County of Haliburton Tourism Committee Agenda Wednesday January 14, 2015 11:00 O'clock A.M

County of Haliburton Tourism Committee Agenda Wednesday January 14, 2015 11:00 o'clock a.m. County Council Chambers Page

1. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR Appointment of Committee Chair Appointment of Committee Vice Chair

2. ADOPTION OF AGENDA

3. DISCLOSURE OF PECUNIARY INTEREST

4. ADOPTION OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING 3-6 Draft Minutes of the October 8, 2014 meeting

5. DELEGATIONS

6. ITEMS OF BUSINESS 7-8 Department Status Report 9-15 Culinary Tourism Project Report and Recommendations 16-17 Hike Haliburton 2015 18-20 Tourist Information Centre Location Options

7. HALIBURTON HIGHLANDS TOURISM COMMITTEE UPDATE 21-30 January 2015 Update

8. BUDGET UPDATE

31-44 Draft Tourism 2015 Budget

9. CLOSED SESSION

10. REPORT FROM CLOSED SESSION

11. ADJOURNMENT

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County of Haliburton County Tourism Committee Minutes Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The County of Haliburton Tourism Marketing Committee convened a meeting on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. in the County Council Chambers with the following in attendance:

Council: Councillor Carol Moffatt, Chair Reeve Algonquin Highlands Councillor Barbara Reid, Vice Chair Reeve Minden Hills Councillor Suzanne Partridge Deputy Reeve Highlands East Councillor Murray Fearrey Reeve Dysart et al Warden Dave Burton Reeve Highlands East Dale Rider HH Tourism Committee Bruce Ballentine HH Tourism Committee Barb Bolin Public Appointee

Staff: Jim Wilson CAO/County Clerk Amanda Ranson Director of Tourism

ADOPTION OF AGENDA The Committee Chair opened the meeting at 10:45 a.m.

Motion No. ED 67 2014 Moved by: Councillor Suzanne Partridge Seconded by: Warden Dave Burton Be it resolved that the October 8, 2014 Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee agenda be approved.

CARRIED

DISCLOSURE OF PECUNIARY INTEREST The Tourism Committee members did not disclose any pecuniary interest.

ADOPTION OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING Minutes of the August 13, 2014 Tourism Committee meeting

Page 3 of 44 The draft minutes of the August 13, 2014 meeting of the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee were circulated to the members for approval.

Motion No. ED 68 2014 Moved by: Councillor Barb Reid Seconded by: Councillor Suzanne Partridge Be it resolved that the minutes of the August 13, 2014 meeting of the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee meeting be adopted as circulated.

CARRIED

DELEGATIONS ITEMS OF BUSINESS Monthly Departmental Update The Tourism Committee received a monthly Departmental Update report from the Director of Tourism.

Motion No. ED 69 2014 Moved by: Warden Dave Burton Seconded by: Councillor Suzanne Partridge Be it resolved that the October 8, 2014 Tourism Department Update Report be received for information by the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee.

CARRIED

Hike Haliburton 2014 Update The Director of Tourism and Barrie Martin from Yours Outdoors presented a summary report on the 2014 Hike Haliburton Festival. The report included some recommendations to be undertaken for the 2015 Festival event. In addition, the Committee received an overview of the Hike Haliburton website.

Motion No. ED 70 2014 Moved by: Councillor Murray Fearrey Seconded by: Dale Rider Be it resolved that the October 8, 2014 staff report on the 2014 Hike Haliburton Festival be received for information by the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee.

CARRIED

Page 4 of 44 #MyHaliburtonHighlands by ROOTS Update The Tourism Committee received an update on the #MyHaliburtonHighlands by Roots Clothing Collection. The Committee suggested that the Tourism Director look at exploring additional locations where the clothing collection could be sold within the County.

Motion No. ED 71 2014 Moved by: Councillor Barb Reid Seconded by: Councillor Murray Fearrey Be it resolved that the October 8, 2014 staff report on #MyHaliburtonHighlands by Roots Clothing Collection Update be received for information by the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee

CARRIED

HALIBURTON HIGHLANDS TOURISM COMMITTEE UPDATE October 2014 Update The Committee reviewed the SWOT analysis recently undertaken by the Haliburton Highlands Tourism Committee and whether some of the recommendations could be incorporated into the County's 2015 Tourism Department operating plan.

Motion No. ED 72 2014 Moved by: Councillor Barb Reid Seconded by: Warden Dave Burton Be it resolved that the October 2014 Haliburton Highlands Tourism Committee Update be received for information by the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee.

CARRIED

BUDGET UPDATE Revenue and Expenditure Report for the Period Ending September 30, 2014

Motion No. ED 73 2014 Moved by: Warden Dave Burton Seconded by: Councillor Murray Fearrey Be it resolved that the Revenue and Expenditure Report for the period ending September 30, 2014 be received for information by the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee.

CARRIED

CLOSED SESSION REPORT FROM CLOSED SESSION

Page 5 of 44 ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:35 a.m.

Motion No. ED 74 2014 Moved by: Warden Dave Burton Seconded by: Dale Rider Be it resolved that the October 8, 2014 meeting of the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee now adjourn.

CARRIED

Certified Correct

Councillor Carol Moffatt, Chair Jim Wilson, CAO/County Clerk

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County of Haliburton P.O. Box 399 – 11 Newcastle Street Minden, Ontario K0M 2K0 Warden Murray Fearrey

705-286-1333 phone 705-286-4829 fax Amanda Ranson [email protected]

To: Members of the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee

From: Amanda Ranson, Director of Tourism

Re: Departmental Activity Report

Date: January 14, 2015

Recommendation: That the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee receive for information the January 2015 Tourism Departmental Activity Report.

For Information: 1. Mobile Tourism Application Development  All data is received and inputted. The application is ready to launch and is scheduled to go live during the week of January 19, 2015.

2. 2015 Destination Guide  On track to receive printed Guides mid-January. Distribution will begin immediately, locally and beyond. The Tourist Information Clerk is developing a strategic plan for distribution throughout 2015. Total advertising revenue to date is $43,090.50.

3. 9th Annual Business & Community Achievement Awards  As was the case in 2014, the County of Haliburton’s Tourism Department has been asked by the Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization (OHTO) to partner on sponsoring the Travel & Tourism Business Award at the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce Business & Community Achievement Awards. The cost to partner is $250 and the Award presentation takes place on February 28th, 2015. The County of Haliburton will have a presence at this event as the Warden’s Award will also be presented.

4. Eastern Ontario Development Program (EODP) Funding  Marketing plans are underway for the promotion of the #MyHaliburtonHighlands samplers and Abbey Gardens is working on the final product and quantities.  The Director of Tourism has met with the Arts Council to discuss the enhancements to the 2015 Arts Directory and is developing a concept for a 4- page removable ‘asset’.

5. MyHaliburtonHighlands.com  The Director of Tourism is working in concert with The Faren Group to do a full analysis of all existing website pages. This will include sections/pages which have low visibility, pages which should be moved, revamped, etc. Beginning mid-end of January 2015, work will commence to update/upgrade the website content and to ensure navigation is simple and easy for the

Page 7 of 44 consumer (e.g. less clicks to get to a specific area, for example ‘Cycling’). Aiming to complete this project by March, although online products are evolving.

6. Canoe Route Map  The County of Haliburton has worked with Kawartha Lakes to revamp the Canoe Map, which includes both the Gull River and Burnt River systems. The maps have been completed. The Director of Tourism is working with her counterpart at Kawartha Lakes to finalize the text for the maps. The goal is to have the maps available for distribution by spring 2015.

Reviewed by: Jim Wilson, Chief Administrative Officer

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County of Haliburton P.O. Box 399 – 11 Newcastle Street Minden, Ontario K0M 2K0 Warden Murray Fearrey

705-286-1333 phone 705-286-4829 fax Amanda Ranson

[email protected]

To: Members of the Haliburton County Tourism Committee

From: Amanda Ranson, Director of Tourism

Re: Haliburton Highlands Tourist Information Centre

Date: January 14, 2015

Recommendation: That the January 14, 2015 staff report on the on the progress from the Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance’s Food & Culinary Tourism Development Project by received for information.

For Information: The Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance (OCTA) has not yet completed their Final Report on the 2014 Food & Culinary Tourism Development project, which will lead the direction and strategy for this product pillar in 2015 and beyond.

However, for the purposes of 2015 budget discussions, OCTA has prepared a high-level report with their key recommendations.

The Director of Tourism is confident that tactics outlined in the ‘Education and Engage’ section (1) and within ‘Enhanced Product Development’ can be managed and executed by the County’s Tourism Department, within the proposed 2015 budget, as the recommendations dovetail nicely with the overall marketing vision and continued stakeholder engagement strategies. The execution of these tactics would also depend on engaged partnerships and stakeholder integration, which has been and will continue to happen.

The items outlined within the ‘Fundamental Product Development’ section can be managed by the County’s Tourism Department, but the products themselves would need to be executed by interested third party stakeholders. The County can be leveraged to facilitate discussions, connections, lead direction and with overall promotion.

The OCTA team has committed to hosting a Town Hall style meeting with the existing Food Steering Committee, interested stakeholders and community members, to delve deeper into their recommendations and unveil the full report.

Attachments: OCTA Food - Haliburton Opportunities + Recommendation Chart Jan 9.pdf

Reviewed by: Jim Wilson, Chief Administrative Officer/County Clerk

Page 9 of 44 COUNTY OF HALIBURTON CULINARY TOURISM STRATEGY: OPPORTUNITIES & RECOMMENDATIONS

OPPORTUNITIES & RECOMMENDATIONS

The Inventory Assessment and SWOTT Analysis, in conjunction with Best Practice reviews, stakeholder interviews and workshops have identified a number of opportunities to develop Haliburton County into a food tourism destination. Priority levels have been assigned to these opportunities, which fall into three categories:

1. EDUCATE & ENGAGE the tourism businesses and stakeholders in Haliburton County around the value of investing in and supporting culinary tourism

2. ENHANCED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT have the ability to enhance and improve Haliburton County tourism offerings in the short to medium term.

3. FUNDAMENTAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT are fundamental for building a sustainable culinary tourism destination.

PRIORITIZATION LEVELS:

#1: Highest priority - for immediate action based on the contribution to the County of Haliburton’s objectives as well as consideration of the other criteria points. This recommendation is necessary for building a strong foundation for culinary tourism.

#2. High priority - plays an important role in culinary tourism development.

#3. Medium priority - either for longer term or less urgent in present/mid term development. Recommendations at this level may meet some of the criteria but are not a requirement at this time for developing culinary tourism in the Haliburton Highlands.

Page 10 of 44 #4. Low priority – for development in the future once the high priority items have been completed.

Prioritized recommendations include dedicated Action Plans and have been expanded upon in later chapters.

The County of Haliburton’s role is specific to each tactic and may take the form of leadership, support, promotion and/or marketing. It is recommended that a staff position be created within the Tourism & Marketing Department to coordinate stakeholder engagement and assist in executing the new/enhanced tourism products recommended in this Strategy.

Partnerships between the County of Haliburton and other organizations are strongly encouraged to share responsibility, provide additional expertise and overcome capacity issues.

RECOMMENDED TIMELINES

Priority 1

Priority 2 Year 1: 2015 Year 2: 2016 Year 3: 2017+ IDENTIFIED OPPORTUNITIES Priority 3 Priority 4 EDUCATE & ENGAGE Community Food Network Increase Market Readiness:

B2B Workshops, Education Leverage Existing Audiences

Increase Farmer-Chef Connections: Facilitate DPPs

ENHANCED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Enhance Marketing Materials Enhance Existing Festivals & Events Hike Haliburton Page 11 of 44 Leverage Winter Programming Leverage Outdoor Tourism Engage Media FUNDAMENTAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Wild at Heart Program Restaurant Program Picnic Program

Note: For 2015, there is a strong focus on the Educate & Engage category, owing to a limited number of market ready businesses and low percentage of local sourcing and promotion. Stakeholder engagement will be critical to create partnerships and products that will drive visitations and leverage the existing tourism market.

1. EDUCATE & ENGAGE

Fundamental to successful product and destination development are education and engagement, particularly to increase the individual market readiness of businesses in the region, identify potential partners, strengthen the food tourism value chain and build community among stakeholders.

TACTIC PRIORITY 2015 2016 - 2017 DMO ROLE PARTNERS 1. Foster community of stakeholders interested in and committed to Community Food developing food tourism in Haliburton Bring together Community Assessment County. Food Assessment group, group, Culinary 1 Create CFN Steering Committee, other Tourism Strategy Create the Community Food Network interested stakeholders to Steering (CFN) to support food tourism form CFN Committee development, share responsibility and leverage expertise. Page 12 of 44 Host workshops, create 2. Host workshops, provide B2B B2B resource section on CFN, HCDC, resources to improve market 1 On-going Lead – Host workshops Experience Haliburton OHTO readiness. website

3. Leverage existing audiences in Host workshops, CHA, POAs, Haliburton County and increase their Leverage programs, Lead - Experience Summer OHTO, participation in tourism programs. Monitor program, Develop Experience app, CHA/POA outreach Experience 1 Continue CHA Summer app, Promote Development Create outreach strategies that build outreach market ready Promotion, Marketing Training on existing programs (e.g. OHvation businesses Program, BIAs designation).

Tactic #4: Increase local sourcing by Haliburton County businesses. Host Host networking CFN, Haliburton workshops through the CFN. Explore opportunities (through 2 On-going Support (through the CFN) County Farmers’ Direct Procurement Partnerships Community Food Association (DPPs) to strengthen local food supply Network) chain. 2. ENHANCED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

The Strategy identified significant opportunities to improve or enhance existing tourism products and experiences to increase their attractiveness to food tourists.

TACTIC PRIORITY 2015 2016 - 2017 DMO ROLE PARTNERS Spring: Enhance website and e- newsletter, create blog, source content 1. Enhance existing Haliburton County marketing materials to Summer: Host media FAM tour. Review and enhance OHTO communicate regional food 1 marketing materials Lead (media identity and promote new Fall: Enhance 2016 Destination Guide, as necessary FAMs) tourism products. other relevant materials to highlight new Page 13 of 44 tourism products (see Fundamental Product Development)

2016: Add gala event Tactic #2: Enhance existing FEO, to Hike Haliburton Lead – Host workshops festivals and events by increasing Engage existing festivals and events to Haliburton

local sourcing and promotion. 1 Increase local food experiences Forest & 2017: Add Arts & *Event planner contracted Establish Hike Haliburton as Wildlife Culture programming for Hike Haliburton Signature Event for the region. Reserve to Hike Haliburton Tactic #3: Leverage existing Promote winter winter programming. Promote Engage businesses to add food Lead – Host workshops activities with food Haliburton Highlands as a year- 3 experiences (e.g. Picnic Program) to experiences, as round destination. existing winter programming Promotion, Marketing developed

Engage businesses to add food HHOA, experiences to existing outdoor Tactic #4: Leverage existing Lead – Host workshops Adventure programming outdoor tourism market. 2 On-going Haliburton,

Promotion, Marketing outdoor Market new/enhanced tourism products attractions to outdoor tourists Host media FAM tour, invite key Tactic #5: Engage media to influencers to guest blog on Experience OHTO increase the awareness and 4 Haliburton website On-going Lead (media support of the region. FAMs)

3. FUNDAMENTAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

New tourism product development requires strong leadership to ensure that the experience will meet the expectations of the consumer and drive visitation to the region. Stakeholder engagement and partnership development are essential components of this development. A culinary tourism product is stronger and the experience is richer when more businesses are engaged Page 14 of 44 along the food tourism value chain.

TACTIC PRIORITY 2015 2016 - 2017 DMO ROLE PARTNERS

Spring - Fall: Engage

stakeholders (application OHTO (media 2016: Launch microsite, host Lead – Workshop hosting, form), host town hall meeting, FAMs), media FAM, promote new stakeholder engagement, promote market ready Haliburton Tactic #1: Create Wild at Heart experiences as developed program development experiences Forest, Program. 1 and execution Haliburton 2017: Promote new Create dedicated Wild at Heart Highlands Land experiences, as developed Promotion, marketing section on website, source Trust, Yours

content Outdoors On-going: Monitor Program

Spring: Engage stakeholders 2016: Add new themes (application form), develop Lead – Potential for

criteria Program to be taken on 2017: Expand Program to Tactic #2: Create Restaurant by Chefs’ Association, if Chefs’ 1 require local sourcing (e.g. Program(s). Summer: Launch program, developed Association Feast ON series) create dedicated Restaurant

Program section on website Promotion, marketing On-going: Monitor Program

2016: Create branded Spring: Engage stakeholders marketing materials (application form), create (baskets/bags). Promote dedicated Picnic Program new participating section on website businesses, as added. HHOA, HCDC, Lead 1 outdoor Tactic #3: Create Picnic Program. Add Picnic Program copy to 2017: Expand to require local attractions winter and outdoor sections sourcing of website. On-going: Monitor Program

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County of Haliburton P.O. Box 399 – 11 Newcastle Street Minden, Ontario K0M 2K0 Warden Murray Fearrey

705-286-1333 phone 705-286-4829 fax Amanda Ranson

[email protected]

To: Members of the Haliburton County Tourism Committee

From: Amanda Ranson, Director of Tourism

Re: 2015 Hike Haliburton Festival

Date: January 14, 2015

Recommendation: That the Haliburton County Tourism Committee recommends to Haliburton County Council that the Hike Haliburton Festival be held September 17-20, 2015 and that Yours Outdoors be engaged as the Coordinating Partner in 2015 as outlined in the January 14, 2015 staff report.

For Information: The Haliburton County Tourism Department recommends that the 13th Annual Hike Haliburton Festival be held from September 17-20, 2015. As in prior years, the Festival will include over 60 guided hikes which will span across the County and serve hikers of all ages and abilities.

For 2015, the hikes will include even more integration within the area of arts, heritage and food. Of course, the Festival will also include hikes for serious adventurers. This year the focus of the Festival will be on the hikes themselves and the promotion of the variety of options, versus the creation of evening and entertainment events. That said, the County of Haliburton would be happy to partner with a third party who may be interested in planning & hosting an evening event, leveraging the Festival, which the County could simply promote as part of the overall Festival marketing plan.

Should sponsorship exceed the recommended target, the Director of Tourism may decide to add an additional element to the Festival (e.g. event), which would be managed by the Project Coordinator.

Proposed 2015 Pre-Festival Activity Timeline  Project Coordinator Contract Finalized: January 30  Marketing Plan Completed: February 16  Hike Details Finalized: March 27  2015 Website & Registration Live: April 20  Digital Marketing Launch: April 27  Deadline for Sponsorship (incl. in Program & Map): April 30  Print Marketing Launch: May 8  Festival Program & Map In-Market: May 11

Page 16 of 44 Festival Coordination To assist the County of Haliburton with the planning and execution of the Festival, the Director of Tourism recommends hiring Yours Outdoors as the coordinating partner. Based on their past experience and existing relationships, Yours Outdoors is the preferred partner.

Proposed 2015 Festival Budget

2015 Hike Haliburton Festival Budget

Revenue Notes Combination of sponsors* (sourced by $10,000 Project Coordinator), grants, donations 5,000 Sponsors sourced by County of Haliburton $15,000 Total Sponsorship

Expense Notes

14,000 Program Management 2,000 Leader stipend and enhanced signage 7,000 Marketing, Website, Printed Program + Map 23,000 Total Expenses

$8,000 Potential net cost to County of Haliburton * Should Yours Outdoors exceed the target of $10,000, they will receive a one-time bonus payment of $2,000, increasing the potential net cost to the County of Haliburton to $10,000.

Reviewed by: Jim Wilson, Chief Administrative Officer/County Clerk

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County of Haliburton P.O. Box 399 – 11 Newcastle Street Minden, Ontario K0M 2K0 Warden Murray Fearrey

705-286-1333 phone 705-286-4829 fax Amanda Ranson

[email protected]

To: Members of the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee

From: Amanda Ranson, Director of Tourism

Re: Haliburton Highlands Tourist Information Centre

Date: January 14, 2015

Recommendation: That the January 14, 2015 staff report on the Haliburton Highlands Tourist Information Centre be received by the Haliburton County Council Tourism Committee and that it be recommended that County Council support Option One, as outlined below.

For Information: As per the resolution by Haliburton County Council in August 2014, the existing lease with the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce for the Tourist Information Centre located at 12340 Highway 35, Minden was renewed for a period of one year for the whole of 2015. During the August 2013 Haliburton Highlands Tourism Committee meeting, the Director of Tourism received instruction to explore possible options for the Tourist Information Centre beyond 2015.

In addition to providing tourism information to County visitors, the Info Centre also provides office and storage space for the Tourism Department. On average each year, the Tourist Information Centre has approx. 15,000 customer ‘interactions’, 10,000-12,000 in- person visits and 4,000-5,000 telephone calls. The Tourist Information Centre also manages emails from visitors.

As shared at the August 2014 Tourism Committee meeting, there is an opportunity to construct a new building, the excerpt from the August 2014 staff report can be found below:

Haliburton Forest approached the County of Haliburton Tourism Department and has offered to donate an EcoLog log home kit to the County of Haliburton for the purposes of a Tourist Information Centre along the Highway 35 corridor in or around Minden.

The donation would consist of a log-home kit sized in the 1,000 – 1,200 square foot floor space (e.g. 24’ x 40’ – 50’), plus a loft space. Included in this kit will be all timbers and materials to form the walls and roof structure. The value of the log home kit is $50,400.

Items not included in this donation are: purchase of land, servicing of the land, parking, base/footing/slab/basement, roofing, windows, doors, electrical, plumbing and interior finishing. The County estimates that in addition to the purchase of land, it will cost $250,000 to fully complete the construction.

Page 18 of 44 In exchange for the building donation, Haliburton Forest has requested a reasonably sized display for its services, including the advertising of the subject building kits.

Possibilities for Consideration

Option One: Construct the EcoLog home kit on the existing County owned land located at 12410 Highway 35, Minden (Walker Property) north of the Haliburton County Paramedic base. If the new construction project were to move forward, the County of Haliburton could consider sharing the space with a partner, or perhaps allowing for community meeting space of some kind to help supplement utilities and building maintenance. The benefits of this location are the opportunity to share resources with Haliburton Paramedics (e.g. snow removal, waste removal, generator, etc.), the building would be owned completely by the County and located in a highly visible area. Should the County select option one, there are a number of factors to consider including MTO approval, zoning, etc. It is also felt that even with the relocation of the tourist information centre to this property, sufficient land will remain for the future construction of a fire hall facility by the Township of Minden Hills.

Option Two: Construct the EcoLog home kit on property owned by another party, working out an agreement to such that the rent would be considerably lower for the first number of years, due to the contribution of the building on the property. There is an opportunity close to the corner of Highways 118 and 35 (Carnarvon), on the south-east 118 side (across from Rhubarb), as the County has been contacted by an interested party. The same interested party has also said they would consider constructing a building for the sole purpose of the Tourist Information Centre. However, this would be a rented facility. Haliburton Forest has also specified that they would like to be in a visible area along the Highway 35 corridor therefore, this location may not meet their request if not directly on Highway 35.

Option Three: Entering into a lease agreement at the to-be-constructed property located at the turnoff for County Road 21 to Haliburton, visible from Highway 35. This is the future location of the HP Superstore. The County of Haliburton may have the opportunity to lease a 900 square foot storefront (approx. centre of the building) at a cost of approximately $1,600/month (utilities extra).

Option Four: Renew the existing lease agreement with the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce beyond 2015. However, as the building is aging and will need further repairs and upgrades in the coming years, the County would need to work out an arrangement on how those costs will be shared with the Chamber. As the County does not own the building, any improvements will stay with the Chamber should the County decide to relocate at a later date. The land where the existing Tourist Information Centre is located (12340 Highway 35) is not large enough to house the new construction of the EcoLog home and still have sufficient parking.

Attachments: 12410 Highway 35 engineered specification for potential tourism information centre

Reviewed by: Jim Wilson, Chief Administrative Officer/County Clerk

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Haliburton Highlands Tourism Stakeholders Group Meeting Notes Nov. 19/14 Facilitated by Barrie Martin Attending: Dave Drobitch Tegan Legge Chris Card John McDonald Pat Bradley Alex Bell Diane Dawson Laura Trach Barb Peel Sue Robinson Shelley Schell Debra Lloyd Rickie Woods Dave Lloyd Chris Lynd Bruce Ballentine Sharon Lynch Barb Bolin Thom Lambert Larry Giles Rosemarie Jung Jane Selbie Rachael Gillooly Barrie Martin Jack Brezina

1. Welcome and Introductions For folks new to the stakeholders group Barrie reviewed the makeup of the County Tourism Committee and that the stakeholders have 2 reps plus there is one “at large” member. The Stakeholders group meets monthly the week after the County Tourism Committee meets. The purpose of this group is to network, share information, identify and resolve issues, and communicate with County Tourism committee. They may also when necessary advocate for tourism stakeholders. Dale Ryder representing the accommodation sector and Bruce Ballantine representing the Adventure Experience group are right now the Stakeholders group representatives. Barb Bolin is the committee member “at large”. There is a call from the County for the names of representatives for the upcoming year. ACTION: Barrie will confirm with Bruce and Dale if they would like to continue as representatives ACTION: If anyone else is interested in representing the Tourism Stakeholders on the County Tourism Committee please let Barrie Martin know by December 9th Discussion was held re the role of the representatives and the Tourism Committee. Barrie asked that members come to the next meeting with ideas/input re a focus for the County Tourism committee for 2015.

Page 21 of 44 2. Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization update: OHTO annual conference was a success and well attended. Both the digital marketing workshop and the talk from the gentleman from Newfoundland /Gros Morne were excellent and it was recommended that a repeat of the digital marketing workshop be done. Amanda Ranson and Karen Warner will be our new representatives at OTO. Barrie has copies of OHTO’S Tourism Starts with You report available re the Regional plan. OHvation, the “secret shopper” program, was discussed and it was suggested that this should be extended not only to those who request it but to all. This has been done in another area of the province and, for the most part, was well received. If we would like this to happen the request must come from the County.The Chamber of Commerce is willing to promote this to its members. There is a model that when those who have not requested the “secret shopper” visit are assessed an email is sent saying the visit was make and asking if that business would like the results. 3. Haliburton County Studio Tour An approach will be made to the County Tourism committee to recommend that an event strategy for the county be developed. It has been suggested that each meeting an Event representative come to the Stakeholders meeting, explain their event and discussion will be held on how that event might be maximized eg partnerships that can be developed. This month Thom Lambert representing the Studio Tour gave a presentation/overview of this long term successful event and there were several potential partnerships suggested and productive discussion: HCST is:

 A non‐profit marketing collective, member funded and organised

 41 members representing 26 local small businesses

 The original “shoulder season” tourism event in Haliburton Highlands

 Preparing for its 28th season: the second‐longest running tour in Ontario

 4 day event: Thanksgiving weekend and the weekend before Market info

 Approximately 3200 visitors

 72% of visitors are from outside the 705 area code

 Approximately $225,000 in direct sales with many custom orders (= repeat visitors)

 Many 1st weekend visitors coming specifically for HCST, 2nd weekend is locals/cottagers

Page 22 of 44 Brand/marketing info

 Print and distribute 30,000 full colour brochures

 Increasingly important online presence, especially website and FBook

 We offer visitors the opportunity to “experience the creative process”, not just shop for art.

 Appeal to experiential tourists (well documented by CTC and OHTO as highly desirable visitors)

The group then brainstormed some ideas on how we as stakeholders could support this event so we create a win‐win situation for all

 Broaden the HCST experience. Give more people reasons to stay overnight. o Collaborate with other events/organizations, e.g. BIA , Arts Council o Add Fri /Saturday event – theatre, concert, etc o Culinary experiences ‐ a morning launch o Part of fall festival? o Experience Packages o Women’s weekend  Increase community awareness of tour and studios o Stakeholders are invited to visit studios anytime or during the week in between the tour weekends of the weekend before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving weekend. o Offer familiarization tours of studios  Cross promote with other stakeholders o Studios are open to receiving and displaying accommodator’s brochures o Accommodators and other stakeholders put the Studio Tour badge on their websites. o Form marketing collective of the Studio Tour/Arts Council and other organizations and pool resources o More cross promotion via social media ‐ likes, follows, shares o The Arts Council is thinking of expanding its Arts Directory by 4 pages; perhaps an opportunity to promote the studio tour.

4. Round Table August 15/15 will be the dog festival Winterdance has new location ‐ 2000 acres near Haliburton Lake and tours will be happening from there. The Summer Festival line up is out and was distributed by Jack Brezina. Passes are now on sale for shows June 28 – Aug 6. The Opera studio line up will be coming out soon

Page 23 of 44 The Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Achievement awards nominations are now available on the Chamber site. The Rails End Gallery is hosting the C of C gala and at it will be the preview of the Gallery Auction 900 athletes will be coming to the Seniors Games in Feb and they are looking for displays for the evening of Feb 18 5:00 – 9:00 at Pinestone. This is a free promotion. In 2015The Zombie walk next year will be Oct. 24 and the “Terror on Wonderland Rd” will be one day only – Halloween. This weekend is the festival of Trees in Minden and the Santa Claus Parade in Haliburton. Haliburton Forest and Yours Outdoors (Haliburton Rocks!) have been designated as Ontario Signature Experiences

5. Next Meeting 10:00 ‐ 11:30 am December 17 at Pinestone Resort Tentative agenda items 1. Welcome and Introductions 2. County Tourism Development Committee update 3. Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization update 4. County’s 2015 Tourism budget 5. Promoting the importance of tourism in the community 6. Roundtable

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Page 25 of 44 Haliburton Highlands Tourism Stakeholders Committee Meeting Notes - December 17, 2014 Pinestone Resort

Chaired by Bruce Ballentine In attendance: 32+ stakeholders

1. Welcome Larry Giles of the Haliburton County Historical Society launched the meeting with a birthday tribute to our namesake Thomas Chandler Haliburton including a cake and an update of the Society’s upcoming events

2. County Council Tourism Development update Bruce and Dale will continue to represent the Stakeholders Group on this committee. It was mentioned that Dave Lloyd threw his hat in the ring and noted that this may have been missed. Barrie will discuss matter with Dave

3. OHTO OHTO Director Karen Warner’s update – essentially she is learning how the board works and what she can bring back to our table, as far as information goes. She is looking forward to the experience.

OHvation Program Regarding the Lanark program, Barrie determined we can have the same sort of true mystery shop done here in The Haliburton Highlands. In Lanark, participants were from a certain sector and were given the option to opt out prior to the shops being done. This was done via email. It was mentioned that we could look at a second alternative and that is to allow them to opt out of receiving the results. This method was the plan supported by the majority of the group. It was noted that many operations do not realize their impact on the Tourism industry in our area. A sub committee was formed to research, consult with OHTO, and plan this program. Committee members are Alex Bell, Rachel Gillooly, Bruce Ballentine, and Dennis Casey. They will meet prior to our next meeting

4. 55+ Winter Games Alan Clark reported that 950 participants have registered for the games. Of these 40% are staying an additional night, many thanks to our accommodators for holding the rate for one more night. In addition to these participants an invitational ladies hockey event has been added and will run Sunday and Monday and will result in another 60-100 more participants. All but the bowlers will be staying in the core area of Haliburton County. The bowlers will be staying in Dwight as they have to bowl 10 pin in Huntsville. This is a huge improvement over last event as 200 stayed out of the area. Bruce McLellan is organizing heads in beds and will be in touch with accommodators

Page 26 of 44 It is estimated that the Games will result in $400-450K into our local economy. In addition to insuring a successful Games, there is an effort to showcase the Highland sand encourage participants and their families to return to the Highlands including the following:  A showcase event featuring local organizations and businesses and what they have to offer to tourists will be held at Pinestone on Feb 18. If interested in having a display see Diane Dawson from Wintergreen  13 area restaurants will be showcased on the Wed night through a program that has been worked out with all of the chefs. Participants will enjoy wonderful meals, combined with wine or beer tastings depending on the restaurant at which they are dining at. Examples are Rhubarb, The Peppermill, Heather Lodge, Pinestone, etc. A suggestion was made to have the local chef’s look at utilizing local food where possible. There is a meeting planned in January for the local chefs and this is part of the discussion. Each of these dinners will have a volunteer from the games in attendance to ensure all questions are answered and their ongoing promotion of the Highlands  Kurt Browning will be opening and closing the games and although there is no ice in the High School, apparently roller skates are going to be involved  There are also performances on Wednesday night featuring local musicians.

Alan also informed us that Colio wines has come on board with their new Bricklayer wine(both red and white) $1 per bottle sold in stores in Haliburton and Muskoka area stores will go to the games.

5. County Tourism Budget Priorities 2015 The County budget priorities for 2015 were reviewed and discussed. We are very grateful to Amanda Ranson and the County of Haliburton for providing us with this preview of budget priorities for tourism in 2015. While there are no dollars associated with these priorities the total tourism budget will likely be similar to what they were last year - ~ $425,000.00

Attendees were asked to take a few minutes to review the handout that outlined the budget priorities and then were asked to for comments. Our discussion revealed that overall those in attendance were satisfied with the budget priorities.

Comments included: Website – all agreed website needs work and is a high priority Mobile App – all agreed it needs to get launched Consumer Shows – although County is not involved to a great extent this year it is important that we be present at as many shows as possible. If County is unable to make the investment it is hoped they would be open to creative partnership arrangements with local operators and OHTO. Destination Guide – Is it working? Some felt it is not a Destination Guide, it is an advertising piece and does not include all suppliers and features of the Highlands. Some form of tracking would be helpful (reservation code) to see if it in fact brings business

Page 27 of 44 Rendezvous 2015 - some stakeholders wanted more information. Barrie explained that it is an initiative that was started last year to attract Travel Trade (international visitors) to the region . Rendezvous 2015 will take place in Niagara and OHTO is working with Holly Blefgen to coordinate their presence at this show. There are two tours being presented- Wonders of the Earth and Path of the Paddle, both will be 7 day experiences and there is definitely room for The Haliburton Highlands to be part of these plans. One person asked - if we are going after an international market are there implications for bilingual materials and services? Tracking Success - many present felt that it was important to better track the success of our marketing efforts. Suggested that County might be able to develop (and administrate) a short customer survey , e.g., 5 question, that all operators could use to insure a consistent and coordinated approach Visitor Information Centres – how can eastern part of the County be better served?

After this brief discussion (limited by time available), stakeholders were asked to prioritize the tourism budget items. They were given 10 dots each and asked to place dots on sheets that were on display for each item. Please note there are a couple of items added to the list, e.g., Event Strategy, Destination Development Plan and the Customer survey, that were identified previously by the stakeholder group during budget discussion or at previous meetings. The results are as follows:

1. Marketing (brand, print, video, social media) – 34 2. Event Strategy – 33 * 3. Web site enhancements – 32 4. Mobile Tourism Application - 25 5. Destination Development Plan - 21 * 6. Tourism Information Centre (s) - 19 7. Culinary initiative - 18 8. Rendezvous 2015 - 16 9. Welcome signage – 15 10. Hike Haliburton - 14 11. Customer Survey - 11 * 12. OHvation Program – 10 13. Consumer Shows - 10 14. Abbey Gardens/Arts Council initiative -10 15. Destination Guide 9 16. Roots Clothing Collection - 4 17. Doors Open - 2

The above information will be forwarded to the County as information and recommendations in our next stakeholder report to the Tourism Development Committee

6. Promoting the Importance of Tourism Initiated a discussion about how we can promote the importance of tourism to our community.

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Rosemarie of the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce set the stage with a short video from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce called Stand-Up for Tourism, which is part of an advocacy campaign to convince the Federal government of the importance of tourism and to commit more $ for its development. Dave Lloyd of the Heads in Beds sub-committee presented the plan for a “fam tour” involving rotating small open houses throughout the county so all can see what everyone has to offer.

Barrie reports that he made a presentation to the Hospitality and Tourism class at the High School in the autumn of 2013 and Sam Little, the teacher would like another presentation this year. Barrie also made a presentation on the importance of tourism to all businesses at the fall meeting of the Algonquin Gateway Business & Tourism Association this past fall.

Karen Warner of 13 Oaks mentioned that she carries and distributes printed tourism information to their firewood clients

Further discussion on this topic will continue at future meetings. Everyone to bring other ideas examples of how we can promot the importance of tourism to the broader community

7. Round Table Nordic Trails has a new format for its board, working toward better relationships and decision making within the organization and the community.

Library provided an update on upcoming events

Jack Brezina indicated that season’s passes are now on sale for the Highlands Summer Festival –

Winterdance – New site is ready for the season. Trail head warming centre is closed until tours have started

8. Next meeting Jan 21 Upcoming topics – Impacts of climate change on tourism, taxes and tourism, discussion on another event. Other suggestions for future meetings are welcome

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Recommendations Related to the 2015 Budget and Work Plan for Consideration by Haliburton County’s Tourism Development Committee

From Haliburton Highlands Tourism Stakeholders Group

1. Consider the comments and outcomes of the budget review and discussion from the December 2014 meeting of the Haliburton Highlands Tourism Stakeholders Group 2. Lead and/or facilitate the development of an event strategy for the County of Haliburton 3. Initiate the creation of a Destination Development Plan for Haliburton County in partnership with tourism stakeholders and OHTO 4. Develop and administer a survey for use by stakeholders to measure success of marketing efforts 5. Provide tourism statistics for County similar to information available for Canada, Ontario, and OHTO, i.e., total value of tourism in County, Number of tourism businesses in the County and the number of people employed in tourism 6. Hold a facilitated planning meeting in October of each year to help set direction and budget for the coming year. The participants would be the members of the County’s Tourism Development Committee and selected stakeholders and resource people 7. Secure funding for recommendations #2, 3, and 4 through OHTO ‘s Tourism Development Partnership Program and HCDC’s Community Innovation Fund

From Adventure Haliburton

8. Provide additional investment in the Outdoor Adventure “pillar” by financially supporting Adventure Haliburton’s participation in the Toronto and Ottawa Outdoor Adventure show and more specifically the development of an exhibit and audio-visual presentation.

Page 30 of 44 TOURISM COUNTY OF HALIBURTON 2015 BUDGET

Account Description 2014 2014 2015

BUDGET ACTUAL BUDGET NOTES

1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3100117 RED PROGRAMME (30,000.00) (4,300.00) (27,700.00) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3100350 ONTARIO FOOD FUND (14,000.00) (14,000.00) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3200250 JOB CONNECTS (1,000.00) (1,230.00) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3200300 HCDC FUNDING (10,000.00) (8,219.21) (5,500.00) EODP 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3700555 2013 DESTINATION GUIDE REVENUE 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3700556 2014 DESTINATION GUIDE REVENUE (45,000.00) (46,100.00) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3700557 2015 DESTINATION GUIDE REVENUE (45,000.00) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3400500 SALE OF MERCHANDISE (2,000.00) (2,081.77) (2,000.00) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3400550 SALE OF ROOTS CLOTHING (12,862.78) (20,000.00) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3700510 CONTRIBUTION FROM OTHERS (1,700.07) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3700540 HIKE HALIBURTON FESTIVAL (20,200.00) (14,729.22) (15,000.00) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3400000 BOOTH RENTAL & OTHER REVENUE 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3420000 GETAWAY COUNTRY FUNDING (2,500.00) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3750000 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM RESERVE 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-3100118 CELEBRATE ONTARIO TOTAL REVENUE ($124,700.00) ($105,223.05) ($115,200.00)

1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4100101 WAGES 156,300.00 149,658.00 149,300.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4100201 BENEFITS 41,900.00 42,685.86 43,900.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4100401 PER DIEMS 1,000.00 1,020.00 1,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200100 OFFICE SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT 8,000.00 9,189.68 8,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200110 MAP SUPPLIES 5,000.00 5,573.33 6,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200150 COST OF ROOTS CLOTHING 8,813.18 10,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200155 MERCHANDISE FOR RESALE 2,014.07 1,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200204 INTERNET HOSTING 1,000.00 798.77 1,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200206 WEB DESIGN AND MT 7,000.00 4,286.84 5,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200301 HYDRO 3,000.00 3,681.52 3,500.00 Page 31 of 44 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200303 WATER & SEWER 200.00 438.60 500.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200501 MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES 3,500.00 3,195.90 3,500.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200612 PUBLICATIONS - DESTINATION GUIDE 2013 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200613 PUBLICATIONS - DESTINATION GUIDE 2014 45,000.00 53,942.99 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200614 PUBLICATIONS - DESTINATION GUIDE 2015 50,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200650 SPONSORSHIP 0.00 600.00 600.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200700 ADVERTISING 83,500.00 86,612.37 115,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200701 TODS - SIGNS 4,000.00 4,070.40 4,000.00

Tourism Draft 2015 Budget Actuals as of Jan 8 2015 TOURISM COUNTY OF HALIBURTON 2015 BUDGET

Account Description 2014 2014 2015

BUDGET ACTUAL BUDGET NOTES

1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200702 DOORS OPEN 3,700.00 2,917.02 3,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200703 OHTO WORKSHOPS 1,500.00 1,315.53 2,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200750 HIKE HALIBURTON FESTIVAL 31,200.00 31,772.75 23,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200801 BUILDING SUPPLIES 400.00 1,512.67 1,500.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200802 BUILDING REPAIRS & MTCE 3,000.00 1,910.75 1,500.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4200805 BUILDING- RENT 15,300.00 15,264.00 15,300.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201101 TELEPHONE 7,000.00 7,819.95 7,500.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201103 POSTAGE 500.00 669.71 700.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201104 COURIER & FREIGHT 1,000.00 964.94 700.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201400 PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS 500.00 481.32 1,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201450 CORPORATE MEMBERSHIPS 1,000.00 1,140.43 1,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201500 VAN MILEAGE CHARGE 1,500.00 351.50 1,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201501 MILEAGE 2,500.00 2,688.29 3,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201502 TRAINING - REGISTRATION 2,000.00 759.61 1,200.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201503 TRAINING - OTHER 1,500.00 2,111.69 3,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201505 TRADE SHOWS 5,000.00 3,945.65 4,500.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201506 MEALS 1,000.00 538.40 700.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4202004 SMALL CAPITAL 3,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201900 OTHER 100.00 (16.00) 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4300201 SATELLITE OFFICES- TO MUNICIPALITIES 15,000.00 15,000.00 15,000.00 1-00-080-01-OUT000-4300200 OUTDOORS ASSOCIATION 10,000.00 10,000.00 10,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201520 POND HOCKEY 20,000.00 19,873.77 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4400300 FEES AND CHARGES 1,200.00 1,309.62 1,200.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201020 WELCOME SIGNAGE 25,000.00 3,670.48 25,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201030 OCTA CULINARY PROJECT 28,000.00 29,535.62 15,000.00 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201040 DESIGN LOGO 3,000.00 2,483.96 1-00-080-01-ECDEVE-4201050 TOURISM CENTRE WELCOME COUNTER 6,500.00 5,189.76 NET EXPENDITURES $549,800.00 $539,792.93 $539,100.00 Page 32 of 44

NET TOURISM EXPENSES $425,100.00 $434,569.88 $423,900.00

Tourism Draft 2015 Budget Actuals as of Jan 8 2015

County of Haliburton P.O. Box 399 – 11 Newcastle Street Minden, Ontario K0M 2K0 Warden Murray Fearrey

705-286-1333 phone 705-286-4829 fax Amanda Ranson [email protected]

To: Members of the Haliburton County Tourism Committee

From: Amanda Ranson, Director of Tourism

Re: Department of Tourism’s 2015 Recommended Budget

Date: January 14, 2015

Recommendation: That the Haliburton County Tourism Committee receives for information the Department of Tourism’s 2015 Draft Budget and recommend to County Council.

For Information: Overall Picture

2014 Budget: $549,800 (Net Expenditure) | $425,100 (Net Tourism Expenses) 2014 Actual: $539,792.93(Net Expenditure) | $434,569.88 (Net Tourism Expenses) 2015 Budget: $539,100 (Net Expenditure) | $423,900 (Net Tourism Expenses)

Note: 2014 not finalized yet. 2015 Revenue Items

RED Programme: $27,700 Supports marketing efforts including: Portable promotional signage, improved gateway welcome signage, local food initiative (public relations), bilingual market advertising. Specific initiatives under this programme are to be completed by June 30, 2015.

HCDC Funding (EODP): $5,500 Partnership with Abbey Gardens to market the #MyHaliburtonHighlands product samplers and with the Arts Council ~ Haliburton Highlands on enhancements to the Arts Directory.

2015 Destination Guide Revenue: $45,000 Advertisers in the 2015 Destination Guide will create this revenue stream, as per prior years.

Sales of ROOTS Clothing: $20,000 The #MyHaliburtonHighlands by ROOTS Collection launched in July 2014 and achieved revenue of $12,862.78. The Tourism Department is confident that by having the items for sale across 12 full months, combined with promotions, $20,000 revenue target is achievable.

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Hike Haliburton Festival: $15,000 Revenue to come from sponsorship, grants and hike donations.

2015 Key Net Expenditures

Web Design and Maintenance: $5,000 Full analysis of all existing website pages. This will include sections/pages which have low visibility, pages which should be moved, revamped, etc. Update/upgrade the website content and to ensure navigation is simple and easy for the consumer.

Destination Guide: $50,000 Destination Guide will evolve for the 2016 edition and the cost increase also includes shipping, which caused an overage of projected budget in 2014. With a focus on wider distribution, The County needs to be mindful of shipping costs – over and above production.

The Haliburton Highlands Stakeholder group would like to revisit the Destination Guide strategy for 2016 and The County Tourism Department would like to begin this consultative process by way of brainstorm in late summer 2015. The Destination Guide has evolved over the past two editions and stakeholder input can take the Guide even further.

The County’s Tourism Information Coordinator will be developing a plan to ensure that Guide distribution is easy and effective throughout the year to all corners of the County, including north and east.

Advertising: $115,000 The Advertising line is the largest increase of the 2015 draft tourism budget over prior years. However, further development of the #MyHaliburtonHighlands brand by way of a variety of mediums will require a larger budget.

As 2014 served as the year to begin establishing a brand (#MyHaliburtonHighlands), the goal for 2015 is to further connect that brand through experiences and emotions, to our audience. The 2015 direction is very much inspired by what engaged stakeholders have provided in their feedback over the past year and the direction they would like to see advertising go.

The enhanced #MyHaliburtonHighlands 2015 marketing program will play on the popular “local” trend (for example: Eat Local, Shop Local) by experimenting with the words “Unwind Local”. Whether that means ‘unwinding’ with a great book on a dock, sauntering around a farmers’ market or dog sledding through a wintery tundra – the advertising will leverage the popularity of the ‘local’ theme to entice visitors from within Ontario and throughout Canada (hence, a play on local) – using unique, visually appealing images that showcase #MyHaliburtonHighlands at their best – and encourage Canadians to ‘stay in their own backyard’ on their next getaway.

The “Unwind Local” marketing message will also synergize with the direction that OHTO (Wander Campaign) is going with their marketing efforts from a larger, regional perspective.

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The RED program funding will be leveraged to begin a bilingual marketing campaign to broaden our advertising reach. Additionally, some of the funds will be leveraged for public relations activities around the Food & Culinary tourism development program.

What has been lacking in the past in terms of promotions is the available imagery to ‘show’ what the region has to offer. For 2015, we have engaged both Stick & Stones Productions and Positive Media to help us create video assets to leverage in a variety of ways. Additionally, we will be working to collect stronger still imagery to develop our messaging. These kinds of creative assets will allow #MyHaliburtonHighlands to have a larger digital presence as well via channels such as YouTube and Instagram – highly visual mediums, which we know our target audience is very much engaged with. Existing channels such as Facebook and Twitter will continue to be enhanced with campaigns throughout 2015.

Approx. $3,500 of the advertising budget will be designated for the Haliburton Highlands 55+ Winter Games participant welcome bags.

The County needs to ensure that when strong advertising opportunities arise last minute, that there is the ability to take advantage of them, into the back half of the year. Often there are print deals in Q4 that would be ideal to leverage, however allocations have already been made due to print timelines earlier in the year.

The Haliburton Highlands Stakeholder group and the County’s Director of Tourism would like to work in partnership to develop a brief customer survey which would live online (and on paper) and be available at a variety of attractions, accommodations, restaurants, etc. The results could be compiled and reviewed on a quarterly basis, feeding into future marketing strategy and serving as a product development/evolution piece for stakeholders and partners.

Doors Open: $3,000 The Doors Open event will happen in Highlands East in 2015, as per the November County Council recommendation. The budget will go toward marketing of the event for 2015 and also for 2016 event registration.

OHTO Workshops: $2,000 The Haliburton Highlands Stakeholder group would like to pursue an ‘Event Strategy’ for the region. The Event Strategy project could be in partnership with OHTO and could ‘kick-off’ with a workshop for interested stakeholders.

Hike Haliburton Festival: $23,000 The Haliburton County Tourism Department recommends that the 13th Annual Hike Haliburton Festival be held from September 17-20, 2015. As in prior years, the Festival will include over 60 guided hikes which will span across the County and serve hikers of all ages and abilities. For full details, please see the January 2015 Hike Haliburton staff report.

Training – Other: $3,000 Includes conference attendance for Tourism Department staff. The Director of Tourism would like to begin taking courses toward CMO Accreditation via AMCTO in 2015.

Page 35 of 44 Trade Shows: $4,500 The October 2013 Brand Marketing Plan outlined reasoning for a hiatus from Consumer Shows in 2014 and beyond. However, the Plan also outlined participation in the 2015 Rendezvous Travel Trade conference (taking place ‘close to home’ in Niagara Falls for 2015). In partnership with OHTO, led by Trade expert Holly Blefgen (Director, Ski Telemark Ltd.), The County of Haliburton would work to showcase the region to prospective agents arranging experiences for visitors beyond the borders of Canada.

Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association: $10,000 The HHOA received a grant from The County of Haliburton in 2013 and received a ‘sponsorship’ of $10,000 in 2014, in exchange for marketing and promotional value for the County’s Tourism Department. The HHOA plays an important role in the overall conservation of the Haliburton Highlands, specifically the fish population of many lakes in the region.

Welcome Signage: $25,000 As per the October 2013 Brand Marketing Plan, it was outlined that the County borders should improve welcome signage at key entry points. Working with the TODS (Tourism Oriented Directional Signs) organization, the Tourism Department will carry this project forward, leveraging the RED Programme funding for 2015, to improve the look of the signage leveraging the MyHaliburtonHighlands brand.

OCTA Culinary Project: $15,000 Following the 2014 Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance project, the Tourism Department will select initiatives provided in the final report to execute in market for 2015. Please refer to the January staff report on the Food & Culinary project for more information.

Attachments: Tourism Department 2015 Draft Budget.xls Overview of Travel Trade Rendezvous Partnership.doc HHOA Request for Funding.doc HHOA Letters of Support.pdf HHOA 2014 Actual, 2015 Budget.xls

Reviewed by: Jim Wilson, Chief Administrative Officer

Page 36 of 44 Overview of Travel Trade Rendezvous Partnership

Thank you for your consideration of the OHTO Travel Trade (TT) Partnership. In follow-up, this is what OHTO TT Partnership offers the County of Haliburton.

For Buy-in of 3,000.00 + HST, the County of Haliburton will receive:

- Representation by Holly Blefgen as your OHTO Travel Trade Project Coordinator at RVC 2015 and related functions and meetings with Travel Trade Buyers throughout the 2015 season. - Recognition as a Support Partner and inclusion in RVC 2015 Buyer’s presentation in OHTO’s Living Book concept presented on an iPad. This presentation with additional materials listed below will be provided to each respective Buyer met at RVC and follow- up meetings in a USB key format. Proposed issuance of 150-200 USB keys. - Each partner is introduced with a feature video clip and allocated two key pages that address the County of Haliburton’s destination position for travel trade and assets - products/services that will be determined by the County in consultation with myself to be market ready for ‘x’ marketplaces. - Each partner will be provided with a section for presentation of selected high resolution images that convey County of Haliburton’s key selling attributes that potentially will be incorporated into buyer’s marketing and promotional selling vehicles, eg. brochures, websites - Identification through an icon system of key experiential products/services available throughout the County of Haliburton and OHTO that will enable the Buyers to easily cross reference these assets within a map of OHTO and highlight proposed tour routes that correlate with the OHTO Tour Planner. - The icon system coordinates with OHTO Tour Planner that comprises a set of sample tour itineraries, a quantity of 3-5 itineraries per partner will include County of Haliburton, please see attached sample itinerary titled ‘Haliburton Rocks’ that provides the Buyer with a net price point and what is inclusive in this tour itinerary. These itineraries are invaluable to Buyers for it connects the dots on a theme basis as well provides critical logistical and costing details. - Exposure, recognition and contact information of selected Buyers from mature markets: United Kingdom, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, USA and from within Canada, outside of province. - Exposure, recognition and contact information of selected Buyers from emerging markets: China, India, Central and South America. - Progress report of all activities by the partnership will be provided by Holly Blefgen to the County of Haliburton pre and post RVC 2015 and as required throughout 2015. - Representation and the voice of the County of Haliburton will be requested to participate in partnership meetings and support opportunities that come forward through the partnership’s development and progress with travel trade throughout 2015.

- Holly Blefgen

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HALIBURTON HIGHLANDS OUTDOORS ASSOCIATION 6712 Gelert Rd. HALIBURTON, ONTARIO K0M 1S0 PHONE: 705-457-9664 FAX: 705-457-9503 email: [email protected]

October 30th, 2014

County of Haliburton P.O. Box 399 11 Newcastle Street Minden, ON K0M 2K0

Attention: Jim Wilson, County of Haliburton CAO/County Clerk Subject: Request for $10,000.00 Funding for 2015

In 2014 the HHOA received a generous grant of $10,000.00 from the County that was used for hatchery production of over 32,000 fish for stocking local waters. This funding also allowed the HHOA to promote a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities that help make the Haliburton Highlands an exceptional tourist destination.

In 2014, the HHOA received the Haliburton County Warden’s Award for our many years of important community service. We are proud to have been recognized for community service and believe that our work has a significant and positive impact on Tourism in the County. Additional 2014 accomplishments:

 The HHOA continues to grow and memberships have now reached 360.

 The HHOA obtained three grants totaling $18,000.00 in 2014, to purchase two new fish raceways (tanks) that have been installed in the hatchery.

 In addition to the community hatchery operation, archery, fly fishing and bass club tournaments are some of the activities available to residents and tourists through the HHOA.

 The Wild Game Dinner and auction in March netted over $8,000.00, a $3,000.00 increase from the previous year.

 The Chicken and Rib Dinner and auction in August almost doubled the previous year’s profits bringing in over $21,000.00.

 The third annual garage sale in July brought in $2,200.00.

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The HHOA has taken a number of cost cutting measures, the most significant being the reduction of the Office Administrator hours from 32 to 16 hours per week. The HHOA recently completed an energy audit that identified a number of significant cost savings that we will be taking advantage of this year. If we are able to match last year’s successful fundraising and are also awarded the requested funding from County, the HHOA will balance its budget in 2015.

County funding for 2015 will be used for:

 The HHOA will continue to support Tourism through our fish hatchery and stocking program, hatchery tours, exciting fundraising events, sponsoring other community groups at our resource center and promoting a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.

 The HHOA recently received an HCDC grant to help us promote tourism through improved marketing. The HHOA has hired Positive Media Productions to produce a promotional video to showcase HHOA activities in the County of Haliburton.

Many business owners in the Highlands believe that the HHOA’s work contributes to their success. Three letters of support from Highland businesses that depend on tourism are attached. (Outdoors Plus, Haliburton/Wedgewood RPM, Buttermilk Falls Resort)

HHOA 2014 budget final and 2015 budget estimate are attached.

Yours in Conservation,

Rex Henry HHOA President

Page 39 of 44 Page 40 of 44 Page 41 of 44 Page 42 of 44 Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association

2015 Revenue and Expense Estimate

2014 2015 % Actual Estimate Change

Revenue Grants 37,682 20,000 -46.9% Dedicated resources Membership Dues 6,270 6,270 0.0% Opportunity Donations 4,640 4,640 0.0% No change Deer Feed Sales 7,032 7,032 0.0% No change Hall Rental 3,230 3,230 0.0% No change Chicken & Rib Dinner 4,460 27,518 517.0% Challenge to repeat Wild Game Dinner 10,208 10,208 0.0% Opportunity Summer Raffle 2,415 2,415 0.0% No Change Yard Sale 2,813 2,813 0.0% Opportunity Merch. Sales, all other 1,514 1,514 0.0% No change Total Revenue 80,263 85,640 6.7%

Direct Expenses Wild Game Dinner 2,384 2,384 0.0% Chicken & Rib 5,098 6,255 22.7% Deer Feed 2,656 0 -100.0% Use current inventory Realty Taxes 691 691 0.0% Electricity 16,753 17,500 4.5% Opportunity Heating Oil 4,841 4,800 -0.8% Maintenance 7,303 7,303 0.0% Membership Drive 67 67 0.0% Insurance 3,627 3,700 2.0% Fish Food 4,539 4,600 1.3% Supplies 2,835 2,835 0.0% Fund Raising Expenses 1,254 1,254 0.0% Gen& Admin Employee Costs 36,669 21,669 -40.9% $15000 reduction Office 3,145 3,150 0.2% Professional fees 1,102 1,150 4.4% Bank Charges 1,391 1,350 -2.9% Advertising 1,222 1,222 0.0% Student Bursary/Training Programs876 900 2.8% Telephone /Internet 2,208 2,210 0.1% Misc. Expense 1,619 1,619 0.0% Total Expenses 100,279 84,659 -15.6%

Income ( Loss) Cash Basis -20,015 980 -105%

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