STRATEGIC TOURISM ACTION PLAN 2014 Orillia Farmers’ Market
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STRATEGIC TOURISM ACTION PLAN 2014 Orillia Farmers’ Market Jessica Johnston, Lindsay Peterson, Taylor Smith, Shauna Spencer, Jennifer Telford, and Andrea Turl 1 Orillia Farmers’ Market Strategic Tourism Action Plan Prepared For: The Orillia Farmers’ Market Council By Georgian College’s Tourism Management Students Jessica Johnston, Lindsay Peterson, Taylor Smith, Shauna Spencer, Jennifer Telford, and Andrea Turl 2 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL Orillia Farmers’ Market 50 Andrew Street South. Orillia ON, L3V 7T5 Dear: Orillia Farmers’ Market Council, We are proud to present to you the final product for the strategic tourism action plan on Orillia Farmers’ Market, and would like to thank you for all your contributions in making this possible. The report contains insightful information on the recommendations for possible future changes that would benefit the Orillia Farmers’ Market and address key issues the business currently faces. We hope that the information in this report will provide you with knowledgeable information and insights for future planning and implementation, to maintain and improve on the current position the Orillia Farmers’ Market holds. We hand over rights to the Orillia Farmers’ Market council in order for the information to be used both as guidelines and as business changes to the Orillia Farmers’ Market. We would like to thank you again for all your assistance in the creation of this document; we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. Tourism Management Students of Georgian College (Barrie) 2014 Regards The Tourism Management Students, Georgian College (Barrie) 2014 3 Signatures of Transmittal Georgian College Students: Andrea Turl Jennifer Telford Megan Stephen Jessica Johnston Taylor Smith Lindsay Peterson Shauna Spencer Orillia Farmers’ Market Council: Print Name Signature 4 Acknowledgements We would like to express our deepest appreciation to the Orillia Farmers’ Market for providing us with the opportunity to work with them as tourism management consultants throughout this Strategic Tourism Action Plan. We want you to know how honored we were to work with you during our final and most important semester of our three year Tourism Management Program. The insight and knowledge we have gained over the course of the semester would not have been accomplished without your help and support. We would also like to express our gratitude to our Georgian College professor, who has assisted us in the development of this Action Plan, Paul Burton. Thank you for guiding us and continuously offering your input in the process. Your feedback and mentoring has guided us to create what we believe to be a successful end product. We must also thank those whom have had input in our time at Georgian College throughout the three years we have been there. Our Most Sincerest Regards, Andrea Turl, Megan Stephen, Jennifer Telford, Taylor Smith, Jessica Johnston, Lindsay Peterson and Shauna Spencer 5 Executive Summary Purpose: The Strategic Action Plan for the Orillia Farmers’ Market is intended to serve as a guide for coordinating, practices in the future operation that best improve the company. This report has been developed in order to guide and recommend alternatives in order to identify areas of opportunity for the Orillia Farmers Market. This report has been formulated by the students of the Tourism Management Program at Georgian College (Barrie), with the help of the Orillia Farmers’ Market and our professor Paul Burton as well as the use of in-depth primary and secondary research performed by the students. The report outlines the stage the Orillia Farmers Market is currently at, then outlines the Key Issues it is facing briefly listed below: 1. How can O.F.M. strengthen its connection with the downtown main street merchants (BIA), and the downtown and waterfront? 2. How can the O.F.M attract more high quality producers and vendors? 3. How can the O.F.M. reposition itself as a demand generator in Orillia? 4. How can O.F.M. build more brand awareness to the desired target market? 6 The principles and guidelines have been strategically developed to move the organization forward from its current position to a more desirable product for its market. The principles are as follows: 1. To be a leader in Orillia’s agricultural tourism industry. 2. To appeal to visitors and residents as a major demand generator for the city of Orillia. 3. To remain a strong agricultural based and community focused organization. 4. To be a leader in sustainable (tourism) development within the community. 5. To preserve the integrity of a traditional, authentic farmers’ market and build on the heritage of Orillia and Simcoe County. The recommendations featured at the end of the report are based on the key issues the Orillia Farmers’ Market currently faces. The recommendations have been formulated to launch the Orillia Farmers’ Market into future success and growth, while developing a product that can be enjoyed by their Customers and Vendors. 7 Table of Contents Letter of Transmittal Page 2 Signatures of Transmittal Page 3 Acknowledgements Page 4 Executive Summary Page 5-6 Table of Contents Page 7-9 Situation Analysis Page 11 2.0 Product Analysis 2.1 Introduction Page 11 2.2 Background of Farmers’ Markets in Ontario Page 11-12 2.3 Background of Orillia Farmers’ Market Page 12-13 2.4 Nature of Experience Page 14-16 2.5 Brand Identification Page 16-17 2.6 Vendors Page 17-22 2.7 Summary of Product Analysis Page 22 3.0 Farmers’ Market Site Analysis 3.1 Introduction Page 23 3.2 Location Page 23-24 3.3 Shape Page 24-25 3.4 Carrying Capacity Page 25-26 3.5 Surrounding Area Page 26-27 3.6 Structures Page 27 3.7 Parking Page 27-28 3.8 Zoning, Bylaws and Scheduling Page 28-29 3.9 Features of Site Page 29 3.10 Amenities and Accessibility Page 30-31 3.11 Exposure Page 32 3.12 Climate and Seasonality Page 32 3.13 Summary of Site Analysis Page 33 4.0 Market Analysis 4.1 Current Demographics Orillia and Simcoe County Page 34-36 4.2 Market Segmentation Page 37 4.2.1 Market Segmentation Diagrams Page 37-38 4.2.2 Primary Market Page 39-40 4.3 Secondary Market Page 40 4.4 Implications Page 40-41 8 5.0 Marketing Analysis 5.1 Marketing Definition Page 42 5.2 Current Marketing Activities Page 42-43 5.3 Facebook Page 44-45 5.31 Facebook Situation Analysis Chart Page 46-47 5.4 Webpage Online Presence Page 48 5.41 Website Situation Analysis Page 49 5.5 Formal and Informal Partnerships Page 50 Summary Page 50-51 6.0 Competition Analysis 6.1 Direct Competition Locations Page 52 6.2 Competition Qualities Page 53 6.3 Barrie Farmers’ Market Page 54-55 6.4 Barrie Farmers’ Market Location Page 55 6.5 Gravenhurst Farmers’ Market Page 56 6.6 Gravenhurst Farmers’ Market Location Page 56-57 6.7 Bracebridge Farmers’ Market Page 57 6.8 Bracebridge Farmers’ Market Location Page 57-58 6.9 Secondary Competition Page 58-59 6.10 Implications Page 59 7.0 Community Analysis 7.1 Introduction Page 60 7.2 Orillia Overview Page 60-61 7.3 Demographic Characteristics Page 61-62 7.4 Major Demand Generators Page 62-66 7.5 Transportation and Accessibility Page 67 7.6 Implications Page 67 8.0 Regional Analysis 8.1 Introduction Page 68 8.2 Simcoe County Overview Page 68-70 8.3 Major Demand Generators Page 71-72 8.4 Unique Selling Points Page 72-74 8.5 Attractions Page 75-77 8.6 Transportation and Accessibility Page 77 8.7 Implications Page 78-79 9.0 Trends Introduction Page 80-81 9.1 Staycations Page 81 9.2 River Cruising Page 82 9.3 Mobile Technology Page 82-83 9 9.4 Agro-tourism Page 83-84 9.5 Healthy Eating Page 84 9.6 Implications Page 84-85 10.0 Business Environment 10.1 Introduction Page 86 10.2 Canada’s Business Environment Page 86-88 10.3 Ontario’s Business Environment Page 88-90 10.4 Simcoe County Business Environment Page 90-92 10.5 Orillia’s Business Environment Page 92-94 10.6 Business Environment of the Farmers’ Market Page 95-97 10.7 Implications Of Business Environment Page 97-98 11.0 S.W.O.T Analysis 11.1 Introduction Page 99 11.2 Strengths Page 99-101 11.3 Weaknesses Page 102 -103 11.4 Opportunities Page 103-105 11.5 Threats Page 105-106 11.6 Summary Page 106-107 12.0 Key Issues, Developmental Guidelines and Business Objectives 12.1 Key Issues and Definition Page 108-109 12.2 Principles and Developmental Guidelines Page 110-111 12.3 Business Objectives Page 112 13.0 Alternative Strategies and Strategic Direction 13.1 Strategy 1 – Commercialized Page 113-114 13.2 Strategy 2 –Themed-Historical Page 114-115 13.3 Strategy 3 – Community Food Hub Page 115-116 14.0 Strategic Direction Page 117-118 15.0 Recommendations 15.1 Page 120-122 15.2 Page 123-126 15.3 Page 127-129 15.4 Page 131-136 15.5 Page 137-145 15.6 Page 146-155 15.7 Page 156-162 15.8 Page 163-170 15.9 Page 171-198 10 16.0 Recommendation Phasing Chart Page 199 References Page 200-206 11 Situation Analysis 2.0 Product Analysis 2.1 Introduction The purpose of this product analysis is to assess the current situation of the Orillia Farmers’ Market. This analysis will give an overview of the current strengths, weaknesses, and threats of the farmers’ market. It will also focus on the nature of the experience of farmers’ markets and specifically the Orillia Farmers’ Market.