Performance Indicators for Lanark County

GETTING STARTED


COMMUNITY TOURISM PARTNERSHIPSA relationship where local partners engage and learn about each others’ products, services and mandates. Collaboratively, they explore, develop and innovate ways for travellers to experience their municipality’s rich culture, art, nature and cuisine offerings. Retail, service and government sectors establish positive relationships to offer visitor experiences that are packaged and marketed adding new business opportunities and new revenues to the community.

DESTINATION DEVELOPMENT PLAN (DDP)An action plan, a living document, that guides the investment and actions of all stakeholders involved in attracting visitors to a region and the benefits that result from this economic activity. It sets out the development

aspirations and key actions of all the stakeholders with responsibility for delivery, or interest in the visitor economy. The DDP brings together, in one place, all the key actions for growing the visitor economy and shifting from the status quo.

DESTINATION MARKETING ORGANIZATIONA Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) is an organization whose primary function is to attract visitors to a specific locations or destination through the use of a variety of promotional and sales tactics for the purpose of enhancing the local economy through purchase of accommodation room nights, food and beverage, retail items, transportation, visitor services, attractions, museums, galleries, etc.

APPENDIX 1:Glossary of Terms

APPENDIX 1

PHOTO: TREVOR LUSH


EXPERIENTIAL TRAVELConnects you with the essence of a place and its people. It engages visitors in a series of memorable travel activities, that are inherently personal, engage the senses and make connections on an emotional, physical, spiritual or intellectual level. It responds to travelers’ desire to venture beyond the beaten tourist paths, dive deeper into authentic, local culture, connects with people and enrich their lives.

IDEAL GUESTThe visitors with the greatest potential to strengthen the visitor economy and impact new growth in tourism business or destination.

REGIONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATION (RTO)Regional Tourism Organizations are independent, industry-led, not-for-profit organizations. They play an important role in supporting competitive and sustainable tourism regions. Each organization provides regional leadership and coordination and works with industry partners to grow tourism through activities like strategic planning, research, product development, training, investment attraction and marketing. Source: Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

SHARING ECONOMYA socio-economic ecosystem built around the sharing of human and physical assets. It includes the shared creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services by different people and organizations. These systems take a variety of forms, often leveraging information

DESTINATION MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONFacilitates the understanding of the full social and economic dimension of tourism in terms of demand (international and domestic arrivals, characteristics of their visits and their consumption of goods and services) and supply (characteristics of local industries involved in tourism and details of their production and use of labour and capital), thereby guiding tourism policy and planning while providing a useful lobbying tool to National Tourism Administrations to advocate the cause of tourism. Source: UNWTO

EXPERIENCE ECONOMYA five-tiered economic framework that defines experiences as a distinct economic offer, one that creates a specific atmosphere that engages the customer in memorable ways.

• A commodity business charges for undifferentiated products.

• A goods business charges for distinctive, tangible things.

• A service business charges for activities you perform.

• An experience business charges for the feeling the customers get by engaging with it.

• A transformation business charges for the benefit of customers (or “guests”) receive by spending time there.

APPENDIX 1


TOURISM OPERATORAll private, public, not-for-profit business operating a tourism asset that provides value to a visitor. It is a broader reference than the traditional ‘tour operator’ or ‘receptive operator’ and includes everyone such as hoteliers, attractions, restaurants, transportation, outfitters, wilderness operators, trails, heritage properties, etc.

VISITOR CENTRIC MODELA visual representation of a way of thinking about tourism that places the visitor at the heart of the model, the starting point for tourism planning, development, promotions and delivering on the brand promise.

VISITOR ECONOMYEncompasses everything that attracts visitors to a destination; everything that makes a place special, distinctive and capable of engendering pride and interest and a place worth experiencing. A successful visitor economy requires managing all of the components in an integrated and long-term way, with a clear focus on the needs of the visitors the destination is seeking to attract and the destination brand.

VISITOR EXPERIENCEThe perceptions, feelings and interactions a traveller has with the people, place and culture of a destination.

technology to empower individuals, corporations, non-profits and government with information that enables distribution, sharing and reuse of excess capacity in goods and services. Source: Wikipedia

TOURISMThe definition of tourism follows the one adopted by the World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Statistical Commission: “the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes”.

TOURISM ASSETSIndividual guest opportunities that are marketed and purchasable or packaged for a visitor to enjoy. The asset may be owned and operated by a private, public or not-for-profit entity.

TOURISM ENABLERA general term used to describe all the businesses and organizations that support the development and promotion of tourism. They enable growth, market reach, development, advocacy and celebration. Examples include: Destination marketing organizations, government and municipal departments with a tourism mandate, economic development, chambers of commerce, etc.

APPENDIX 1


APPENDIX 2:Knowledge Seeker Visitor Profile (OTMPC)

APPENDIX 2

PHOTO: SIMON LUNN


APPENDIX 2


APPENDIX 3:Connected Explorer Visitor Profile (OTMPC)

APPENDIX 3

PHOTO: TREVOR LUSH


APPENDIX 3


APPENDIX 4:Cultural Explorer Visitor Profile (CTC)

APPENDIX 4

PHOTO: HILARY LONGTIN


APPENDIX 4


CTC EXPERIENTIAL TRAVEL AND EQ RESEARCH VIDEOS

CANADIAN TOURISM COMMISSION - GMIST VIDEOS

Fulfilling travellers dreams through experienceshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncbo14MNvt-g&list=PLEDF08EE37A0F07DA

Connecting Travellers with Culture, Community and Cuisinehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1kN79Skb-vQ&list=PLEDF08EE37A0F07DA&index=3

CANADIAN TOURISM COMMISSION: STORIES FROM THE FIELD ABOUT WHY EQ RESEARCH HAS VALUE TO MUSEUM, HISTORICAL VILLAGE AND ADVENTURE OPERATORS.

Remmington Carriage Museumhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy960CFrEcU

Heritage Park Historical Villagehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z3F6As9piQ&list=PL862495F318A32160

Earth Rhythmshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1oLTsz6QT0

APPENDIX 5:Experiential Travel Videos & EQ Case Studies

APPENDIX 5

PHOTO: JEN SOLF


Travel Manitobahttp://en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Research/EQ/04-eq_casestudy_travel_manitoba.pdf

EXPERIENCE PROVIDERS

Tranquility Cove Adventureshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkNMYG-p1AEQ&list=PL549E425FED632C1F&index=4

CASE STUDIES ON HOW THE CTC VISITOR PROFILES CONTRIBUTED TO TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN 3 PROVINCES, AND TWO PROVINCIAL REGIONS.

Travel Albertahttp://en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Research/EQ/01-eq_casestudy_travel_alberta.pdf

Tourism New Brunswickhttp://en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Research/EQ/02-eq_casestudy_tourism_new_brunswick.pdf

Tourism Yukonhttp://en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Research/EQ/03-eq_casestudy_tourism_yukon.pdf

Tourism Vancouver Island and the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Associationhttp://en-corporate.canada.travel/sites/default/files/pdf/Research/EQ/05-eq_casestudy_bc.pdf

APPENDIX 5


1 World Tourism Organization. (2013). UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2013 Edition. Purchased from http://mkt.unwto.org/publication/unwto-tourism-highlights-2013-edition.

2 World Tourism Organization. (2013). UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2013 Edition. Purchased from http://mkt.unwto.org/publication/unwto-tourism-highlights-2013-edition.

3 Canadian Tourism Commission. (2013). Annual Report, May 2014.

4 Tourism Industry Association of Canada. (2013). Gateway

to Growth: Canadian Tourism Industry Annual Report. Retrieved from http://tiac.travel/_Library/TIAC_Publica-tions/2013_TIAC_Annual_Report_WEB_FINAL_EN.pdf.

5 Canadian Tourism Commission. (2013). Annual Report, May 2014.

6 Deloitte & Touche LLP. (2007). Destination Canada, Are we doing enough? A research report prepared for TIAC.

7 Statistics Canada (2011). Travel Survey of the Residents of Canada: International Travel Survey 2011. Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

END NOTES

END NOTES

PHOTO: SIMON LUNN




10 Detailed profile information for the Knowledge Seeker: www.tourismpartners.com/publications/Research/reas_segrpts_KnowledgeSeekers.pdf.

11 Detailed profile information for the Connected Explorer: www.tourismpartners.com/publications/Research/reas_segrpts_ConnectedExplorers.pdf.

12 Pine, J. & Gilmore, J. (1999). The experience economy. Harvard Business Press: Boston, MA.

Thank you

END NOTES

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