Town of Innisfil

TOURISM DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLAN

MARCH, 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 4

BACKGROUND ...... 9

THE VALUE OF TOURISM ...... 10

VISITOR-CENTRIC DESTINATION MANAGEMENT ...... 20

TOURISM DESTINATION MANAGEMENT DEFINED ...... 24

THE TOWN OF INNISFIL TDMP PLANNING PROCESS ...... 29

INNISFIL’S TOURISM ASSETS ...... 30

FRIDAY HARBOUR ...... 48

INNISFIL / LAKE SIMCOE WATERFRONT PROPERTY INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY ...... 54

SPORT TOURISM ...... 56

INNISFIL’S IDEAL GUESTS ...... 61

SUSTAINABILITY – GROWING TOURISM INTO THE FUTURE ...... 65

INNISFIL TDMP – FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 67

APPENDIX A: TDMP PLANNING PROCESS...... 75

APPENDIX B: RECOMMENDATIONS / ACTIONS SUMMARY ...... 77

APPENDIX D: EVENT LIST ...... 83

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Town of Innisfil, in partnership with Regional Tourism Organization 7 and on behalf of its tourism stakeholders invested in the creation of this Tourism Destination Management Plan (TDMP). Through an RFP process, Brain Trust Marketing and Communications (BT) in collaboration with GM Event Inc. was awarded the contract to develop a TDMP for Innisfil in December of 2015. BT’s role was to lead this project working with municipal staff, the Tourism Working Group (TWG) and broader tourism stakeholder interests.

We appreciate the dedication and contributions made by the Tourism Working Group:  Jennifer Dwyer, Harbour House Grill  Peter and Sandi Dickey, Dickey Bee Honey  Wes Shedler, Kempenfelt Conference Centre  Bruce Barbour, Georgian Downs  Suzanne Taylor and Jay Simmons, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation  Jeff Stovold, Lefroy Harbour Resorts  Kathy Simpson, South Simcoe Theatre Special thanks to James DiRenzo, CEO, Friday Harbour All Seasons Resort

We also benefited from the dedication demonstrated by municipal staff including:  Marc Seguin, Manager of Economic & Community Development  Brennan Kenny, Economic and Community Development Officer

Thank you for the leadership and support of Regional Tourism Organization 7:  Bill Sullivan, Executive Director  Alex Hogan, Project & Administration Manager

We would like to express our deepest appreciation to all those whose knowledge and expertise contributed to the iterative and developmental process which led to the findings and recommendations contained in this report.

Richard Innes Carolyn O’Donnell BRAIN TRUST Marketing & Communications

Grant MacDonald GM Event Inc.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 2 ACRONYMS USED IN THIS REPORT

B2B Business to Business BT Brain Trust Marketing & Communications BIA Business Improvement Area B&B Bed and Breakfast CSTA Canadian Sports Tourism Alliance DMO Destination Marketing Organization FH Friday Harbour All Seasons Resort MNR Ministry of Natural Resources MTCS Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport OTMPC Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation RFP Request for Proposal ROE Return on Emotion ROI Return on Investment RTO Regional Tourism Organization RV Recreational Vehicle SC Simcoe County TODS Tourism Orientation Destination Signage TSC Tourism Simcoe County SCEDO Simcoe County Economic Development Office SMERF Social, Medical, Educational Religious, Fraternal meetings and conferences sectors SMWPB Simcoe Muskoka Workforce Planning Board TOI Town of Innisfil TWG Tourism Working Group TDMP Tourism Destination Management Plan VFR Visiting Friends and Relatives

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Town of Innisfil continues to demonstrate its desire to enhance the economic well-being of its community and residents by investing in forward-thinking business and community development planning. Innisfil’s Council has recognized the importance of tourism promotion and investment and as such it is one of the strategic objectives in the council adopted Community-Based Strategic Plan (Inspiring Innisfil 2020). To that end, the municipality partnered with Regional Tourism Organization 7 (RTO7) to create its own tourism destination management plan. In November 2015, Brain Trust Marketing & Communications, a tourism consulting firm from Mississauga Ontario were retained to develop a Three-year Tourism Destination Management Plan (TDMP) for the Municipality.

The TDMP planning process started in December 2015. It was led by the Town of Innisfil staff under the guidance of a Tourism Working Group (TWG), identified leaders in Innisfil’s tourism industry. This group played a key role in validating the findings, observations and ultimate recommendations contained in the plan. A three-step process was followed as illustrated below.

Tourism destination management is a continuous process of investment and coordination between government, the private and not-for-profit sectors. The process ensures the strategic development of facilities, amenities, activities, services and experiences available to attract visitors while simultaneously providing business growth opportunities within the broader destination and its local communities. Innisfil’s TDMP will benefit those who currently or could potentially live, work and play in Innisfil by implementing tourism strategies and actions that enhance the community lifestyle attributes. This is in keeping with the premise of Innisfil’s “Our Place” strategy; the update to the official town plan.

The Town of Innisfil is located within provincially mandated RTO7 (BruceGreySimcoe), which is one of 13 provincial travel regions. Tourism Simcoe County (TSC) has led tourism-related activities within the County for seven years and is considered the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) for Innisfil. Funded by the County, TSC works with the 16 municipal partners and the tourism stakeholders within the County to develop and promote the attractiveness of the area to grow tourism visitation and revenue.

An assessment of Innisfil’s tourism businesses was a necessary first step to help define what Innisfil must offer. Using an Asset Assessment Template, businesses related to tourism were identified and listed under a variety of asset sectors. The compilation of these assets provided clarity around where the greatest opportunities are and where there is untapped potential for tourism development and promotion within Innisfil. The assessment identified 141 tourism assets and that detail is included in the plan (pgs. 29 – 46). In addition, the assessment included “sports tourism” related assets. These included the facilities and venues that are considered necessary to secure business from the highly competitive sports tourism market segment.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 4 Through the assessment process three unique themes were identified that differentiate Innisfil from other destinations: • Fast-Paced Entertainment (motorsports, harness racing, gaming, unique sports events) • Rural Retail & Arts (agri-tourism, antiques, hands-on experiences, unique/specialty shopping, artists, galleries, studio tours) • Friday Harbour All Seasons Resort

When fully developed, these assets have the potential to attract increased levels of tourism visitation and revenues. In addition, they have appeal to a specific “ideal guest” due to the fact they:  Have the greatest potential to engage specific visitors’ emotionally;  Generate a higher return on investment (ROI operator) and experience (ROE visitor);  Offer experiences that are unique only found in Innisfil, and;  Are near to being tourism market-ready.

Specific observations pertaining to Innisfil’s sports tourism opportunities suggest that there is sufficient inventory of event-ready sports venues. While the facilities exist, the sport specific and technical capabilities may not be readily available. It is also unclear as to community readiness; the capability to engage in the hosting of sports events and service visiting participants and spectators. And, given the limited accommodation in Innisfil, there would be a need to work proactively with accommodations partners in surrounding communities (Barrie, Simcoe County) to ensure that this critical requirement of attracting and hosting successful sporting events can be managed effectively.

As an emerging tourism destination, Innisfil has significant opportunity. Therefore, the recommendations contained in the plan call for the Municipality and it tourism stakeholders to take a disciplined approach to development, one that is focused and calls for a series of prioritized tactics implemented over time. Recommendations are grounded in three primary areas of focus:  Focused Collaboration  Strategic Tourism Development  Creating Awareness

With each of the areas of focus the planning assumption is that not all actions can happen at once. Collaboration and development occur prior to promotion/awareness.

Eleven Findings and Recommendations have been identified in Innisfil’s TDMP and are presented here in summary format:

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 5 Finding / Recommendation #1: The Tourism Industry in Innisfil is currently fragmented. Tourism business owner/operators are working independently from one another and there has not been overarching leadership. To compete for today’s visitor market Innisfil can identify, nurture and promote what is uniquely theirs. To do that the Municipality needs to take a leadership role and be the catalyst for grassroots tourism development. In addition, sports organizations have the capacity to manage effectively the delivery of programming for local sports activities and on occasion outside events. Recommendation: Town of Innisfil to be a Catalyst for Tourism Growth Including Sports Tourism Development

Finding / Recommendation #2: At present, the Town of Innisfil has not identified resources to advance tourism to the point where it is a vibrant sector. Fortunately, through the TDMP process, willing partners have emerged who are prepared to work with the Town to support collaborative efforts designed to raise the competitiveness and appeal of Innisfil through the outcomes presented in the TDMP. Recommendation: Strategically Align with Tourism Agencies (TSC, RTO7), other Municipalities and Stakeholders

Finding / Recommendation #3: Most tourism assets within Innisfil lack tourism market readiness; those practices that attract and service guests and provide them with unique and memorable experiences and therefore are underperforming (not operating at capacity, generating sufficient revenue, or operating with a sustainable business model). Businesses may not understand what it means to be a “Tourism Business”. There is an opportunity, therefore, to provide various levels of industry training to develop the skills of operators. Recommendation: Deliver Tourism Specific Training for Operators

Finding / Recommendation #4: At present Innisfil has limited commercial roofed accommodations (128 rooms) and camping/RV sites (107 transient sites). This negatively impacts the ability to grow tourism revenues into the future. The Town has demonstrated a willingness to work with developers, as evidenced by the Friday Harbour project. Innisfil, therefore, is well positioned to attract additional new hotel development given its location on the Hwy 400 corridor and the presence of select tourism demand generators (OLG / Georgian Downs, Kempenfelt Conference Centre). There is demonstrated interest from third party developers for new roofed accommodation in the near future beyond Friday Harbour’s planned 200-room hotel and conference centre. Recommendation: Town of Innisfil to Actively Engage Accommodation Developers

Finding / Recommendation #5: The majority of overnight guests to the Simcoe County stay with friends and relatives (Visiting Friends and Relatives = VFR). Since overnight guests spend more than day-trippers while in a destination, and Innisfil has limited commercial roofed accommodation, the greatest opportunity to grow economic impact of tourism is to increase the number of overnight stays from the VFR market segment. Increasing the number of VFR visits and encouraging higher-yield spending from this group is the opportunity. Recommendation: Grow the Incidence and Spending from the VFR Market

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 6 Finding / Recommendation #6: Most visitors to Simcoe County are same-day visitors or day trippers (66%). These same-day visitors currently spend below the provincial average ($77 per person per day trip compared to $83).  In 2012 there were almost 6 million day visitors to Simcoe County  Increasing the amount each person spends to meet the provincial average ($6.00) has the potential to grow tourism revenues to the County by at least $36 million annually, localizing this thinking to Innisfil would have a positive economic impact. Recommendation: Grow Length of Stay and Spending of Day-Trippers

Finding / Recommendation #7: Innisfil has a good mix of indoor and outdoor sports infrastructure, however, there has not been a strategic approach to sports tourism development or event attraction. Using existing sports infrastructure and other assets within the community can create a unique selling proposition. There is interest in developing new events bid, outdoor participation events, multi-sport events and sports meetings. Using the defined outcomes for sports tourism, there is a need to establish and implement a consistent means of evaluating or scoring event opportunities. For example, if events are going to be measured by economic impact or increase to GDP because of hosting, a consistent economic impact forecast model should be implemented for consistency, accountability, and transparency. Recommendation: Develop a Five-Year Target List for Sport Tourism Events

Finding / Recommendation #8: The Town acquired a 20-acre parcel of lakefront land adjacent to Friday Harbour. This property, not yet developed, presents a significant capital investment opportunity for the Town of Innisfil and the broader community in a tourism context. Utilizing the visitor assets found at neighbouring FH the town should explore investing in the development of complementary infrastructure and programming on this property that provides additional reasons to visit the area while supporting investments made at Friday Harbour. Recommendation: Pursue Possibilities for a Town of Innisfil Lakefront Land Development Investment Concept

Finding / Recommendation #9: There is an opportunity to enhance the online presence of Innisfil’s tourism operators’ (websites, TripAdvisor, Facebook). The Town of Innisfil website provides very basic tourism information thereby leaving guests that want to visit with a lack of relevant information (sports facilities are showcased well on the Town website). Recommendation: Improve Innisfil’s Online Presence / Customer Engagement

Finding / Recommendation #10: In discussions with the TOI and the Working Group it was clear that residents and business owners may not be aware of what Innisfil has to offer and therefore Innisfil’s “Ideal Guest” markets (VFR, day-tripper, and sports tourism) are currently untapped. Recommendation: Equip and Empower Locals to be Tourism Ambassadors

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 7 Finding / Recommendation #11: While Recommendation #9 focuses on leveraging internal audiences to promote Innisfil’s tourism experiences, there is a need to also focus on reaching external audiences, specifically Innisfil’s Ideal Guests that are from away by creating awareness and demand that will attract new visitors. Recommendation # 2 focuses on establishing synergies with key tourism organizations such as Tourism Simcoe County and RTO7. Recommendation: Promote “Fast-Paced Entertainment” and “Rural Retail and Arts” to External Audiences and Create a Targeted Sports Tourism Sales Strategy

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 8 BACKGROUND

Innisfil is a town in Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe in Simcoe County, immediately south of Barrie and 80 kilometers north of Toronto. It has historically been a rural area, but growth in the Barrie area and the Greater Toronto Area has meant greater residential development in Innisfil over the past several years. In 2011, Innisfil had a population of 33,079, representing an increase of 6.1% from 2006 (slightly higher than the national average growth). Innisfil is forecasting high levels of growth. By 2031, the population is expected to grow by 70% (56,000 residents). 1 Situated on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, Innisfil has miles of waterfront and water-based recreational activities. The growing lakeside community offers country living, breathtaking views, walking trails, parks, marinas, shopping, entertainment, and dining.

Simcoe County resides in the provincially assigned regional tourism area known as RT07 or BruceGreySimcoe, which was incorporated in December 2010. RTO7 provides strategic and collaborative leadership to build, sustain and grow tourism in the region comprised of Bruce, Grey and Simcoe Counties.

In December 2014, RTO7 completed a 3-year strategic plan, from which the organization’s 2015/16 (and future) business plans were developed. Included in this plan were opportunities for the alignment of activities between RTO7 and its stakeholders. Partnership funding was developed as a principal mechanism to accomplish that goal and made the completion of this plan possible in partnership with the Town of Innisfil.

Innisfil’s Council has recognized the importance of tourism promotion and investment and as such it is one of the strategic objectives in the council adopted Community-Based Strategic Plan (Inspiring Innisfil 2020). The Strategic Plan sets out the overarching goals and strategies that are meant to guide the Town’s strategic and policy initiatives. The Strategy highlights that there has been a shift from previous thinking, where Innisfil was a “community of communities”. “Now, Innisfil strives to be one community, connected through shared values and goals to make Innisfil a unified Town and a great place to live, work, shop and play. “Our Place” will be a visionary Official Plan document, expanding on the existing policies in place today and integrating and embedding the principles of Place Making as identified by the people of Innisfil.”2

In October 2015, RTO7, on behalf of and in partnership with the Town of Innisfil, invited proposals to provide services for the development of a three-year destination development plan for the Municipality. In November 2015, Brain Trust Marketing & Communications, a tourism consulting firm from Mississauga Ontario were awarded the contract. Work on the Tourism Destination Management Plan commenced in December 2015 and continued through to October 2016.

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innisfil 2 Our Place Innisfil – Official Plan Update. Town of Innisfil. April 2016.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 9 THE VALUE OF TOURISM

Definition of Tourism: "Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes."3

Tourism is an economic driver and a source of full-time and seasonal jobs. It provides support to governments at all levels through tax revenues generated, which can then be reinvested into infrastructure, health care, education, research, and social service programs among other things. Travel is one of the fastest growing industries in the world; the demand for travel continues to increase and the competition for visitors is fierce, particularly from emerging destinations, some of which are growing at a rate of 13% per year.4

Innisfil as a community is competing for visitors with other destinations within the province but also nationally and globally. Understanding current global, national and provincial tourism trends is important for Innisfil’s tourism industry as they explore tourism development within their community and at the operator level.

THE TOURISM LANDSCAPE

Global Long-term projections to 2030 see emerging economies garnering 57% of international arrivals (up from 30% in 1980) and advanced economies (which includes Canada) securing 43% of the market.

In January 2015, the UNWTO reported that International tourist arrivals grew by 4.4% in 2015 to reach a total of 1.2 billion in 2015, per the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Some 50 million more tourists (overnight visitors) travelled to international destinations around the world last year as compared to 2014. 2015 marks the 6th consecutive year of above-average growth, with international arrivals increasing by 4% or more every year since the post-crisis year of 2010. 5

By region, Europe, the Americas and Asia and the Pacific all recorded around 5% growth in 2015. Arrivals to the Middle East increased by 3% while in Africa, limited data available points to an estimated 3% decrease, mostly due to weak results in North Africa, which accounts for over one-third of arrivals in the region.

3 United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 4 World Tourism Organization. (2013). UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2013 Edition. (pg. 2.) 5 World Tourism Organization (2015), UNWTO International Tourism Arrivals

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 10 National

Nationally, tourism activity generated $88.5 billion in revenues in 2014 and Canada’s tourism sector accounted for $34.4 billion in Gross Domestic Product. The sector employed more than 627,000 people in over 170,000 businesses.6

Total international arrivals (Year to date July 2016) increased by 11% over the same period last year accounting for 11.2 million visitors and during the same period. From January to June 2016, overnight arrivals from Destination Canada’s (DC) 11 global markets (10 overseas markets + the US) grew by 10.2% to 7.0 million visitors. DC’s growth from their global markets saw Asia-Pacific (+14.6%) and Latin America (14.1%) leading the way, followed by the US (+10.0%) and Europe (+6.5%). US travellers arriving by air increased 18%.7

Provincial In 2012 Ontario’s tourism industry8 contributed more ($28.1 billion) to Ontario’s economy than mining ($5.6 billion), pharmaceuticals and biotechnology ($9 billion) and advanced medical technologies ($4 billion) sectors combined.

In 20159:  U.S. border crossings to Ontario increased 9.1%;  Entries from overseas markets grew 8.9%;  Canadian outbound trips to the U.S. decreased 14.2% but increased +11.6% to overseas international destinations;  Hotel occupancy was up 1.1% to reach 65.2%;  Average Daily Rate was $138.62, +5.8%, and;

6 Canadian Tourism Commission, Statistics Canada, International Travel Survey, Tourism Snapshot, 2014. 7 Destination Canada, Tourism Snapshot, June 2016 8 Statistics Canada’s Travel Survey of the Residents of Canada and International Travel Survey; Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, 2012. 9 Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, 2015

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 11 The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport’s (MTCS) mandate is to help build a strong innovative economy in Ontario through strategic support and investments in three key sectors of the economy – tourism, culture and sport and recreation. MTCS is committed to protecting and promoting what Ontarian’s value: a strong economy that creates good jobs and provides the services that Ontarians need, a province that is an internationally-recognized tourism destination with strong and stable cultural, sport and recreational sectors.10

The table below illustrates the economic values of the culture, tourism, and sports sectors and shows the economic impacts compared to investments made. While all sectors provide beneficial returns sports programs by far have the highest economic impact to investment ratio at 680:1.

Table 1: MTCS 2013-14 Sector Investment and Economic Impact

Sector Economic Impact Estimates Ratio Notes 2013 2013-14

Culture Program $21 B $244M 86 to 1

Tourism Program $23B $135M 170 to 1 2 X Culture

Sport, Recreation $17B* 2 X Tourism and Community $51M 333 to 1 (just sport sector) 4 X Culture Programs

5 X Tourism Sport Programs $17B* $25M 680 to 1 8 X Culture

According to the Canadian Sports Tourism Alliance (CSTA), sport tourism was a $5.2 billion segment of Canada’s tourism industry and is Canada’s fastest growing tourism segment in 2012. These are the most recent numbers but with the growth of sports events and activities over the past 3 years, this number is sure to increase.

10 Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Published Results-Based Plan 2014-15. http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/about/rbp_2014_15.shtml#appendix

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 12 In 2012 Ontario residents accounted for the majority of visits (86%) and spending (62%). Table 2 shows visits and spending by visitor origin. Table 2: Visits and Spending in Ontario - 2012

Visits and Spending in Ontario Origin 2012 Total Ontario Other Canada US Overseas Total Person Visits 141,177,700 120,573,500 6,716,600 11,691,200 2,196,400 Length of Stay Overnight 49,537,300 37,587,600 4,340,000 5,883,200 1,726,600 Same-Day 91,640,400 82,985,900 2,376,600 5,808,100 469,800 Total Visitor Spending in Region Total Visitor Spending 22,037,020,000 13,553,107,000 2,234,019,000 3,338,304,000 2,911,591,0 Overnight 14,386,158,000 6,897,953,000 2,006,072,000 2,885,901,000 2,596,232,000 Same-Day 7,650,862,000 6,655,154,000 227,947,000 452,403,000 315,359,0000 Itemized Visitor Spending in Region 0 Transportation 7,707,535,000 4,677,598,000 849,758,000 781,105,000 1,399,074,0 Accommodation 3,436,958,000 1,547,696,000 440,813,000 938,003,000 510,445,0000 Food & Beverage 6,171,622,000 4,355,663,000 628,027,000 762,319,000 425,613,000 Recreation/Entertainment 1,825,415,000 1,109,955,000 118,483,000 432,768,000 164,209,000 Retail/Other 2,895,492,000 1,862,195,000 196,937,000 424,109,000 412,251,000 0 65% of visits were same-day (day trip) visits driven by Ontario residents and most trips were to visit friends and relatives (VFR) (45%) or for pleasure (34%).

Looking ahead, Ontario visits are forecasted11 to grow an average of 1.6% per year from 2014 to 2018, while visitor spending is projected to increase by an average of 6.4% per year. By 2018, total visits are forecast to reach 154 million with visitor spending of $30 billion. Visits among Ontario residents are forecast to increase between 2014 and 2018, with an average annual growth rate of 1.4%. Other Canada visits are forecast to increase an average of 3.2% per year. U.S. visits declined in 2014, but are forecast to grow in 2015-2018, averaging +1.5% per year. The overseas market is forecast to grow over the next 5 years at an average of 7.5% per year, especially from China with 13% annual growth.

11 Ontario Ministry Tourism, Culture and Sport, 2014. The Ontario tourism outlook is based on an econometric model which includes the following variables: GDP, CPI, Exchange Rates, and Gas Prices. http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/research/business_outlook/outlook.shtml

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 13 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TOURISM IN SIMCOE COUNTY

Tourism activities have a positive economic impact on the communities within Simcoe County. The following overview provides a snapshot of the primary tourism performance indicators within the County. Data is based on Statistics Canada’s 2012 Travel Survey of Residents of Canada and International Travel Survey released by MTCS in Jan 2015.

VISITATION AND SPENDING IN SIMCOE COUNTY Table 3: Visitation and Spending in Simcoe County - 2012

Visits and Spending in Simcoe Origin County 2012 Total Ontario Other Canada US Overseas Total Person Visits 9,176,695 8,947,238 69,713 107,435 52,309 Length of Stay Overnight 3,155,215 2,962,715 69,713 80,444 42,344 Same-Day 6,021,479 5,984,522 - 26,991 9,966 Total Visitor Spending in Region Total Visitor Spending 1,014,423,323 960,008,862 937,062,942 22,945,920 26,246,047 Overnight 550,157,351 498,026,799 475,080,879 22,945,920 25,682,758 Same-Day 464,265,972 461,982,063 461,982,063 - 563,289

Figure 1: Spending per Category in Simcoe County - 2012

400,000,000 350,000,000 300,000,000 250,000,000 200,000,000 150,000,000 100,000,000 50,000,000 -

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 14 Simcoe County saw an increase in spending and visits in 2012 compared to 2011.

Table 4: Visits and Spending in Simcoe County 2011 and 2012 Comparison

Simcoe County Visits and Spending Year: 2012 compared to 2011 2011 2012 Total visits 9,159,940 9,176,695 Total Spending 867,085,892 1,014,423,323 Average per person per overnight visit $127 $174 Average per person per same-day visit $77 $77

VISITOR ORIGINS In terms of origin markets within an Ontario context, the highest number of visitors come from Toronto and within Simcoe County. Other key markets include the regions of York. Peel, Halton, and Durham.

Table 5: Visitor Origins of Key Markets to Simcoe County - 2012

Simcoe County: Origin Person Visits - 2012 of Trip - Primary Toronto 1,936,085 Simcoe County 1,864,471 York Region 919,272 Peel Region 877,786 Halton Region 722,055 Durham Region 385,575

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 15 LENGTH OF STAY, PERSON VISITS The length of stay is a key indicator of tourism visitation. Successful destinations strive to maximize overnight visitation, especially overnights spent in paid commercial accommodations, as opposed to VFR. Recognizing that all visitors won’t stay overnight, those that do have a greater impact on the local economy as they tend to spend more on tourism services. Simcoe County has more same day than overnight visits. In 2012, Simcoe County saw a very slight decrease in overnight stays and a very slight increase in same- day visits.

Table 6: Length of Stay in Simcoe County 2011 to 2012 Comparison

% Length of Stay 2011 2012 Change Overnight 3,178,548 3,155,215 -1% Same Day 5,981,391 6,021,479 +1%

The primary focus of the TDMP recommendations and actions will be to positively impact overnight visitation to Innisfil

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 16 ACCOMMODATION TYPE, PERSON VISITS The type of accommodations overnight guests choose determines economic impact. Those staying in paid commercial roofed accommodations like a hotel, motel, B&B, resort or lodge (672,755 overnight person trips in 2012) have the greatest impact. In Simcoe County this accounted for 21% of overnight person trip stays in 2012; 5% of overnight stays were at a campground or RV park. However, the largest portion of overnight stays was in a private home or cottage, representing 2.2 million stays or 70% of all overnight stays. This is shown in Table 7.

Table 7: Accommodations by Type (Person Visits) in Simcoe County - 2012

Number of Nights by Accommodation Type Total Ontario Other Canada US Overseas

Nights in roofed commercial 672,755 606,633 21,423 27,341 17,359

Nights in hotels 425,480 382,864 12,234 16,899 13,484

Nights in motels 70,914 57,129 9,189 3,624 972

Nights in commercial cottage/cabins 83,638 72,876 - 6,818 3,943

Nights in “other” roofed commercial 97,879 96,579 1,301 - -

Nights in camping/RV facilities 169,765 155,026 13,411 - 1,327

Nights in private homes/cottages 2,209,437 2,116,301 34,069 39,812 19,254

Nights in private homes 1,463,878 1,371,104 34,069 39,451 19,254

Nights in private cottages 747,087 745,198 - 1,889 -

Nights in other 111,142 89,145 1,778 14,422 5,797

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 17 MAIN PURPOSE OF TRIP, PERSON VISITS In Simcoe County, there is an equal split between visitors who are motivated to visit for pleasure and visiting friends and relatives (VFR).

Figure 2: Main Purpose of Trip (person visits)

4,500,000 4,000,000 3,500,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 - Pleasure VFR Business Shopping Other Conventions Study Personal (Personal)

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 18 ACTIVITIES PARTICIPATED IN, BY ORIGIN Outdoor Recreation and Sports has by far the most participation (23% of total visitors) in Simcoe County. Within any outdoor/sports, activity category boating (465,436) and downhill skiing/snowboarding (277,410) have the highest participation followed by fishing and golfing as shown in figure 3.

Figure 3: Activity Participation in Simcoe County 2012

2,500,000

Downhill 2,000,000 Skiing/ Boarding Boating Hunting 25% 42% 1,500,000 1% Fishing 23% 1,000,000

Golfing 500,000 9%

-

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 19 VISITOR-CENTRIC DESTINATION MANAGEMENT

Tourism destination management is a continuous process of investment and coordination between government, the private and not-for-profit sectors. The process ensures the strategic development of facilities, amenities, activities, services and experiences available to attract visitors while simultaneously providing business growth opportunities within the broader destination and its local communities.

The visitor must be at the heart of this collaborative process. This is critical to leverage the contributions from all levels of government, the public and private sector (Figure 4).

By understanding the benefits travellers are seeking, combined with their attitudes, values, motivations for travel and their demographic profile, businesses and destinations are in a stronger position to evaluate the alignment of their current offering. Figure 4: Visitors Must Be at the Heart of Destination Destination management involves many players, from an individual tourism operator through Management to the national destination marketing organization (Destination Canada, formerly the Canadian Tourism Commission). It’s common for the customer to get lost between organizations, initiatives, mandates, and priorities. Further, while excellent research is conducted by these players, the application of this knowledge into the daily operations of individual businesses is less common.

A visitor-centric destination management plan provides the mechanism to synchronize efforts around more tangible objectives, thus making it easier for organizations to collaborate and leverage resources.

The goal for Innisfil is to identify and understand the ideal guest with the greatest potential to impact tourism growth. The aim is to ensure infrastructure, activity, and program-based businesses (see Figure 6) collaborate in ways that create a compelling and differentiated invitation for the guest to visit and revisit (Figure 5).

It is important to note, not all businesses will share the same visitor profile as the destination’s ideal guest. While these businesses may not directly benefit from the activities that evolve out of the destination management plan, they will indirectly benefit from broader Figure 5: Destination Potential tourism growth that will result from this focused and collaborative approach.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 20 MAKING THE SHIFT Creating memorable travel experiences, engaging activities, and effectively managing the built and natural infrastructure within Innisfil are essential to raising the bar in relation to competitive appeal, pricing, profits and value. This is based on having a range of travel assets from undifferentiated, low emotion and engagement (e.g., a lake, trail, or museum), to those that connect emotionally with visitors to differentiate and influence price point (e.g., storyteller, musician or interpretive guide). All these elements are needed in the mix.

To make the shift to a visitor-centric approach, it is important to shift from focusing on: What is there for visitors to do in Innisfil? Who is the ideal guest? To: What benefits are our ideal guests seeking? How do we deliver unforgettable experiences? What can we offer our ideal guest that is uniquely ours? How do we layer on engagement and emotion?

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 21 RAISING THE BAR ON ENGAGEMENT AND EMOTION Things have changed. Over the past century, tourism in Canada was built on putting the infrastructure in place (roads, hotels, restaurants, designating heritage properties, etc.); this created the platform for creating access and opportunities to welcome visitors. Activity based tourism then began to flourish as people looked for ways to enjoy Canada. Then, with time and frequency of travel, demand began to shift towards finding ways to connect with people in ways that were meaningful, relevant, inspiring and engaging (Figure 3).

The metrics of success for the types of businesses that own/operate or manage these place and infrastructure assets were highly focused on optimizing a positive return on investment and differentiation was largely based on the quality of services - for example, the star rating system with hotels. By layering activities, then programs and ways to connect with local people, tourism businesses and destinations began to differentiate themselves based on both their physical assets and their emotional appeal, as this occurred, the ability to drive tourism based on return on investment (ROI) and return on emotion (ROE) emerged. This is now creating a new way to look at increasing competitive appeal and adding product lines that deliver on value, where visitors are willing to pay a premium for a personalized and engaging experience.

Figure 6: Raising the Bar Place & Infrastructure Assets: High fixed costs, need visitor volume &/or base funding. Examples: Hotels, historic sites, parks, attractions, theatres, restaurants, transportation, sports facilities & tour operators who own their transportation.

Activity & Services Assets: Fixed cost related to activity, need steady volume but often smaller groups. Examples: Fishing outfitters/charters, artisans, horse-drawn sleigh rides.

Program & People Assets: (1) No or low fixed costs, typically low volume, highly specialized. Examples: Guiding companies, storytellers, musicians, experience brokers (2) Use other’s infrastructure; Need volume, e.g., festival and small tour operators.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 22 A MAJOR SHIFT IS REQUIRED In the context of effective destination management, tourism stakeholders within Innisfil must move from “supply-side” thinking (listing the tourism assets as places to go and things to do) to “demand side” thinking (creating an invitation to come, discover, and engage).

While this may appear to be a challenging task, it has the potential to be a rewarding and fruitful undertaking given that unique tourism attractors and quality infrastructure based assets already exist in Innisfil. Focusing on infrastructure assets through thoughtful experience development along with a clustering of connected and well-themed offerings provides a good foundation for future destination management.

To illustrate12, take the small community of Dawson Creek, located in northern British Columbia (590 km from Edmonton, AB; 1200 km from Vancouver, BC). Their initial invitation was to encourage visitors to come and participate in “17 Things to Do in Dawson” by driving along one of three routes that featured things to see and do in geographical places. Stakeholders were thrilled with this approach. However, after much effort and promotion, the results were disappointing as guests didn’t accept the invitation in any significant way.

In the Dawson Creek example, the places to go and things to do were not targeted to traveller types and the benefits they seek, or to their travel motivations. Marketing and promotion focused on a general approach to informing visitors what is available. This approach didn’t work. However, the destination marketing organization (DMO) learned that by focusing on specific ideal guest profiles, Tourism Dawson Creek was able to work with tourism stakeholders in the community and the region to develop their first visitor-centric experience route. By focusing on what motivates a traveller, identifying the tourism assets aligned with those interests and weaving them together with a story, they were able to increase interest in both the VFR (visiting friends and relatives) market as well as their core long-haul markets, such as RV owners and motor coach operators.

12 Example - The Tourism Café, Dr. Nancy Arsenault, used with permission

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 23 TOURISM DESTINATION MANAGEMENT DEFINED

A considerable amount of attention has recently been given to a shift in thinking and understanding regarding the role of traditional DMOs. For many, the role has expanded to include more than just the marketing of the destination. The shift has occurred as a result of DMOs, governments, and tourism industry stakeholders coming to the realization that marketing the same reasons to visit year after year is not generating growing levels of tourism visitation or revenue. In addition, the marketplace has become more competitive, prompting astute tourism leaders to adopt a holistic approach to tourism. They’ve come to realize creating new or enhanced reasons to visit, along with supporting the enhancement of tourism infrastructure and services is more than marketing. In fact, many have changed the “M” in DMO from Marketing to Management.

That’s the approach Innisfil is taking, therefore it is important to have a clear understanding of tourism destination management. Through the steps of the destination management development process within Innisfil, municipal staff and tourism stakeholders have embraced the following definition:

Tourism Destination Management: A continuous process of coordinating, investing, developing and marketing the tourism potential of a destination in ways that provides value to visitors, businesses, and communities.13

More specifically, undertaking proactive tourism destination management in an Innisfil context:

 Demonstrates the Municipality’s commitment to impact its economy through tourism development;  Manages expectations; is realistic where Innisfil is at currently and what can be accomplished in 1–5 years;  Is specific; identifies strategies / tactics and who does what, when and how, and;  Recognizes the TDMP can’t meet all industry needs at once and that a timely and prioritized roll-out of actions is required.

13 Brain Trust Marketing & Communications, The Tourism Café, 2014

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 24 THE TOWN OF INNISFIL’S OVER-ARCHING TDMP DIRECTION

The TDMP has been built on a foundational direction understood and validated through the industry engagement phase of the project. That direction has led to the creation of this overarching TDMP direction:

Innisfil’s Tourism Destination Management Plan is designed to prioritize and coordinate the actions required by government AND stakeholders to enhance the appeal and competitiveness of Innisfil in order to drive increased levels of tourism visitation and revenue for tourism operators within the Municipality.

Innisfil’s TDMP will benefit those who currently or could potentially live, work and play in Innisfil by implementing tourism strategies and actions that enhance the community lifestyle attributes. This is in keeping with the premise of Innisfil’s “Our Place” strategy; the update to the official town plan.

Inherent in this process will be the opportunity to link tourism destination management and development with other aspects of municipal responsibility, including culture and recreation. Logical synergies will be a by-product of the work identified in the TDMP.

Innisfil’s TDMP represents not only an opportunity to establish a prioritized approach for tourism development, it also has the potential to set Innisfil apart from other destinations through the identification, development, and promotion of “unique differentiators”. The supply side approach sets the stage for positioning the destination like so many others within the Province of Ontario. However, utilizing a demand side approach aligned with the identification of Innisfil’s unique tourism assets presents the opportunity for Innisfil to rise above the competition and attract incremental visitation based on the appeal of the unique tourism asset featured.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 25 TOURISM ORGANIZATIONAL ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Figure 7: Tourism Organizational Roles and Responsibilities

International marketing efforts. Promote market ready products and experiences. Provides tools DC and research to Canadian tourism businesses. International and domestic marketing efforts. Provides research and resources . MTCS Promote market ready products and experiences. Strategic marketing, product development, workforce Regional Tourism development and Organization investment attraction. (RTO7) Countywide tourism development Countywide Tourism and promotion activities. (Tourism Simcoe County) Local tourism development, Local Tourism Organization marketing of the area’s tourism to target markets. (Town of Innisfil, BIAs, Visitor information services. Chambers) Local tourism operators working together under an umbrella for networking, joint marketing, Grass Roots Tourism Businesses product development and education.

It is important to consider the Town of Innisfil’s relationships with other key tourism organizations in the development of the TDMP. In particular, the opportunities to leverage and influence activities of Tourism Simcoe County and RTO7 have been considered and are reflected in the findings and recommendations.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 26 SYNERGY WITH REGIONAL TOURISM ORGANIZATION 7 The Town of Innisfil is located within a provincially mandated Regional Tourism Organization 7 (BruceGreySimcoe), which is one of 13 provincial travel regions. As such, Innisfil has the opportunity to work alongside this organization to advance Innisfil’s appeal and competitiveness while supporting the region’s competitive advancement as well. Map 1 below shows the geographic area of Region 7.

Map 1: RTO7 Tourism Area

The four core areas of focus for RTO7 (as mandated by MTCS) are:  Product Development  Workforce Development  Investment Attraction  Marketing and Promotion

RTO7 has been very involved in Innisfil’s TDMP process and opportunities to enhance synergies have been stated as a critical outcome of this plan. Moving forward with a collective voice and identified priorities, Innisfil’s tourism industry will be in a better position to work strategically with RTO7 to truly leverage opportunities to develop and promote Innisfil’s tourism assets.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 27 SYNERGY WITH TOURISM SIMCOE COUNTY Tourism Simcoe County (TSC) has effectively led the tourism-related activities within the County for seven years and is considered the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) for the region in which Innisfil is located. Funded by the County, TSC works with the 16 municipal partners and the tourism stakeholders within the County to develop and promote the attractiveness of the area in order to grow tourism visitation and revenue.

The County of Simcoe 2014 Strategic Plan states as a priority: “Economic & Destination Development Definition: Create and strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders to develop economic opportunities in response to the changing demographics of the County and to provide a rich cultural experience for both local residents and tourists visiting the area. Strategic Priority#1: Expand the role of the County in promoting economic development and tourism.”

To this end, TSC takes proactive steps to present the many tourism opportunities available through a variety of promotional tools including its tourism website http://experience.simcoe.ca. TSC operates a visitor information centre and attends several, travel-related shows and marketplaces. The County also makes funding available to its municipal partners in order to create grassroots development and promotional initiatives that are in line with the County’s strategic directions.

Through the consultation phase of the work of the TDMP senior staff at TSC have expressed a willingness to understand and engage in the tourism development initiatives of the Town of Innisfil and will take an active role to support the initiatives detailed in this plan.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 28 THE TOWN OF INNISFIL TDMP PLANNING PROCESS

The TDMP planning process started in December 2015 and was led by the Town of Innisfil staff under the guidance of a Tourism Working Group (TWG). Brain Trust Marketing & Communications (BT) a Mississauga based tourism consulting firm, facilitated activities related to the process.

The critical steps shown in figure 8 below were part of the planning process.

Figure 8: TDMP Planning Process

Stage 1: Stage 2: Stage 3: Client Briefing Gathering Evidence Setting Direction

Literature Review Affirmation of work plan Draft Plan and deliverables Industry Interviews

Tourism Asset Communications Plan Assessment Actions Stakeholder Vision Sessions

Details of the planning process are included in Appendix A.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 29 INNISFIL’S TOURISM ASSETS

An assessment of Innisfil’s tourism businesses was a necessary step to help define what Innisfil has to offer relative to the infrastructure, activities and programs and people that visitors can experience. (See Figure 6, Raising the Bar Model). Using an Asset Assessment Template, businesses related to tourism were identified and listed under a variety of asset sectors or types. The compilation of these assets provided clarity around where the greatest opportunities are and where there was/is untapped potential for tourism development and promotion.

NOTE: The asset assessment IS NOT an inventory of all tourism assets in the Municipality. It is an attempt to capture the vast majority of tourism assets using a number of sources in order to inform the TDMP process. For example, the majority of tourism assets are listed on the municipal website, in the tourism visitor guide, the Farm Fresh directory or other business directories. These lists were utilized as the foundation of our identification process. Online research went deeper to identify other tourism assets that may not be listed and was done through the lens of a potential visitor. If a tourism business could be easily found through a website search it was included, if it wasn’t readily accessible it may have been missed. Information pertaining to Friday Harbour Fours Seasons Resort was obtained through consultation with FH’s senior management as well as several site visits on the property. There is confidence among the TWG, municipal staff, and the consultants that the vast majority of assets have been captured therefore providing a solid basis for tourism asset assessment and planning.

TOURISM ASSET SUMMARY

The assessment template is not to be considered a tourism asset inventory. Businesses that are not effective at online marketing and any newly established businesses may not have been included.

Visitation trends are noted in each section. The primary source of the data is from the MTCS Simcoe County Tourism Profile, compiled by Statistics Canada for 2012 (the latest available data). These trends are not available for all tourism asset types but where they are included they provide a context in terms of the levels of participation and visitor spending.

The Assessment Template on the following page identifies 141 tourism assets, shown by tourism category. Most of the assets fall into the infrastructure category, followed by activity service based assets and people program based assets. See Raising the Bar graphic, Figure 6, page 21.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 30 Table 8: Innisfil's Asset Assessment Summary - 2016

INFRASTRUCTURE- INNISFIL’S TOURISM ACTIVITY-SERVICE PEOPLE-PROGRAM PLACE BASED ASSETS BASED COMPANIES BASED COMPANIES COMPANIES Hotels, restaurants, Guiding companies, Kayak or canoeing heritage sites, parks, storytellers, artists, TYPICAL BUSINESSES companies, outfitters, theatre, sports facilities, musicians, experience tour operators. museums. brokers, festivals. No or low fixed costs, use High fixed costs, another person's typically operate year- Moderate fixed infrastructure. Cater to round, need volume or infrastructure costs, small niche and custom CHARACTERISTICS on-going base funding often seasonal, target groups, low volume, (e.g. parks), target mass smaller niche groups. higher spending per and niche markets experience required, with the exception of festivals 3 traditional roofed accommodations 2 camping/RV parks 8 festivals/events 24 non-traditional roofed

accommodation options There is a total of 18 People with special 27 restaurants activity based assets talents in the area 15 unique retailers INNISFIL ASSETS TODAY include: 6 culture based assets 2 photographers 17 heritage based 17 artists assets

5 natural assets

3 locations offering trails 17 Agri-culinary companies

* some assets fit more than one category. Not all asset categories are shown in the chart above. More details are provided in the sections to follow.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 31 INFRASTRUCTURE- PLACE-BASED ASSETS

The infrastructure-place based category includes many of the typical assets that one would associate with tourism. While these are positioned low in terms of the level of engagement, personalization, connections and value, they are important foundations of a visitor destination. The tables to follow in this section provide a snapshot of Innisfil’s assets that fall into the infrastructure-place based category.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Accommodations are a very important part of tourism infrastructure as they provide the home away from home for the visitor and allow visitors to stay longer in the area and spend more money. In Innisfil, this assessment included year-round roofed accommodations as well as seasonal rental cottages, campgrounds and RV parks.

Table 9: Accommodations in Innisfil - 2016

# Of # Of rooms Daily Price % Year % High Season % Open at least Category Properties /sites Range Round (May – Sept) 6 months Traditional Roofed Accommodations Hotel/Motel 1 30 $75 100% - -

B&B 1 2 $169 100% - -

Conference Centre 1 79 $169 100% - -

Cabins (at the KOA) 1 17 $76 - - 100% Non-Traditional/Emerging Accommodations Air BnB Listings 6 13 $96-$170 Not posted

Private home/cottage rental 18 65 $81-$433* Not posted Camping RV Parks and Campgrounds 2 107+ $32 - $76 - - 100%

* Some house/cottage rental prices are for the entire 5-bedroom house or waterfront cottage. Some properties only rent for the week (prices range from $950 to $3,800)

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 32 KEY FINDINGS  Innisfil has a very limited number of roofed accommodations (3 year-round).  Traditional roofed accommodations include 1 motel, 1 B&B, 1 conference centre, 1 campground offering cabin/studio rentals.  Non-traditional accommodations in Innisfil include 6 Airbnb listings and 18 cottage/private home rental listings.  There are very limited opportunities to stay at a campground/RV park (2)

Photo Source: Kempenfelt Centre (www.georgiancollege.ca)

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 33 VISITATION TRENDS  In 2012 there were 9.2 million visitors to Simcoe County. Of these, 3.1 million (34%) were overnight accounting for 7.2 million total nights (overnight visitors stayed an average of 2.3 nights).

Table 10: Visitation by Accommodation Type in Simcoe County - 2012

Number of Nights by Accommodation Type Total Ontario Other Canada US Overseas

Nights in roofed commercial 672,755 606,633 21,423 27,341 17,359 Nights in hotels 425,480 382,864 12,234 16,899 13,484 Nights in motels 70,914 57,129 9,189 3,624 972 Nights in commercial cottage/cabins 83,638 72,876 - 6,818 3,943 Nights in “other” roofed commercial 97,879 96,579 1,301 - - Nights in camping/RV facilities 169,765 155,026 13,411 - 1,327 Nights in private homes/cottages 2,209,437 2,116,301 34,069 39,812 19,254 Nights in private homes 1,463,878 1,371,104 34,069 39,451 19,254 Nights in private cottages 747,087 745,198 - 1,889 - Nights in other 111,142 89,145 1,778 14,422 5,797

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 34 FOOD & BEVERAGE – DINING ASSETS Like any destination, restaurants are important to Innisfil’s tourism industry. The asset assessment included 27 assets located throughout the Municipality (not including fast food chains).

Note: In the tables that follow, the N=x refers to the total number of assets in that category. Some assets fit more than one category therefore totals will not always = N.

Table 11: Food and Beverage Assets in Innisfil - 2016

# Of Establishments Type N=27

Catering 2 Family/Casual 11 Fine Dining 1 Coffee Shop 1 Bakery 2 Pub 4 Other 7 Accredited Chef 0

KEY FINDINGS  Innisfil has a variety of dining options that are available throughout the year for a variety of price points.

VISITATION TRENDS  In 2012, visitors to Simcoe County spent $257 million in restaurants/bars. This represented 25% of total visitor spending.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 35 UNIQUE RETAIL

Table 12: Unique Retail in Innisfil - 2016

# Of Establishments Type N=15

Antiques 5 Gifts/Collectables 3 Craft Shops 3 Outlet Mall 1 Specialty 2 Other (coffee) 3

KEY FINDINGS  There are unique retail establishments throughout Innisfil that celebrate the rural charm of the area.  There are 5 Antique stores/malls located in the area.  Specialty shops include western apparel and clock repair/restoration.

VISITATION TRENDS  In 2012, visitors to Simcoe County spent $158 million on retail (16% of total spending).

Photo Source: 400market.com and Tanger Outlet

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 36 CULTURE AND HERITAGE BASED ASSETS

Cultural and heritage based infrastructure includes venues that are often unique to a destination and showcase the character of a place – its people, their history and the landscape that shapes them. The assessment identified 6 assets. These assets play an important role due to the types of people-based experiences they offer.

Table 13: Culture and Heritage Based Asset in Innisfil - 2016

Type # of Assets N = 6

Art Galleries 4

Museums/Historical Attractions 0 Historical Buildings 6 Historical Plaques 7 Genealogy 1 Performing Arts Venue 1 Other * 1

* The renovated Innisfil Library Lakeshore Branch in Alcona is a state-of-the-art facility that offers the latest technologies including a computer lab, recording studio and filming equipment, and a maker space. The maker space, known as the ‘ideaLAB’, promotes hands-on collaboration, creativity, and learning through the use of digital media and 3D printing technology. The branch also has large open spaces with a stage capable of accommodating a range of live events. OUR STORIES is Historical Database maintained and managed by the library that holds over 4000 photos and videos of local historical interest

KEY FINDINGS  There are 11 art gallery/studios located in Innisfil that feature a variety of mediums. Examples include: o The Art Unique Gallery features artists works and classes. o Joseph’s Art Studio boasts an artist who works with acrylic, oils and airbrushing. o Artsmart, located in the Tanger Outlets Cookstown mall specialize in custom picture framing and ready-framed art. o Sandy Brand is a painter and print-maker who also teaches classes.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 37 VISITATION TRENDS  In 2012, 62,113 visitors to Simcoe County visited museum or art galleries (this represents only 1% of the activities that visitors participated in while in the area).

Photo Source: Innisfil Library, Lakeshore Branch - ideaLAB

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 38 NATURAL ASSETS AND TRAILS

Innisfil’s location on the western shore of Lake Simcoe and its rural landscapes allow for visitors to experience both water-based and land-based natural assets. The tables below show a summary of the sites (infrastructure) that allow visitor access.

Table 14: Natural Assets in Innisfil - 2016 Table 15: Trails in Innisfil - 2016

# of Sites / Properties # of Sites / Properties Type * Type N=2 N=5

Beaches 2 Walking/Hiking 2

Conservation Areas 1 Mountain Biking 0

Gardens/Community Parks 4 Cross Country Skiing 0

Waterfront Trail 1

*Some assets fit more than one category KEY FINDINGS  Innisfil has limited natural assets and trail offerings.

VISITATION TRENDS  240,534 visitors went to a national/provincial park while in Simcoe County.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 39 AGRI-TOURISM ASSETS

Agri-tourism includes any tourism experience in which one learns about, appreciates, and/or consumes food and drink that reflects the local, regional, or national cuisine, heritage, culture, tradition or culinary techniques.14

The visitor market is an opportunity for some in the agriculture industry to diversify and expand their traditional operations and make experiences available to the visitor market.

Table 16: Agri-tourism Assets in Innisfil - 2016

Agri-Tourism Based Companies # Of Visitor Opportunities

Total Number of Companies * 17 U-pick 2 Farm Gate 1 Farmers’ Markets 1 Garden Centres 3 Orchard 1 Meat market 1 Equestrian 3 Other 3 *Some assets fit more than one category

KEY FINDINGS  7 of the Agri-tourism based companies are affiliated with Simcoe County Farm Fresh

14 Ontario’s Four-Year Culinary Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2011-2015

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 40 ACTIVITY-BASED COMPANIES

Activity-based assets are often trip motivators for visitors. In Innisfil,18 outdoor recreation activity assets were identified. Outdoor Recreation based infrastructure includes land and water-based assets that provide visitors with a way to enjoy a variety of activities.

Table 17: Activity Based Assets in Innisfil - 2016

Activity Based Companies # Of Visitor Opportunities

Total Number of Companies 18 Canoeing/Kayaking/ SUP 1 Golfing 5 Harness Racing/ Casino 1 Ice Fishing 4 Marinas 4 Public Docks 4 Motor Sports 2 Skydiving 1

KEY FINDINGS  Lake Simcoe provides opportunities for water-based activities that include watersports, (Fun Rentals offers canoe, kayaks, SUPs etc. at Innisfil Beach Park) marinas that service boaters (Lefroy Harbour Resorts has over 500 slips in two separate locations and offer full service to boaters), ice fishing and a waterfront trail.  There are 5 golf courses that are open to public rounds (there are 2 additional golf courses in the area but they are private - National Pines and Big Bay Point) and there is a new Doug Carrick designed course opening in 2016 at Friday Harbour.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 41  Recreational boating is a primary reason people access Lake Simcoe. This bodes well from a tourism perspective for both FH

and Innisfil. A 2013 study15 of recreational boaters conducted by Boating Ontario revealed some interesting facts about Ontario boaters: • Canoes, kayaks, or rowboats are the most common type of boat owned (40%), but the least used on a regular basis (7%). Respondents use runabout boats or cruisers most often on Ontario waterways. • Most respondents moor their boat at private marinas (33%) or in the water near their cottage or home (29%). • When it is time to get out on the water, respondents stay close to home. Respondents tend to keep to their home boating region when exploring Ontario’s waters. • Most respondents go recreational boating on the weekend (54%) or during their summer vacation (16%). Only 14% of respondents are weekday boaters. • Respondents prefer boating trips of one day or less. One-half (53%) took between one and 10 one-day boat trips in 2013. • Georgian Bay (21%), Lake Ontario (14%) and the Trent-Severn Waterway (12%) were respondents’ top three favourite boating destinations. Favourite boating destinations tend to be where one moors their boat. • Visiting a new boating destination is dependent on water conditions (82%), navigation conditions (78%), and distance (72%). Shore-based factors are of secondary importance in attracting respondents to visit a new boating destination. • 1 in 10 (14%) plan to buy a boat in the coming year, and 22% are considering it. The boats to be bought are diversified – cruiser (23%), a runabout boat (18%), a sailboat (16%) or a fishing boat (15%). • Half of the respondents plan to increase the number of boat trips they take in the next two years (46%). In the next five years, 50% of respondents plan to increase their boating activities.

VISITATION TRENDS  In 2012, 2.1 million visitors to Simcoe County participated in outdoor recreation/sports. This represented 23% of the activities that all visitors participated in while in the area.  The most popular outdoor activities were: o Boating (465,436 visitors) o Downhill skiing/snowboarding (277,410 visitors) o Fishing (253,540 visitors) o Golfing (103,283 visitors)  In 2012, 477,969 visitors attended a casino in Simcoe County.

15 Boating on Ontario’s Waterways, a 2013 Survey of Ontario boaters conducted by Boating Ontario, 2014. Sample size: 2500; respondents were mostly male and between the ages of 45 and 64 living in Greater Toronto Area (48%) and Central Ontario (22%).

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 42 VISITOR INFORMATION SERVICES

Destination Marketing Organizations and others involved in servicing visitors are evaluating their future role in delivering visitor information. As technology changes, consumers have a variety of tools to access information especially when they are on the move. Smartphone technology and supporting apps provide relevant and timely information. For this reason, many DMO’s are closing their traditional visitor information centres (VIC) and redirecting resources to other areas. Innisfil does not operate a visitor information centre.

PROGRAMS AND PEOPLE-BASED COMPANIES Program and People-Based assets are positioned highest in terms of their ability to offer engagement, personalization, connections and value – they are what make a destination come alive. Festivals emphasize the uniqueness of the area and often celebrate the history and culture that is unique to the host community. Programs and people assets in Innisfil such as artists, storytellers, musicians and guides have the potential to make the visitor’s experience memorable and personal.

CULTURE – PEOPLE-BASED PROGRAMMING

Table 18: Culture and People Based Assets

Type # of Assets N = 19

Artists 17

Photographers 2

KEY FINDINGS  There are a number of artists who call Innisfil home.  Each year the Innisfil Studio Tour is held over 2 days in November and features 18 artists Photo Source: http://www.innisfilstudiotour.ca

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 43 FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

For those in the tourism industry, festivals have a positive impact in three parallel areas: attracting tourism, improving the place’s image, and supporting the local community16. In Innisfil 8 festivals/events were identified.

Table 19: Festivals and Events in Innisfil - 2016

Length (not available for all events)

Total Number of Festival & Events 8 * 1-day 2-3 day 4-7 days 1 week +

Community Celebrations 8 4 4 0 0 Arts/Cultural/Heritage Event 3 1 2 0 0 Winter Festival 2 2 0 0 0 *Some assets fit more than one category. A full list of events can be found in Appendix D

KEY FINDINGS  Most of the festivals and events held in Innisfil are community celebrations. Some have specific themes related to the area's arts, culture, and history: o Innisfil Celtic Festival o Georgian Bay Steam Show o Innisfil Studio o Wing Ding o Light Up the Night  Other events celebrate the waterfront and summer fun: o Celebrate Lake Simcoe o Summerfest

VISITATION TRENDS  2012, 44,015 visitors to Simcoe County attended a Festival/Event.

16 Ketter, Eran. It’s Festival Time: The Role of Cultural Events in the Tourism Industry, Tourism Review, 2010

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 44 ONLINE PRESENCE / VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER ASSESSMENT

A tourism destination and its tourism operator’s online presence is critical to its success. It is the primary avenue potential visitors take to search out, understand, plan and book a visitor experience. As such the number of places where tourism destinations and businesses can provide information to travelers and create online engagement is endless.

To examine if there is a basic level of online presence and customer engagement with travellers, the Innisfil assessment looked at:

 Operator websites





Specifically, looking through “a visitor lens”, the online assessment attempted to determine if these organizations were easily found online and if there was a level of engagement and conversation occurring with current, past or potential visitors (through blogs, customer posts, customer reviews/management responses and e-newsletter).

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 45 Table 20: Innisfil Tourism Businesses’ On-line Activity Snapshot

Website TripAdvisor Facebook Business Sector # 65% 9% 27%

Roofed Accommodations 4 100% 50% 50% RV & Campgrounds 2 100% n/a 50% Culture Based Assets 6 83% 17% 83% Heritage Based 17 6% 0% 6% Natural Assets 7 14% n/a n/a Outdoor Activities 18 89% 22% 83% Agri-Culinary Attractions 17 88% 0% 53% Indoor Recreation 1 100% 100% 0% Program Based 19 37% 5% 16% Festivals and Events 8 100% n/a 88%

Note: This snapshot was completed in January 2016 and is based on the businesses and assets that were identified on the Tourism Asset Assessment Template at the time. Since then, some businesses have been added/deleted but those few changes would not have affected the overall picture regarding on-line engagement in Innisfil.

KEY FINDINGS  65% of operators have a website BUT 35% don’t, meaning they can’t be found by visitors  Participation on TripAdvisor, the number one travel resource in the world17, is very weak (9% of operators).  Facebook presence, while better than TripAdvisor, is also weak (27% of operators).  Operators in Innisfil are not utilizing valuable communication tools and low-cost vehicles to engage visitors.

17 315 million unique monthly visitors, 70+ million TA members, 200+ million reviews and opinions, 115 million user contributions every minute. Source: TripAdvisor

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 46 ASSET ASSESSMENT SUMMARY

Innisfil, like many other rural communities in Ontario, has an infrastructure-based tourism industry that relies heavily 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 and levels of engagement is needed.

The following summary captures the essence of Innisfil’s tourism assets. When presented to industry stakeholders during the Vision Sessions it resonated. An untapped opportunity lies in thematically weaving together Innisfil’s physical assets to experience a range of people, places, and special activities unique to Innisfil through stories and visitor corridors that encourage travel between communities.

Table 21: Innisfil Tourism Asset Assessment Summary

Performing/ Critical Market Developed / Sector I A P Unique Under- Mass Ready Under-developed Performing Roofed Accommodation (128 4 - I No No No Und-dev Und-perf rooms) RV Parks/ Campgrounds 2 - I No No No Und-dev Und-perf

Arts / Culture 6 - IP No No No Und-dev Und-perf Heritage 15 - IP No No No Und-dev Und-perf Natural Assets 7- I No No No Und-dev Und-perf Outdoor Activities 18 - A Almost No No Und-dev Und-perf Retail 15 - I Yes Almost Almost Und-dev Und-perf F&B 27 - I Yes Almost Almost Und-dev Und-perf Agri-Tourism 17 - IA Yes Almost Almost Und-dev Und-perf Festivals / Events 8 - P No No No Und-dev Und-perf People and Programs 19 - P Yes No Almost Und-dev Und-perf Sports Venues / Facilities 57 - IA Almost Almost No Und-dev Und-perf

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 47 FRIDAY HARBOUR

Situated on the shores of Lake Simcoe in Innisfil, Friday Harbour All Seasons Resort (FH) is poised to become the region’s primary tourism destination. Once fully complete FH will be a thriving four- season destination appealing to a variety of local and visitor markets. (Phase I, scheduled to open in 2017)

It will be a stunning lake front village with 2000 residential units, a 1000 slip marina, Lake Club, Beach Club, culture centre, amphitheatre, 200 room hotel and conference centre, 7 km of hiking trails and an 18-hole championship golf course. Ontario’s newest and most unique lakefront resort community will attract consumers from far and wide as well as clientele from local communities. The up-market residential units have already attracted 700+ individuals, couples and families from the GTA and beyond who will call FH their permanent residence or their home away from home.

The Town of Innisfil has worked very closely with the developers over the past 10 years to help see this ambitious project come to fruition. Wisely, town politicians and officials recognized the magnitude of the project and have done their best to maximize the economic and lifestyle opportunities for the broader community that will come with the completion of FH.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 48 The backdrop of this emerging property is Lake Simcoe, the fourth-largest non-Great Lake in the province and part of the 386 km Tent Severn Waterway. In the 17th century, at the time of the first contact by Europeans, the lake was known as Ouentironk ("Beautiful Water") named by the Wyandot (Huron) people. It was known later as Lake Toronto until it was renamed by John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, in memory of his father, Captain John Simcoe.

The Lake Simcoe watershed sweeps across 3,400 square kilometres and 20 municipal borders, from the Oak Ridges Moraine in the south to the Oro Moraine in the north, through York and Durham regions, Simcoe County, the Town of Innisfil and the cities of Kawartha Lakes, Barrie and Orillia.

“Water, liquid or frozen, is at the heart of Friday Harbour”. James DiRenzo, Chief Executive Officer, Friday Harbour All Seasons Resort

James DiRenzo said it best; “Lake Simcoe will play a lead role in Friday Harbour’s success and as a result the Town of Innisfil has been afforded an opportunity to fully leverage FH as a cornerstone to its future tourism development.” FH has been positioned as a unique resort for those who choose to live on-site but also to those who live in the surrounding communities who will travel a distance by land or by water to experience the FH offering.

While respecting the privacy of those who will ultimately call FH home the developers have made it clear that this is a destination with features and amenities designed to engage both residents and the general public. Those non-resident visitors who want to access the resort for a weekend, week or month will have access to a pool of resort condos, available for short term or seasonal rental. Day- trippers and locals will have access to most of the resorts amenities including the Lake Club and the wide variety of dining and shopping options available there. They’ll be free to stroll the boardwalk and embrace the ambiance of water-side living. The Beach Club open to residents and those who choose to become members can enjoy hour upon hour of beachfront lounging and organized activities. The full-service marina, with its 1000 slips, will be available to seasonal and transient boaters. Boat rentals are also an option and FH will feature a fleet of world renowned vessels. The Doug Carrick designed championship golf course will have preferred tee times for residents and times for visitor golfers. The four-season culture centre will feature a range of entertainment options that cater to audiences of all ages. In winter, life in the resort continues with harbour ice-skating and snowmobiling and ice fishing easily accessed on Lake Simcoe. The staff of the resort will go to great lengths to “program” the resort to ensure there is always something happening to entertain, educate and rejuvenate those who visit.

For these reasons, the Town of Innisfil must explore and fully embrace the opportunities associated with Friday Harbour to grow the popularity, attractiveness, and appeal of features available at FH and in the broader community.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 49 FH Opportunities Planning Context

Recognizing the potential opportunities to positively impact the Town of Innisfil’s economy associated with the eventual completion of FH are significant however they must be set against the backdrop of customer behaviour and current market realities.

As FH becomes populated it will be important for both town staff and the local business community (outside the resort) to understand the characteristics of the FH guest. Having insight into their travel, buying, dinning and leisure time activities will be critical to determining where the realistic business building strategies can be found. Businesses may have to adapt to accommodate FH guest preferences and behaviours. Things as simple as business hours may have to change if, for example, FH guests arrive for an extended stay late in the evening.

The following realities must be considered:

1. FH has gone to great lengths to build a resort that meets the needs of a discerning customer. They have designed the amenities, services, entertainment, dining options with their resident customers in mind. Many of the essential ingredients of relaxing laid back lake front community living have been incorporated into the plans. This makes it possible for guests to arrive at FH and never leave the site until it’s time to return home.

Summer and winter amenities and services that are offered are detailed in the site images.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 50 This reality must be considered given that if residents have all the need “inside the gate” or bring along their essentials like groceries the chance of them contributing to the local economy beyond the confines of FH may be limited.

For example, at the Marina Village, guests will have a variety of retail and dining options. Whether looking for an outfit for a night out, sporting equipment to take out on the lake or a fun game for the kids, the Marina Village has an assortment of shops that offer something for everyone. When it comes to food and beverage options guests will feast at a plethora of resto-bars and bistros. Whether a steak or sip of a signature drink guests can watch the water lap against the marina, patio-side 365 days a year. The Lake Club that overlooks the marina will offer three floors of services and leisure amenities. These include; outdoor pool, games room, business centre, change rooms, showers, daycare, spa, and gym. The Pier becomes a centre-piece of FH life where celebrations will be marked with fireworks, where live music happens and where local farmers will come offer their wares.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 51 2. FH’s is located on the northeast the town boundary. Vehicle / passenger and GO Transit routes that provide access the site are key factors in determining leveraging opportunities. If travelling by personal vehicle most FH guests will access the resort from Hwy 400, whether traveling from the south or north, utilizing one of two routes. Innisfil Beach Road or Mapleview Drive East / Big Bay Point Road will be the preferred access routes. The Mapleview Drive East route is the most direct; 16.6 Km or 18 minutes. The Innisfil Beach Road route is less direct passing through Alcona; 22.7 Km or 22 minutes.

What’s most important is that the Mapleview Drive East route provides guests access to a significant number of useful retail, service and food and beverage establishments. These include a large LCBO store, Beer Store, banks, drug stores, several grocery stores, big box stores like Walmart, Costco and Rona. Conversely, the Innisfil Beach Road route that passes through Alcona has similar establishments but they are limited in that they are smaller and fewer in number. Given this situation, without question, the preferred access to FH among most guests will be the Mapleview Drive / Big Bay Point Road route.

3. Given the scenario described above the task of getting FH guests to patronize Innisfil based business establishments will be a challenge unless current and future “reasons to visit” are enhanced and the offering differentiates from options available on the road more traveled. The good news is that there are plans to add 150,000 sq. ft. of retail space to Alcona’s existing offering. Planner and developers must be encouraged to ensure this space differentiates from the retail offering found along Mapleview Drive and Big Bay Point Road. Alcona can position itself as a “village” as opposed to a typical strip mall. The village should feature locally owned and operated specialty shops including butcher, baker, cheese, fish and deli shops for example. It could also include any number of “non-chain” restaurants, cafes and coffee shops. Emphasis should be given to connecting this plaza not just to roads but to bike and walking paths and feature landscaped outdoor seating areas. With this type of offering FH guests will be more inclined to shop and dine in the charming setting of a local village as opposed to a big box store or roadside strip mall. As an example, the Shops at Don Mills, Toronto (see image) provides outdoor public space with attractive landscaping and seating areas among shops, cafés, and restaurants.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 52 Innisfil / Friday Harbour “Connecting” Opportunities

The Town of Innisfil has the opportunity to fully leverage investments being made at FH. Consideration should be given to exploring these “connecting” strategies:

 Ensure wayfinding signage provides clear direction from FH to Alcona (LCBO / Beer Store, financial institutions, grocery stores, library), OLG Slots / Georgian Downs, Sunset Speedway, Tanger Outlet Centre, OLG Slots, 400 Market, Dickey Bee Honey, Skydive Toronto and other sites and attractions  FH’s Tourism Oriented Directional Signs (TODS) will be erected at locations of their choice, as they pay for them, therefore through consultation explore ways to have Innisfil Beach Road as an alternative route to FH in addition to the more direct Mapleview Drive route  Encourage new Alcona based retail to adopt a “village” feel by attracting specialty, local owner operated shops, restaurants, cafés, and services as opposed to chain or big box businesses, in addition consider positioning Alcona’s retail establishments under the umbrella theme of the “Village Shops of Alcona”; this is consistent with the existing streetscape design of Alcona  Ensure Alcona retail developers and potential tenants know about the Town’s Community Improvement Plan grants to encourage local owner operators to locate here (butcher, baker, cheese, fish, deli shops and restaurants, cafés)  Explore expanding current Hwy. 400 / Innisfil Beach Road TODS signs to include “FH Via the “Village Shops of Alcona”  Develop a FH Innisfil Visitor Information Services strategy that considers having an Innisfil Concierge on site at FH, bi-monthly “What’s Happening in Innisfil” orientation sessions with FH’s front line retail, restaurant, service staff, electronic What’s Happening in Innisfil” electronic signage in FH public areas  Make it easy for FH cyclists and walkers to access the retail, F&B and service businesses found in Alcona through new / expanded bike / hike path / lanes that connect to the FH trail system – see Active Innisfil Trails Master Plan, June 2016 which includes proposed new trail / road routing from FH to Alcona  Ensure FH’s shuttle service includes Alcona and other sites and attractions on its route, as noted above  Expand Innisfil transit conversations to include transportation options to and from FH to supplement the FH shuttle – think about non-traditional transit solutions like 12 or 24 passenger vehicles, ride sharing services like Uber etc.  Include FH day trip and VFR residents and guests in strategies; see recommendation # 5 and 6 (increase spending from VFR and day-trip markets)  Incorporate Innisfil specific FH guest info on the expanded Innisfil tourism web pages; see recommendation # 9  Future FH plans include a 200-room hotel conference centre, therefore, the meetings and conference market represents opportunity; FH sales staff will no doubt sell this facility to the SMERF market (Social, Military, Education, Religious, and Fraternal groups), this sector represents some opportunity for pre/post meeting experiences that can be found in Innisfil

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 53 INNISFIL / LAKE SIMCOE WATERFRONT PROPERTY INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

In 2016 the Town of Innisfil acquired a 20-acre parcel of lakefront land adjacent to the soon to be completed Friday Harbour Four Season Resort on Lake Simcoe. While at present there are no plans for the site there is an opportunity to consider utilizing this prime piece of lakefront property for a tourism-centric economic driver for the broader community.

Consideration should be given to exploring the possibility of creating a vibrant four-season water based activity hub that fully utilizes its access to Lake Simcoe, capitalizes on the infrastructure and services available at FH and provides an atmosphere for learning, competition, and water-based recreation. Initial thinking suggests a core attractor like a wakeboard park could anchor the site.

The Lake Simcoe Centre for Aquatic Excellence – Concept

Based on its waterfront location and proximity to FH this land could become a provincial hub for water sports events, training, and competitions.  It could use the FH marina to house related watercraft – sail boats, power boats, PWC’s, canoe/kayaks, fishing boats etc.  It could use the FH conference centre/hotel for water sports meetings, symposiums, AGM’s etc.  It could use the FH conference centre/hotel for water sport related trade/consumer shows (boats, angling, watercraft etc.)

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 54 The site could:  Have a self-contained wakeboard park / training facility (*see sample image below)  House the offices of the provincial water sports organizations – Boating Ontario, Water Ski Wakeboard Ontario, Canoe Ontario, Ontario Sailing Association, Row Ontario etc.  Have training facilities for all of the above water sports  Host events and competitions in partnership with FH  Have an angling connection – training facility, tournament headquarters  Have a retail component – sales offices / display centre for water sports related equipment and gear  Have staging areas for competitions and events

All these activities would clearly position Innisfil as Ontario’s water sports capital. In addition, it would deliver significant economic impact to the community through activities and events that attract out of town visitors and guests.

*McCormick’s Wakeboard Park, Florida

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 55 SPORT TOURISM

Sports tourism is defined by the Canadian Sports Tourism Alliance as “Any activity in which people are attracted to a particular location as a sports event participant, an event spectator, or to attend sports attractions or business meetings.”

According to Statistics Canada, sports tourism is a $5.2 billion per year industry in Canada and is growing as a share of the tourism economy. As sports tourism tends to be resistant to economic or other world events, it is a sustainable way for host destinations to generate economic, social and environmental impacts.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

In Innisfil, there is a sufficient inventory of event-ready sports venues that have been developed for recreational programming amongst residents. These facilities can serve as host venues for the attraction and staging of sports events and specifically, Innisfil has the required assets to attract and host field sports, gym sports, arena and ice sports and several specialty sports that utilize specific facilities. This asset mix can also be augmented by other entertainment facilities within the region and with horse racing and auto racing assets that can support sports tourism.

While the facilities exist to capitalize on the opportunity represented by sports tourism, the sport specific and technical capabilities may not be readily available. It is also unclear as to the community readiness to engage in the hosting of sports events and serve as ambassadors for visiting participants and spectators and leverage hosted events for maximal return.

Given the limited accommodation in Innisfil, there is a need and opportunity to work proactively with accommodations partners in surrounding communities (Barrie, Simcoe County) to ensure that this critical requirement of attracting and hosting successful events can be managed effectively.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 56 Table 22 outlines the readiness of Innisfil specific to venues, sport and technical leadership and volunteer or community readiness.

Table 22: Innisfil's Sports Tourism Readiness*

*Legend:  = meets criteria x = does not meet criteria ? = unknown, further investigation required

SHORT-TERM WINS

Based on the assessment performed the following opportunities have been identified for sports tourism in the Town of Innisfil:  Utilize existing mix of event-ready sports infrastructure that has the capacity to serve as host competition and training venues;  Align the sport tourism assets with the other entertainment offerings in the community, specifically Friday Harbour, Georgian Downs and Sunset Speedway;  Engage the existing sports organizations in the town to grow the sport and technical capacity to host new events, and;  Develop “outside the box” training camp and competition offerings for sports and teams that may be seeking a unique setting that is off the beaten track.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 57 Additionally, it is recommended that the following other opportunities be examined to determine how they can be leveraged:  Given its ideal location and mix of amenities, Innisfil could serve as a four-season destination for sports tourism as it is within proximity to the Greater Toronto Area and Central and Southern Ontario communities;  While there is existing infrastructure to serve as host venues for sport tourism events, expectations of regular local users must be managed proactively so that dislocation does not become a negative that detracts from the benefits of sports tourism;  Based on the successful staging of the shooting competition at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games, the potential to serve as a site for high-performance shooting training should be explored, and;  Through attraction and hosting of successful sport tourism events, Innisfil’s success stories should be told to engage residents and positively influence their pride of place and create positive perceptions to future competitors and spectators.

THE PATH FORWARD

While there is an opportunity to develop new sports tourism connected businesses, experiences, and products that can serve to engage new audiences and provide an additional platform for the promotion of Innisfil as a travel destination, a measured approach is recommended and must include a degree of engagement with local stakeholders.

There are existing sport tourism events as well as annual festivals and events that are part of the community fabric. To ensure that existing events are strengthened and able to align their activities and outcomes with any venture into the sports tourism segment; an emphasis should be placed on engaging operators of existing events to enable all to benefit from this renewed approach.

When embarking upon a sports tourism mandate, an event-based approach to community development can yield the greatest returns while not expecting too much too soon. This approach has three phases as shown in figure 9.

Figure 9: Sports Tourism Development Phases

Integrate Events in Leverage Community Events for and Maximize Host Brand and Return Successful Economic Events Impacts

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 58 Lead Group – Community groups, local business and facility operators need a lead group or agency to identify, develop, execute and measure the performance of sports tourism. Given the makeup of the various groups that has an interest in sports tourism, the Town of Innisfil is the most logical organization to lead this effort in the near and mid-term.

Areas of Emphasis – The recommended segmentation of sport tourism events is in the following three categories:  Existing sport tourism events  New sport tourism events that are or will become open for bid  Unique sport tourism events

Outcome Based Sports Tourism – The primary measure of performance for Innisfil will not be hotel room nights sold, therefore having a clear and transparent set of outcomes will help to inform decisions about which events Innisfil can pursue or develop and how the performance of those events can be effectively and transparently measured. Measures or impacts can include:  Economic – economic impact, growth of GDP, number of business supported and the incremental amount of jobs and municipal taxes that are created  Tourism – number of same-day visitors, average spend, spending by sector  Brand – Unpaid media value, number of impressions and return on investment  Social – Number of volunteers, market value of their contribution (hours worked) and indexes for pride of place / quality of life  Culture – The showcasing of local entertainment and support of local culinary or dining experiences

Potential Differentiators – Given both the topographic and demographic makeup of Innisfil and surrounding areas, there may be an opportunity to develop and stage some unique and, or created events such as:  Bubble Soccer  Geo-Caching  Mudder and similar experiential events  Urban Chase events  Canoe-Kayak  Ultimate Frisbee  Water-based events

Sports Meetings and Conferences – With the Kempenfelt Centre and other facilities in the Innisfil area (i.e. soon to be Friday Harbour conference facilities), the opportunities around sports meetings, conferences, and Photo Source: Innisfil Recreation Complex, www.placesofinnisfil.ca professional development clinics should be examined as a potential driver of new business and visitors to the area.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 59 UNIQUE TOURISM THEMES / CLUSTERS IDENTIFIED FOR INNISFIL

Through the TDMP process three unique themes were identified that differentiate Innisfil from other destinations:

• Friday Harbour All Seasons Resort • Fast-Paced Entertainment (motorsports, harness racing, gaming, unique sports events) • Rural Retail & Arts (agri-tourism, antiques, hands-on experiences, unique/specialty shopping, artists, galleries, studio tours)

These assets have the potential to attract tourism when fully developed and have appeal for specific “ideal guests” market segments since they:  Have the greatest potential to engage specific visitors’ emotionally;  Generate a higher return on investment (ROI operator) and experience (ROE visitor);  Offer experiences that are unique only found in Innisfil  Are, or are close to / could be tourism market ready

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 60 INNISFIL’S IDEAL GUESTS

The desire of most destinations and operators is to understand their “ideal guest”. Being able to accurately identify customers who, when prompted and motivated, will positively respond to the invitation to come and visit is the ultimate goal of tourism developers and / or marketers. Understanding the ideal guest within the context of Innisfil’s current tourism assets is critical in terms of positively impacting the goals of increasing tourism visitation and revenues.

The reality for Innisfil is that there is a lack of roofed overnight accommodations, therefore, attempting to attract overnight guests using a traditional tourism model is not feasible. However, we know at present Innisfil is seeing a high volume (3.7 million to Simcoe County in 2012) of visiting friends and relatives (VFR). These VFR customers are already coming to the area and therefore offer potential to be a tangible tourism growth market for tourism operators. Encouraging them to come more frequently, stay longer and spend more is the immediate opportunity.

Day-trippers are also another high-volume market for Innisfil but are currently spending below the provincial average when they in the Innisfil area (Simcoe County figures show $77 per person day vs. $83 average in the province)

For these reasons, Innisfil’s “ideal guests” for a tourist related experience are residents who host VFR and day trippers.

For the sports tourism audience, those event organizers and sports bodies that align with Innisfil sports tourism infrastructure represent the logical target audience. Strategies to attract the attention of these entities are discussed later in the report.

Local Residents / Empty Nesters who Day Trippers Sport Tourism host VFR

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 61 VFR Empty Nesters and Day Trippers

Empty Nester (VFR) and Day-trippers are broad tourism markets. To effectively identify the visitors who would be most likely to be interested in Innisfil’s unique tourism products/experiences, we use valuable information available to Ontario’s tourism industry. The Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC) undertook a comprehensive visitor segmentation study in 201218, in partnership with the provinces 13 travel regions/RTOs.

The study identified 12 traveller types or segments based on the travel motivations and behaviours of domestic and U.S.-based travellers within an Ontario destination context (Figure10). This work was done to help inform each RTO’s decisions related to their tourism destination management process, including product/experience development and marketing.

Figure 10: Ontario's Market Segments This information can also be a valuable tool for destinations and operators within a particular region and we have, therefore, utilized the province-wide segmentation study to help identify Innisfil’s ideal guests.

A thorough analysis of the visitor profiles for RTO7 was a key element in Innisfil’s strategy development process undertaken by the consultants. This assessment and application to Innisfil’s tourism assets resulted in the identification of Connected Explorers as the primary traveller type or “ideal guest” to Innisfil:

18 TNS. Consumer Insight Research Segmentation Overview. (2012). The research was conducted across Ontario, the main Quebec and Manitoba markets, as well as U.S. near and mid-markets. Conducted from April -June, 2012, primarily a mail survey of a representative cross-section of individuals 18 years or over was used, yielding 50,322 travelers, defined as individuals who took any out-of-town trips of one or more nights away from home for pleasure in the last 12 months. http://www.tourismpartners.com/publications/Research/reas_segrpts_ConsumerInsightResearchSegmentationOverview.pdf

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 62 Innisfil’s Ideal Guest

Connected Explorers

Connected Explorers are couples 35 - 54 both with and without children. They are a confident, youthful, optimistic group. They have a deep-seated need to travel and expose themselves to many new experiences. Travel for them is about expanding their horizons, and they are looking for a fully packed schedule of activities.

Travel behaviours/values:

 Connected Explorers rank well above average for almost all activities (museums, galleries, shopping, parks, landmarks, culinary, spa, beach).  Connected Explorers want to do what the locals do.  68% are completely open to diverse cultures (compared to a 46% average); 60% believe travel is a break to escape from the every day (compared to 40% average)

Connected Explorers’ media use and booking habits:

 Technology is a key part of travel. They use it at all phases of a trip including researching, booking, planning and especially when sharing their travel experiences once back home  Trip planning sources include brochures, travel books, magazine travel articles, travel TV shows, accommodation websites, online travel agencies  Active newspaper and magazine readers when it comes to travel (especially online)  Heavy online media users across all types of sites  90% share their travel stories on social networks  80% use smartphones and tablets when travelling

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 63 Sport Tourism

The sports tourism market segment is a unique one in that each sport has its own stand-alone market segment. Based on this, and the shift toward a more outcome-based approach to sports tourism. By determining the specific and desired outcomes within the sports tourism segment, these outcomes can help to inform the decisions about which types of events to develop and which specific events to bid for.

In recent years, sports tourism has evolved in several key areas:  Female based sports events at the youth level tend to skew to a larger average party size as the entire family unit tends to travel with their daughters to sport events.  Masters level sports are emerging as a key segment. Masters are very active and social and are seeking new experiences. With available disposable income, they are seeking high-quality experiences and tend to come early and take day trips to engage in new experiences.  Young professionals seek unique sporting experiences (i.e. Mudder and Bubble soccer type events) that may not necessarily require overnight stays but can include the dining and retail that is reflected in the day-tripper segment.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 64 SUSTAINABILITY – GROWING TOURISM INTO THE FUTURE

There are several factors to consider for Innisfil’s long-term tourism industry sustainability. It is critical that Innisfil is able to thrive into the future by having in place plans and programs that contribute to the destination’s long-term success. Discussions with tourism stakeholders and Town of Innisfil staff have revealed the following:

Labour Labour issues will be a challenge in Ontario in many sectors in the coming years and the tourism industry will be faced with the challenge of finding the right people with the right skills. Human resources conversations acknowledge that area businesses are already facing the dilemma of finding enough workers to meet the demands. Given the hire-up required for FH, this could be a real challenge.

It is important the Municipality work closely with the County of Simcoe and the Simcoe Muskoka Workforce Development Board to share information so that they can continue to understand and develop initiatives that can retain and attract workers who will allow Innisfil tourism businesses to remain competitive.

In terms of addressing labour challenges, consideration should be given to working more closely with Georgian College and the faculty and students of the various hospitality-related programs. We have a workforce of graduating students on our doorstep who could be working in our tourism related businesses. In addition, the college's management of the Kempenfelt Conference Centre could also be of importance as they offer accommodation and conference facilities to groups that are serviced by students who are enrolled in hospitality-related programs. This local on-the-job training is unique and could be a pipeline for ongoing hospitality talent. The Town should explore how a potential partnership, perhaps one that includes senior management from Friday Harbour, could serve to provide trained workers to fill the labour needs of those businesses that have a desire to grow tourism in the community.

Infrastructure There are several infrastructure requirements that are important to the success of the tourism industry. The following is a snapshot of Innisfil’s infrastructure:  Innisfil boasts new, well-equipped sports and recreation facilities;  The Municipality has made substantial investments in the beautification of Alcona and the Innisfil beach and waterfront area;  Similar beautification programs should be considered for other communities within the Municipality;  Getting to and travelling around the Innisfil area typically relies on visitors having their own vehicle. The most popular access from the GTA is via highway 400. This route reaches high capacity and does have access challenges at peak times during the year due to its route from the GTA through Barrie and north to cottage country. There are, however, additional highways that provide visitors with alternative routes, especially with the 404 extension to Aurora and the ability for visitors to travel cross-country and link up to Innisfil via Yonge Street on the East side of the Municipality. Access from the west is possible using highway 27 and linking to highway 89;

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 65  GoTrain from Union Station to South Barrie (Yonge and Mapleview), currently this service is offered Monday through Friday year- round and weekends from late June to early September. A new GO station is proposed for Innisfil in the near future and expanded service is planned from 70 weekly trips from Toronto to Barrie to over 200 weekly trips in the next five years;  As Friday Harbour and new Innisfil Go service comes on stream residents of FH may choose to travel by Go train as opposed to their own vehicle, therefore, shuttle service to and from the Go station to FH will be required. In addition, shuttle service could be of value to FH residents who want to visit Georgian Downs/OLG and Alcona and other sights;  Innisfil has made substantial investments in gateway and wayfinding signage throughout the Municipality. This program has been an excellent addition to the tourism infrastructure;  The Kempenfelt Centre has potential to positively impact future overnight visitation if property upgrades are made by Georgian College or a potential partnership group that includes the Town of Innisfil;  Friday Harbour Four Season Resort offers significant future potential to grow tourism, its inclusion of a 200-room hotel along with availability of short-term condo rentals will positively impact overnight visitation to the community, and;  The 20-acre parcel of lakefront land owned by the municipality and adjacent to FH represents an opportunity for tourism related development by the Town and other partners.

Natural Resources The significance of Lake Simcoe to Innisfil is a key consideration for the future Innisfil in terms of its health and long-term sustainability as a recreational asset. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) evaluates the health of Lake Simcoe. It is important for the Municipality to ensure on-going communication with the MNR to ensure they are aware of any issues or concerns related to water quality and overuse.

Destination-wide Collaboration There are a limited number of tourism-specific operators within Innisfil and therefore efforts to collaborate have been minimal. Among those who were connected to the TDMP process all seemed willing to work together to grow tourism within Innisfil. As the Town rolls out the TDMP it will be important to engage as many stakeholders who are directly or indirectly impacted by collaborative tourism development.

Strategic Alignment with All Levels of Government Cooperation from and alignment with Tourism Simcoe County and RTO7 is an imperative. This TDMP is designed to be driven by the Town of Innisfil and its staff. However, working in partnership with Simcoe County and RTO7 will enhance the Town’s ability to implement the plans and strategies recommended in the plan. There is a willingness at the County level to engage in this process. At a regional level RTO7 is also prepared to be of assistance to the Town and its operators demonstrate a cohesive approach to tourism development.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 66 INNISFIL TDMP – FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATION CONTEXT Several factors impacted the development of the specific TDMP recommendations. These factors were identified and validated throughout the TDMP consultation process with the Working Group. There are several considerations to a holistic approach to tourism destination management within an Innisfil context. They included:

 The need for municipal leadership, working in partnership with industry to drive tourism growth;  Recognition there is a desire to grow tourism among a limited number of tourism stakeholders;  Rallying operators around a unified approach, one that requires collaboration will be fundamental;  The realities of the soon-to-be-completed Friday Harbour and all it will bring to the area;  A review of municipal staff resources and budget aligned with the recommendations contained in the TDMP is needed;  In the short-term, tourism destination development is primary, while marketing and sales are secondary;  Key performance metrics must be established and monitored, and;  An enhanced collaboration with Tourism Simcoe County and RTO7 is a cornerstone for success.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES - MUNICIPALITY LED WITH INVOLVEMENT OF INDUSTRY LEADERS The TDMP recommendations are the result of a municipally led tourism development process with industry involvement coming from the Working Group. By listening to municipal staff and industry stakeholders, the consultants were able to apply their expertise and experience in tourism destination management to create Innisfil’s plan on behalf of tourism stakeholders and the Town.

Implementation of the plan is the responsibility of all who will benefit from increased levels of tourism visitation and revenue. Organizations will lead, partner and/or support depending on the action.

Leader: The leadership role requires the organization to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the action.

Partnership: Partnerships are relationships that involve the sharing of work, support and/or information with others, to achieve common goals or mutual benefits.

Supporter: A supporter can assist leaders and partners by providing resources (human, financial or in-kind), expertise or capabilities to achieve the desired action.

Participant: A participant takes part in an action, such as a tourism owner/operator attending a training session.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 67 The role of the Municipality: With the TDMP plan complete and a course of action charted, implementation will be a shared responsibility of the Municipality and the tourism industry. The Municipality must, however, take the lead role in facilitating the implementation of the TDMP and draw in its industry partners throughout all phases of implementation.  Leadership role: Approving, facilitating, tracking and reporting on the progress of the implementation of the TDMP;  Leadership role: Assigning appropriate municipal resources to undertake implementation of the TDMP;  Leadership role: Rallying the industry and public behind understanding the value of tourism and the need for a tourism development plan;  Leadership role: Engaging industry and providing direction and assistance to help them become viable and appealing tourism demand generators;  Participation role: Enhancing relationships with tourism organizations (TSC, RTO7, Tourism Barrie etc.) in order to align Innisfil activity (where appropriate) with the development and promotional efforts of these entities;

The role of the tourism industry: To be successful, those in the tourism industry – for and not-for-profit owners and operators, are responsible for understanding Innisfil’s TDMP, demonstrating a willingness to work in partnership with the Municipality to develop and deliver compelling and appealing tourism products, experiences and services. It will be essential for industry stakeholders to engage in the TDMP implementation steps if Innisfil is to get to the next level of competitiveness and appeal.  Leadership role: Developing the products, services, activities and experiences consistent with the recommendations contained in the TDMP to attract and welcome more visitors to Innisfil;  Participation role: Engaging in industry training and community tourism development;  Partnership role: Promoting the destination through collaborative marketing initiatives, and;  Supportive role: Measuring and reporting on results and contributing to destination research.

The role of Sports Organizations: To be successful in the sports tourism space, local sports organizations, sports franchises, and community organizations will be a key component to Innisfil’s success. These groups often have the relationships within their sport at the provincial and national level to help in the identification of opportunities and to help ensure financial and operational success. The sports community in Innisfil can leverage the equity that they have within their respective sports and leagues by:  Being an advocate for their sport and sports tourism;  Provide background detail on researching and prospecting sport tourism events;  Help to establish partnerships within the sport and its technical and officiating fields;  Engage local volunteers that have sport specific knowledge;  Provide advice and leadership on technical specifications for facilities within their sport;  Provide technical direction to bid development;  Support the operational planning;  Leverage the hosting of events to grow sport participation;  Identify opportunities for planned legacy within the sport.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 68 Innisfil’s Tourism Working Group The ad-hoc group of industry stakeholders came together to represent the industry during the development of the TDMP. The TWG, or a form of it, should continue to support the implementation of the Innisfil TDMP by taking a:  Partnership role: Monitoring progress of the implementation of the TDMP with the Town of Innisfil’s staff;  Participation role: Supporting by example participation in industry training and community tourism development;  Partnership role: Promoting the role of tourism and engaging fellow stakeholders,  Support Role: Serving as a voice for tourism at the municipal level;

Simcoe County Tourism Tourism Simcoe County has the goal of supporting the tourism industry within the County and to positively impact tourism visitation and revenues. As a lower tier Municipality within Simcoe County, Innisfil has an opportunity to ensure that it benefits from the tourism activities that are taking place on a countywide basis. This will allow Innisfil to leverage those programs for the benefit of Innisfil’s tourism businesses. Open two-way communication between Innisfil and Tourism Simcoe County has already begun, enhancing this relationship will ensure that tourism operators in Innisfil can take part in destination development and marketing initiatives that feed into the goals at both Innisfil and the County. It is the role of the Town to ensure that the County is aware of the tourism assets and unique themes that Innisfil should offer.  Leadership role: Fostering collaboration with Innisfil and RTO7;  Partnership role: Providing guidance and strategic input to tourism development and investment attraction;  Partnership role: Providing partnership funding for County aligned tourism development and promotion;  Partnership role: Delivering industry training and workforce development, and;  Partnership role: Taking developed Innisfil experiences to market, through TSC specific communication strategies.

BruceGreySimcoe (RTO7) The regional tourism organization has the mandate to build and support a competitive tourism region through industry engagement, workforce development, product development and marketing in collaboration with tourism organizations and municipalities. BruceGreySimcoe can support the Innisfil TDMP by taking a:  Partnership role: Encouraging and assisting Town staff, where feasible in the implementation of the Innisfil TDMP;  Partnership role: Assist in taking developed experiences to market through RTO7 specific communication strategies and channels;  Partnership role: Providing access to provincial / regional research, and;  Partnership role: Industry training and workforce development.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 69 A FOCUSED, PRIORITIZED APPROACH As an emerging tourism destination, Innisfil has an opportunity to embark on its tourism destination management process starting with a blank slate. This is a consistent approach with other aspects of the municipalities planning and development strategies. Therefore, the recommendations contained in this plan call for the Municipality and it tourism stakeholders to take a disciplined approach, one that is focused and calls for a series of prioritized tactics implemented over time. In following this approach Innisfil increases it chances to become a viable and sustainable tourism destination that leverages its unique attributes to growing tourism visitation and revenues.

Recommendations pertain to increasing tourism holistically and / or by specific market segment (leisure travel = tourists or sports tourism = events/tournaments).

The recommendations are grounded in three primary areas of focus (shown in Figure 11 on page 60):  Focused Collaboration  Strategic Tourism Development  Creating Awareness

With each of the areas of focus the planning assumption is that not all actions can happen at once. Generally speaking, collaboration and development occurs prior to promotion/awareness. The recommendations have been developed for the following timelines:  Immediate-term (2016/2017)  Mid-term (2017/ 2018)  Long-term (2018 +)

How recommendations are presented:

A Key Finding is written as a statement of fact designed to capture the essence of an important discovery. Based on the analysis of quantitative information each key finding statement is followed by a summary description of the finding, then specific recommendations to address the finding.

Each Recommendation is outlined in a series of actions with appropriate performance metrics, timing and suggested roles and responsibilities.

Role / Responsibility is designated using the following acronyms: TOI = Town of Innisfil, TSC = Tourism Simcoe County, RTO7 (Regional Tourism Organization 7)

A Summary of the recommendations, actions, performance metrics and timing are included in Appendix B.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 70 Figure 11: Innisfil's Recommended TDMP Approach Snapshot

Friday Harbour Resort

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 71 FINDINGS / RECOMMENDATIONS: FOCUSED COLLABORATION

Finding / Recommendation #1: The Tourism Industry in Innisfil is currently fragmented. Tourism business owner/operators are working independently from one another and there has not been overarching leadership. To compete for today’s visitor market Innisfil can identify, nurture and promote what is uniquely theirs. To do that the Municipality needs to take a leadership role and be the catalyst for grassroots tourism development. In addition, sports organizations have the capacity to manage effectively the delivery of programming for local sports activity and on occasion outside events. There are limitations however when it comes to taking on greater responsibility to attract, secure and host larger events and tournaments.

Recommendation: TOI to be a Catalyst for Tourism Growth Including Sports Tourism Development

Role / Responsibility: TOI, Tourism Stakeholders, TSC, and RTO7 Proactively collaborate to efficiently leverage tourism opportunities in Innisfil. Defining the roles and responsibilities ensures that efforts are streamlined which avoids duplication and ensures that current gaps can be addressed. Working cooperatively allows each organization to use their financial and human resources most effectively. It is important to share the results of the TDMP with all stakeholders and the local community.

Actions:  Build understanding and consensus around the roles and responsibilities to support and drive the TDMP;  Commit to regular and on-going communication with Tourism Stakeholders and provide elected officials regular updates;  Formalize the Tourism Working Group to become the Tourism Advisory Committee;  Create and distribute an “Importance of Tourism” fact sheet for Innisfil;  Enhance tourism industry communications – create a quarterly online tourism industry newsletter;  Establish sports tourism mandate, communication channel for the sport stakeholder groups;  Establish a strategic and prioritized approach for sports event attraction, funding / hosting that aligns with Innisfil strengths, and;  Create a solution to address the accommodations gaps for hosting sport tourism events.

Performance Metrics:  Present TDMP to Innisfil Council by Jan. 2017 and deliver TDMP updates to Council (minimum of 2 x annually)  Introduce the Tourism Advisory Committee in February 2017  Create “Importance of Tourism” fact sheet by May 2017 and distribute during Tourism Week  Communicate specifics of the TDMP to stakeholders at a launch event scheduled during Tourism Week; June 2017

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 72 Finding / Recommendation #2: At present, the Town of Innisfil has not identified resources to advance tourism to the point where it is a vibrant sector. Fortunately, through the TDMP process, willing partners have emerged who are prepared to work with the Town to support collaborative efforts designed to raise the competitiveness and appeal of Innisfil through the outcomes presented in the TDMP.

Recommendation: Strategically Align with Tourism Agencies (TSC, RTO7), other Municipalities and Stakeholders

Role / Responsibility: TOI TSC, RTO7, Operators Building on Recommendation #1 it is important, once roles and responsibilities are understood, for Innisfil to work proactively with Tourism Simcoe County and RTO7 to leverage its own tourism development and promotional opportunities.  Activities that align directly with the County and RTO7 will undoubtedly get greater support allowing for Innisfil to allocate efforts on developing its own unique attributes and activities that have been identified.  In both scenarios, two-way communication is important and grass-roots coordination with tourism stakeholders is critical.  Operators will have the opportunity to proactively engage in the TDMP implementation by taking the relevant recommendations outlined in the plan and applying them to their own business to positively increase their own bottom line.

Actions:  Innisfil to meet with senior staff at TSC, and RTO7 and present the Innisfil TDMP to secure understanding of the actions that will be taken in the immediate term to improve its tourism competitiveness and appeal;  Municipality to proactively engage TSC and RTO7 in ongoing dialogue focused on the implementation of their TDMP, and;  Initiate regular communication with other public agencies and Municipal and County departments who play a role in maintaining/operating infrastructure that is important to visitors.

Performance Metrics:  Conduct semi-annual (at minimum) information exchange meetings starting in winter 2017  Innisfil to participate in at least 2 TSC and RTO7 partnership events or activities in 2017

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 73 FINDINGS / RECOMMENDATIONS: STRATEGIC TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Finding / Recommendation #3: Most tourism assets within Innisfil lack tourism market readiness; business practices that attract and service non-resident guests, therefore are underperforming (not operating at capacity, generating sufficient revenue, or operating with a sustainable business model). Businesses may not understand what it means to be a “Tourism Business”. There is an opportunity, therefore, to provide various levels of industry training and industry equipping to develop the skills of operators.

Recommendation: Deliver Tourism Specific Training for Operators

Role / Responsibility: TOI, TSC, RTO7, Others (requires active involvement from tourism stakeholders) Take a proactive role in participating in and facilitating tourism industry equipping / workforce development.  Innisfil to identify training needs in partnership with the Tourism Working Group (a subcommittee of EDAC) then initiate a series of training / education activities that target tourism owner / operators.  Tourism equipping involves informing and educating operators on aspects specific to the tourism sector; tourism market- readiness training, tourism experience development and enhancing online presence are good examples of industry equipping, workforce development includes training activities that are hard skill specific; training related to customer service, technology/computer skills, marketing/public relations, and finance are examples.  Leverage the expertise of Municipal staff and MTCS staff to deliver specific industry equipping training such as Tourism 101 – Fundamentals of Tourism Market Readiness, Tourism Business Plan Development, Product / Experience Development and Enhancing Online Presence (Library’s Digital Literacy/Smart Citizen initiative).  Leverage the services of Chambers of Commerce, BIAs, Workforce Development Boards and others who offer and deliver workforce development training and ensure Innisfil’s tourism operators are aware of and invited to these training initiatives.

Actions:  Identify and prioritize training topics to be implemented in 2016 and beyond;  Inventory existing training being delivered by other organizations and once complete, align these activities with Innisfil’s tourism industry needs and seek opportunities to co-host or promote existing programs to businesses, and;  Identify a training model that maximizes participation of industry stakeholders recognizing that individuals learn in different ways, for example, small group sessions, one-on-one training, and webinars.

Performance Metrics:  Identify training initiatives / topics by March 2017  Provide access to a minimum of 3 training sessions / opportunities by May 2017  Register a minimum of 25 businesses / organizations for training by May 2017

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 74 Finding / Recommendation #4: At present Innisfil has limited commercial roofed accommodations (128 rooms) and camping/RV sites (107 transient sites). While the addition of Friday Harbour’s 200- room hotel and conference centre will have a positive impact (2018), commercial roofed accommodation must be expanded to grow tourism revenues into the future. The Town has demonstrated a willingness to work with developers, as evidenced by their experience with the Friday Harbour project. Innisfil is well positioned to attract additional new hotel development given its location on the Hwy 400 corridor and the presence of select tourism demand generators (Lake Simcoe, OLG / Georgian Downs, Kempenfelt Conference Centre). There is also demonstrated interest from third party developers for new roofed accommodation at Georgian Downs in the near future.

Recommendation: Town of Innisfil to Actively Engage Accommodation Developers

Role / Responsibility: TOI, County of Simcoe's Economic Development Office

The Town of Innisfil to develop a prospectus designed to invite and attract future roofed accommodation development. The Town should work closely with the County of Simcoe's Economic Development Office (SCEDO) who has recently launched a new Land Inventory website to support economic growth and investment in the region. The Land Inventory portal is designed to assist potential investors, businesses or site selectors in researching and identifying properties for potential new locations, expansion or relocation of their operations to Simcoe County. The new tool improves the investment readiness of the area by providing quick, convenient and accessible information about available properties suited for non-residential development. 19 In addition, the Town should explore the potential to partner with Georgian College and the Province of Ontario to contribute to enhancing the accommodation offering at the Kempenfelt Centre while at the same time support the hospitality training programs offered to students at this on-the-job training facility.

Actions:  TOI Economic Development team to work with SCEDO and develop a roofed accommodation feasibility study that identifies properties suitable for development and provides detail of the development support Innisfil will offer developers;  TOI to proactively engage those developers that have demonstrated an interest in locating in Innisfil to identify the opportunity to help facilitate their development process and decision to locate in Innisfil, and;  TOI to explore partnership possibilities with Georgian College’s Kempenfelt Conference Centre;

Performance Metrics:  TOI to continue to meet with SCEDO  Prepare investors “fact sheet” by March 2017  TOI Accommodation Feasibility Study completed by July 2017

19 www.edo.simcoe.ca/properties

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 75 Finding / Recommendation #5: Most overnight guests to the Simcoe County stay with friends and relatives (Visiting Friends and Relatives = VFR). Since overnight guests spend more than day-trippers while in a destination, and Innisfil has limited commercial roofed accommodation, the greatest opportunity to grow economic impact of tourism in the near-term is to increase the number of overnight stays of the VFR market segment. Increasing the number of VFR visits and encouraging higher-yield spending from this group is the opportunity.

Recommendation: Grow the Incidence and Spending of the VFR Market

Role / Responsibility: TOI, Operators Initiate intentional and focused strategies that:  Enhance the reason to visit - product / experience development and marketing of Innisfil’s unique themes (Fast-Paced Entertainment, Rural Retail and Arts, Friday Harbour Resort).  TOI to facilitate the creation of a task team* of local tourism businesses under each of the themes.  Municipality works with each Task Team to create a Terms of Reference that details the working relationship, expectations, roles / responsibilities and deliverables. Once agreed, work can commence by the Task Team.  The TOI, with support from TSC and RTO7, should facilitate a process that utilizes the ideal guest profiles to identify the tourism product and experience opportunities and gaps present within each theme. Once complete, a prioritized list of actions that address gaps and leverage opportunities can be identified and acted on by the Task Team.  It is recommended theme operators participate in an Experience Development workshop (see Recommendation 3). Specific industry equipping will be required beyond the workshop to ensure operators follow-up on suggested enhancements to their individual offerings. TSC and RTO7 can be of assistance here.  With the knowledge of the opportunities and gaps, operators will be encouraged to leverage opportunities and address deficiencies as a group and / or at their own place of business. The goal is to have a confirmed list of tourism market-ready operators to go to market in the summer of 2017.  TOI to enhance the municipal website to feature the new Fast-Paced Entertainment, Rural Retail, and Arts, Friday Harbour tourism experience themes. Attention should be given to drive visitors to specific attraction / business websites to learn more and ideally “close the sale”.

*A Task Team in this a group of owner / operators who have a direct connection to the identified theme and must come together to create compelling visitor centric tourism experiences that when developed can “go to market” through TSC and RTO7 marketing channels.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 76 Actions:  Create working groups for Fast-Paced Entertainment, Rural Retail and Arts, Lake Simcoe based activities and event themes;  Work with each working group to create a Terms of Reference which details the working relationship, expectations, roles / responsibilities and deliverables;  Facilitate a process that utilizes the ideal guest profiles to identify tourism product / experience opportunities and gaps, and;  Develop a communications strategy to ensure residents / empty nesters (VFR) are aware of new experience clusters.

Performance Metrics:  Form Task Teams with a Terms of Reference by Feb. 2017  Creation of two new themes that include purchasable experiences (staying overnight with friends/relatives) by Summer 2017  Leverage marketing programs (as appropriate) designed to direct visitors to the relevant or featured attractions / suppliers who are tourism market ready and can close the sale by Summer 2017  Roll out communications to residents / empty nesters (VFR) by May 2017

Finding / Recommendation #6: Most visitors to Simcoe County are same-day visitors or day trippers (66%). These same-day visitors currently spend below the provincial average ($77 per person per day trip compared to $83).  In 2012 there were almost 6 million day visitors to Simcoe County  Increasing the amount each person spends to meet the provincial average ($6.00) has the potential to grow tourism revenues to the County by at least $36 million annually, localizing this thinking to Innisfil would have a positive economic impact.

Recommendation: Grow Length of Stay and Spending of Day-Trippers

Role / Responsibility: TOI, TSC, Operators This recommendation dovetails with Finding / Recommendation # 5 in that the strong themes that are developed will not only attract more VFR to the area but will also provide day-trippers with more compelling reasons to stay longer and spend additional dollars while in the area due to heightened awareness and the availability of unique tourism market ready experiences.

Actions:  Ensure that frontline tourism operators (accommodators, attractions, restaurants, unique retailers) understand all of the things there are for visitors to see and do in Innisfil so that they can provide excellent visitor information to their guests and also provide helpful information that enhances the visitor’s experience, and thus, increase the likelihood that they will extend their length of stay and spend more;  Ensure that indirect businesses (non-tourism retailers, gas stations etc.) are empowered to also serve as ambassadors. Beyond extending a warm welcome, these ambassadors can ensure that those visiting the area understand all the things there are to see and do, and;

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 77  Operators should leverage Innisfil’s wayfinding signage pay-to-play program that provides heightened awareness of their business and its location, which enhances the overall visitor experience.

Performance Metrics:  Establish requirements by March 2017  Provide on-going communications to local businesses, possibly in cooperation with Chamber communications by Spring 2017  Fulfill gaps in service (maps, website content, newsletters) by April 2017  Host or co-host networking events to promote the culture of cooperative competition by May 2017

Finding / Recommendation #7: Innisfil has a good mix of indoor and outdoor sports infrastructure, however, there has been no strategic approach to sports tourism development or event attraction. Using existing sports infrastructure and other assets within the community can create a unique selling proposition. For example, developing a target list of potential sports and events by sector will help to guide the development of sports tourism. There is interest in developing new bid events, outdoor participation events, multi-sport events and sports meetings. Using the defined outcomes for sports tourism, there is a need to establish and implement a consistent means of evaluating or scoring event opportunities. For example, if events are going to be measured by economic impact or increase to GDP because of hosting, a consistent economic impact forecast model should be implemented for consistency, accountability, and transparency.

Recommendation: Develop a Five-Year Target List for Sport Tourism Events

Role / Responsibility: TOI with involvement from local sports groups and facility owner/operators. TOI will take the lead on facilitation and rely on third party producers / sports bodies / local sports organizations for execution of sports events.

The impacts of sport tourism events are more substantial and sustainable with a strategic approach that includes planned legacies from each event hosted and future development of the sport or recreational pursuit within the community context. Alternatively, if events are attracted and hosted as one-off endeavors, they’ll have immediate impacts but limited residual benefits to the community.

Based on the preferred approach for the TOI (Town facilitates, other execute), a target list of sports events will be developed in order of priority to bid for and host, including but not limited to:

High Priority  Created and unique events that are owned by a third party and do not require significant volunteer resources or local organizing committees to execute: o Bubble Soccer o Urban Chase o Mudder o Participation – Cycling, Running, and Triathlon o Ultimate

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 78 o Water Sports – Sailing, Waterski/Wakeboard, o Trail Sports – Snowmobile, BMX, and Mountain and Canoe/Kayak Bike o Special Facility – Golf and Beach Volleyball Medium Priority  Events that can utilize existing facilities and may require some volunteer leadership at the local level from local sports groups to attract, plan and execute. o Field Sports – Baseball, Softball/Slo-Pitch, o Ice Sports – Hockey, Figure Skating, Ringette, Soccer and Lacrosse Broomball o Gym Sorts – Badminton, Basketball, Floor o Aquatic – Swimming and Synchro Hockey and Volleyball

Low Priority  Sports events that utilize existing facilities in the community and require local leadership within the sport to attract, plan and execute o Sports meetings and conferences. . Ontario Winter Games . Regional and Provincial training events . Ontario Para Games and conferences . Ontario 55+ Games o Multi-sport events as part of a collaborative o High-Performance Centre. approach within Simcoe County. . Shooting . Ontario Summer Games

Actions:  Supplement the sports tourism assessment done through the TDMP with detail pertaining to technical standards for identified sport and target segments;  Develop five-year target list of sport tourism events;  Develop an outcome-based approach to sports tourism with decision support parameters and;  Develop long-term partnership approach with Simcoe County communities to attract and host large-scale events

Performance Metrics  Supplemental assessment to be completed by Summer 2017  Target list for created / unique events, sports that align with existing facilities, sports meetings / conferences, and multi-sport events to be completed by Summer 2017  Establish outcomes and impacts and decision-support parameters by Summer 2017  Develop partnership plan by Fall 2017

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 70 Finding / Recommendation #8: The Town acquired a 20-acre parcel of lakefront land adjacent to Friday Harbour. This property, not yet developed, presents significant capital investment opportunity for the Town of Innisfil and the broader community in a tourism context. Utilizing the visitor assets found at neighbouring FH the town should explore investing in the development of complimentary infrastructure and programing on this property that provides additional reasons to visit the area while supporting investments made at Friday Harbour.

Recommendation: Pursue Possibilities for a Town of Innisfil Lakefront Land Development Investment Concept

Role / Responsibility: TOI, Friday Harbour (consult) Town of Innisfil to proactively explore development opportunities that compliment the FH offer while delivering supplemental non- resident four-season tourism visitation and revenues because of infrastructure investments made on the site by the Town.

Actions:  TOI to initiate internal dialogue to identify investment / development options. These should include, among others: o A self-contained wakeboard park / training facility o Offices of the provincial water sports organizations – Boating Ontario, Water Ski Wakeboard Ontario, Canoe Ontario, Ontario Sailing Association, Row Ontario etc. o Training facilities for above water sports o Hosting events and competitions in partnership with FH including staging area o Angling connection – training facility, tournament headquarters, ice fishing outfitter o Water based retail component – sales offices / display centre for water sports related equipment and gear

Performance Metrics:  TOI to deliver a site options paper by Fall 2017

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 71 FINDINGS / RECOMMENDATIONS: CREATING AWARENESS

Finding / Recommendation #9: There is an opportunity to enhance the online presence of Innisfil’s tourism operators’ (websites, TripAdvisor, Facebook). The Town of Innisfil website provides very basic tourism information thereby leaving guests that want to visit with a lack of relevant information (sports facilities are showcased well on the Town website).

Recommendation: Improve Innisfil’s Online Presence / Customer Engagement

Role / Responsibility: TOI, Operators, TSC, RTO7 Working with Tourism Simcoe County and RTO7, the Town of Innisfil needs to ensure that Innisfil has a strong collective consumer presence on these websites. Individual businesses owners have an opportunity to leverage the tools that are available to them on these DMO / RTO websites to reach and service visitors.

Actions:  TOI staff to ensure updated content that features Innisfil’s new unique tourism themes be put on the TOI, TSC and RTO7 websites as well as their social media channels;  TOI staff to ensure operators are in regular communication with TSC and RTO7 and are providing relevant information about their business to be put on TSC and RTO7 websites as well as their social media channels, and;  Provide owner operators with knowledge and skills to update their own websites, leverage social media, TripAdvisor and Facebook presence (Library’s Digital Literacy/Smart Citizen initiative, see Recommendation 3).

Performance Metrics:  Updated content featuring unique experiences on TOI and others sites by March 2017  Owner-operators, especially accommodators, and attractions participate in TripAdvisor training and have active accounts in place by May 2017 (improve key sector participation from 40% to 70%)  Owner-operators to participate in Facebook training and have active accounts in place by May 2017 (improve active participation from 38% to 60%)

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 72 Finding / Recommendation #10: In discussions with the TOI and the Working Group it was clear that residents and business owners may not be aware of what Innisfil has to offer and therefore Innisfil’s “Ideal Guest” markets (VFR, day-tripper, and sports tourism) are currently untapped. Opportunities exist in three key areas: • VFR: Local empty nesters (particularly Connected Explorers) should be better equipped to host VFR especially taking advantage of the “Fast-Paced Entertainment” and “Rural Retail & Arts” experiences that will be developed as outlined in Recommendation #5. • Day-trippers: Building on the momentum of Recommendation #6 where direct and indirect tourism businesses are engaged and equipped with the knowledge of all the things to see and do in Innisfil, area businesses should then be cross-promoting and encouraging day-trippers to stay longer and spend more. • Sports Tourism: Residents and businesses can be more actively involved in sports tourism by acting as hosts or ambassadors, serving as volunteers and helping animate an Innisfil experience.

Recommendation: Equip and Empower Locals to be Tourism Ambassadors

Role / Responsibility: TOI, Operators, Downtown Business Associations, Residents Working with tourism stakeholders and businesses introduce key messages that reinforce the importance of tourism from both an economic and pride of place perspective. Introduce programming that strives to position Innisfil as a welcoming destination where consumers will want to return time and time again. Equip operators to go above and beyond to be good hosts and empower residents to be tourism ambassadors. These efforts align with Recommendation #3 where operators learn the importance of customer service in such free courses as Region 7’s online Service Excellence Training program20 and the developments completed in Recommendations #5 and #6.

Actions:  Present the TDMP at a Town event to ensure local businesses are aware of the value of tourism and the recommendations of the plan and how they may play a role in the success of tourism in Innisfil;  Identify all internal audiences to be engaged by communications including residents, direct and indirect tourism operators, sports organizations, and business associations;  Create specific tools that fit the various internal audiences and allow Innisfil residents, groups, and business owners to be tourism ambassadors (can include such tactics as community newsletters, a campaign that boosts awareness of website, social media and directional maps), and;  Host networking events such as a brochure exchange or combine introductions at industry training sessions that tourism owner/operators would attend (Recommendation # 3).

20 http://rto7.ca/Public/Resources/BGS-Tourism-Service-Excellence-Training

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 73 Performance Metrics:  Present TDMP at Town event by March 2017  Identify all internal audiences and form an understanding of where they are most likely to source information on things to see and do in Innisfil by April 2017  Create specific tactics (such as community newsletters, website, social media and directional maps) to meet the needs of the internal audiences and implement by Spring 2017  Host a minimum of 3 tourism industry networking events each year starting in the Fall of 2017

Finding / Recommendation #11: While Recommendation #9 focuses on leveraging internal audiences to promote Innisfil’s tourism experiences, there is a need to also focus on reaching external audiences, specifically Innisfil’s Ideal Guests that are from away by creating awareness and demand that will attract new visitors. Recommendation # 2 focuses on establishing synergies with key tourism organizations such as Tourism Simcoe County and RTO7. Both have mandates to promote the area, which provides Innisfil with an opportunity to leverage these partners.

The sports tourism development work as outlined in Recommendation #7 will lead to a level of readiness that will allow Innisfil to target specific sports events and leverage their membership with Canadian Sports Tourism Alliance.

Recommendation: Promote “Fast-Paced Entertainment”, “Rural Retail and Arts”, Friday Harbour Events / Activities to External Audiences and Create a Targeted Sports Tourism Sales Strategy

Role / Responsibility: TOI, Tourism Operators, TSC, RTO7 Actions:  Building on the actions in Recommendation #5, the Fast-Paced Entertainment and Rural Retail and Arts Task Teams, with support from the TOI, should provide TSC and RTO7 with details of the newly developed experiences and determine opportunities to leverage their marketing activities, and;  Building on Recommendation #7 there will be an opportunity to identify and then strategically pursue Sports Tourism events through CSTA* either individually or in partnership with other Simcoe County communities.

Performance Metrics:  Develop key messages for leisure market that can be promoted through TSC and RTO7 channels and implement in 2017  Develop sports tourism messaging to be used for external audiences including sports / event rights holders and decision makers and media, event participants and potential visitors plus others who may hear about Innisfil through the hosting of sport tourism events in 2017 / 2018

*TOI should become members of CSTA.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 74 APPENDIX A: TDMP PLANNING PROCESS

Stage 1: Client Briefing – Affirmation of Work Plan and Deliverables, Creation of a Communications Plan  BT held an on-site meeting with Town of Innisfil staff and the TWG to affirm the proposed work plan and validate the deliverables as identified in the proposal. A Communications Plan to connect and inform stakeholders of the TDMP process was established.

Stage 2: Gathering the Evidence Literature / Documentation Review  BT completed a comprehensive and thorough review of existing reports, plans, and studies related to Innisfil as well as pertinent international, national, provincial, regional and county tourism documentation.

Industry Interviews – Identified Stakeholders  BT facilitated a series of conversations with lead tourism stakeholders and senior representatives of the key tourism organizations.

Understand the Destination (Tourism Asset Assessment) and its Ideal Guests  BT conducted an on-site and desk-based tourism asset assessment.  The purpose of the on-site assessment was to garner a first-hand understanding of the experiences offered and the infrastructure present to attract and service guests.  Richard Innes (BT) then spent 3 days on the ground in Innisfil in January and April visiting the major tourist attractions and dining in F&B establishments. He met individually and with groups of tourism operators to garner a first-hand understanding of Innisfil’s opportunities and challenges and of the experiences offered and the infrastructure present to attract and service guests.  Grant MacDonald spent one day on site in early January meeting with representatives of the Town of Innisfil and touring various sports venues that could have the potential to serve as host sites for sport tourism events. This site visit did not include meetings with sports groups or other organizations in the community that can support the attraction and host of sport tourism events.  The desk-based assessment involved a website review of the primary tourism assets and supporting infrastructure. This allowed for a deep understanding and perspective of the destination’s tourism assets using online tools because that’s what the customer uses.  Initially, the Town of Innisfil provided a database and working document of tourism businesses. This information became the foundation of the asset data and was added to through on-line searches in business directories, community websites and other tourism related portals.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 75  The on-line assessment was completed in January 2016. This early work allowed for the identification of experience clusters and demand generators.  The consultation process with the municipal staff and the TWG validated the key findings and the recommendations that stemmed from the aggregated information that the assessment template provided.  Richard spent another day in Innisfil in September to visit Friday Harbour. He had a site visit with the CEO.

Stakeholder Vision Sessions  Using the knowledge gained during the interview and assessment process detailed above, the team prepared a “Backgrounder” document designed to detail core observations and findings and set the stage for the preparation of an agenda for stakeholder vision / consultation sessions.  The backgrounder document was reviewed with municipal staff and the TWG during an online / telephone call in order to gain understanding and approval of the findings and the vision session purpose, process, and agenda.  BT facilitated two vision sessions in three locations in February 2016 with key stakeholders and industry partners in order to maximize participation. The purpose of these 2-hour sessions was to garner understanding and engagement in the Town of Innisfil tourism destination management plan process and to solicit feedback, input, and validation for the opportunities identified and possible development initiatives to be considered. Unfortunately, these sessions were not well attended. This in part, reinforced the thinking that work needed to be done to engage tourism operators in a collective approach to tourism development and therefore the recommendation that the Town in the near-term needed to take on the catalyst role.

Stages 3 & 4: Setting the Direction and Identifying the Action Preparation of DRAFT Destination Management Plan  Based on the considerable amount of work done in the earlier phases the BT team assessed the opportunities identified and prepared draft findings and recommendations to be first reviewed, modified and validated with municipal staff and the TWG.  The draft report followed shortly thereafter for validation from municipal staff and RTO7. A conference call took place in September with members of the TOI management team. Input and feedback were received during the call that required the consultant to do further work to flush out specific aspects of the findings, this included more recent information pertaining to plans at Friday Harbour. Edits were then made and Draft IV report prepared and submitted in November.  Minor edits were received and a Final plan prepared and delivered in late October.  The final report will be presented to Council early in 2017.

After this consultative and iterative process, the findings and recommendations were validated by those involved.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 76 Timing Immediate-term (2016/2017) APPENDIX B: RECOMMENDATIONS / ACTIONS SUMMARY Mid-term (2017/2018)

Long-term (2018+)

Recommendation # 1: The Town of Innisfil to be a Catalyst for Tourism Growth & Sports Tourism Development Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters Build understanding and consensus Present TDMP to Innisfil Council by Jan 2017 TOI Tourism Working around the roles and responsibilities to Group support and drive TDMP Commit to regular and on-going Deliver TDMP updates to Municipal Council TOI Tourism Working communication with Tourism Stakeholders (minimum of 2 x year) Group and provide elected officials regular updates Create and distribute an “Importance of Create “Importance of Tourism” fact sheet by May TOI Tourism Working Tourism” fact sheet for Innisfil 2017 and distribute during Tourism Week, June Group. RTO7 2017. Gather fact and figures with assistance of Tourism Working Group

Enhance industry communications – Launch online tourism industry newsletter in May TOI Tourism Working create a quarterly online tourism industry 2017 Group newsletter Establish sports tourism mandate and 2017 TOI Sports groups, communication channels to stakeholder facilities, local groups business Create consistent approach to managing 2017 TOI Sports groups, dislocation of regular users facilities Establish consistent approach to event 2017 TOI attraction and funding Establish value-in-kind parameters for 2017 TOI facility usage and other municipal services Create a proactive solution to address the 2018 TOI Area accommodations accommodations gap for sport tourism providers events

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 77 Timing Immediate-term (2016/2017) Mid-term (2017/2018) Long-term (2018+) Recommendation # 2: Strategically Align with Tourism Agencies (Simcoe County, RTO7) and other Municipalities Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters Municipality to be proactively engaged in Conduct semi-annual (at minimum) information TOI SC, RTO7 Simcoe County and RTO7 activities exchange meetings starting in 2017 Municipality meet with senior staff at SC, and Innisfil to participate in at least 2 SC and RTO7 TOI SC, RTO7 RTO7 and present the Innisfil TDMP to secure partnership events or activities in 2017 understanding of the actions Innisfil’s tourism stakeholders and the Municipality will be taking in the immediate term to improve its tourism competitiveness and appeal Hold regular communication with other key Municipal staff to continue to conduct semi-annual TOI SC, Conservation areas, public agencies and Municipal and County (at minimum) information exchange meetings land stewards, departments who play a role in snowmobile association, maintaining/operating infrastructure that is etc. important to visitors (i.e. road maintenance or beach clean-up)

Recommendation #3: Provide Operators with Tourism Specific Training Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters Identify and prioritize training topics to be Identify training initiatives / topics by March 2017 TOI implemented in 2016 Inventory existing training being delivered by Provide access to a minimum of 3 training TOI SC, RTO7, BIAs, other organizations and once complete, align sessions / opportunities by May 2017 Chamber of Commerce, these activities with Innisfil’s tourism industry Workforce Development needs and seek opportunities to co-host or Board promote existing programs to businesses Identify a training model that maximizes Register a minimum of 25 businesses / TOI SC, RTO7, BIAs, participation of industry stakeholders organizations for training by May 2017 Chamber of Commerce, recognizing that individuals learn in different Workforce Development ways. Board

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 78 Timing Immediate-term (2016/2017) Mid-term (2017/2018) Long-term (2018+) Recommendation # 4: Town of Innisfil to actively engage developers interested in locating in Innisfil Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters TOI to meet with SCEDO to specifically discuss Meet in Winter 2017 TOI SCECO, SC Tourism desire and rationale for attracting a new hotel TOI to prepare feasibility study to use to attract By July 2017 TOI SCECO, SC Tourism potential investors TOI to explore partnership with Georgian By Fall 2017 TOI College’s Kempenfelt Conference Centre

Recommendation # 5: Grow the incidence and spending of the VFR market by developing unique themes Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters Discuss opportunities to access experience Confirm the availability of RTO7’s experience TOI/RTO7 development training through RTO7’s staff development program and timing by Feb 2017 resource Identify “experience development instigators” Form Task Teams with a Terms of Reference by TOI Local businesses who and create Task Teams for Fast-Paced Feb 2017 align with themes Entertainment and Rural Retail/Arts themes Works with each working group to create a Creation of a compelling narrative that includes Task Teams TOI Terms of Reference which details the working two enhanced, purchasable, overnight visitor Local businesses who relationship, expectations, roles / experience by Summer 2017 align with themes responsibilities and deliverables Facilitate a process that utilizes the ideal guest Leverage marketing programs (as appropriate) Task Teams TOI profiles to identify the tourism product and designed to direct visitors to the relevant or TSC experience opportunities and gaps featured attractions / suppliers who are tourism RTO7 market ready and can close the sale by Summer 2017 Develop a communications strategy to ensure Roll out communications to local residents by May TOI Chamber of Commerce, local residents are aware of new experience 2017 Task Teams Local Homeowner clusters Associations, Neighbourhood groups.

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 79 Timing Immediate-term (2016/2017) Mid-term (2017/2018) Long-term (2018+) Recommendation # 6: Grow Length of Stay and Spending of Day-Trippers Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters Inventory and evaluate the tools in place to Establish requirements by March 2017 TOI Downtown Business inform and assist local business owners Associations providing recommendations, directions, and Fulfill gaps in service (maps, website content, referrals to visitors. newsletters) March 2017 Nurture an environment of partnerships and Host or co-host networking events to promote the TOI Downtown Business cross promotion culture of cooperative competition by May 2017 Associations Develop a communications strategy to ensure Provide on-going communications to local TOI Downtown Business local businesses are aware of the unique businesses by May 2017 Associations experiences available to visitors

Recommendation # 7: Develop a Five-Year Target List for Sport Tourism Events Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters Conduct a sports tourism assessment based Assessment Summer 2017 TOI Sports groups, facilities on technical standards for identified sport / target Develop 5-year sports tourism event target list List for created and unique events, sports that TOI Sports groups, facilities align with existing facilities, sports meetings and conferences and multi-sport events Summer 2017 Develop an outcome-based approach to sports Establish outcomes and impacts Summer 2017 TOI tourism with decision support parameters Establish decision-support parameters by Summer 2017 Develop long-term partnership approach with Partnership and plan by Fall 2017 TOI Simcoe County for large-scale events

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 80 Timing

Immediate-term (2016/2017)

Mid-term (2017/2018) Long-term (2018+) Recommendation # 8: Pursue Possibilities for Town of Innisfil Lakefront Land Development Investment Concept Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters TOI to initiate internal dialogue to identify TOI investment development options paper by Fall TOI FH investment / development options. 2017

Recommendation # 9: Improve Innisfil’s Online Presence / Customer Engagement Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters Municipality to ensure updated content that Updated content featuring unique experiences on TOI SC, RTO7 features Innisfil’s new unique tourism themes TOI and others sites by March 2017 be put on the TOI, SC and RTO7 websites as well as their social media channels. Provide owner operators with knowledge and Owner-operators, especially accommodators, and TOI SC, RTO7 skills to update the TSC and RTO7 websites as attractions participate in TripAdvisor training and Owner well as their own websites, leverage social have active accounts in place by May 2017 Operators media and trip advisor presence (see (improve key sector participation from 40% to Recommendation 3). 60%)

Owner-operators to participate in Facebook training and have active accounts in place by May 2017 (improve active participation from 38% to 60%)

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 81 Timing Immediate-term (2016/2017) Mid-term (2017/2018) Long-term (2018+) Recommendation # 10: Equip and Empower Locals to be Tourism Ambassadors Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters Present the TDMP at a Town event March 2017 TOI Identify all internal audiences to be engaged by April 2017 TOI communications Create specific tools that fit the various internal Spring 2017 TOI audiences and allow Innisfil residents, groups and business owners to be tourism ambassadors Host networking events such as a brochure Fall 2017 TOI exchange or combine introductions at industry training sessions that tourism owner/operators would attend (Recommendation # 3)

Recommendation # 11: Promote “Fast-Paced Entertainment” and “Rural Retail and Arts” to External Audiences and Create a Targeted Sports Tourism Sales Strategy Action Performance Metric/Timing Lead Supporters Develop key messages for leisure market that 2017 TOI, Local TCS, RTO7 can be promoted through TSC and RTO7 businesses channels who align with themes Develop sports tourism messaging to be used for 2017/2018 TOI Chamber of Commerce, external audiences including sports / event rights BIA holders and decision makers and media, event participants and potential visitors plus others who may hear about Innisfil through the hosting of sport tourism events

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 82 APPENDIX D: EVENT LIST

 Town of Innisfil Volunteer Appreciation BBQ  Healthy Living Show  Job Fairs (2)  Town of Innisfil Pitch In Event  Innisfil Cruiser’s Car Show – Innisfil Beach Park  Innisfil Rotary Fun Run/Walk 2015 – Innisfil Beach Park  Town of Innisfil Permit Palooza Town Hall  Cookstown Chamber Picnic in the Park – Cookstown Splash Pad  Cookstown Wing Ding – Village of Cookstown  ICE Corp. Summerfest  Innisfil Rotary Family Fun Day - Innisfil Recreational Complex  PLASH Festival - Innisfil Beach Park  Celtic Festival - Innisfil Beach Park (Cancelled last year)  Spooktacular, Alcona  Boonanza, Cookstown  Winterfest – Innisfil Beach Park  Rotary Family Fun Day  Library Films in the Park  Cookstown Light Up Night  ICE Corp Santa Clause Parade  Rotary Pictures with Santa  ICE Corp New Year’s Eve Skate and Fireworks  Sandy Cove Canada Day Parade  Remembrance Day Service and Lefroy Legion Parade  Farmers’ Market  Mayor’s Gala  Mayor’s Golf

Town of Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan - 2016 83