Grey County Visitor Characteristics 2006-2010

Prepared using Ministry of Tourism Regional Profile Data

The Resource Management Consulting Group insights… ideas… innovative strategies DRAFT

February 2013

Grey County Visitor Characteristics 2006-2010

Using Ontario Regional Tourism Profile Data to Understand Grey County Visitors

This report presents the most up-to-date tourism profile data for Grey County, based on data provided by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (OMTCS). The data are derived from:  Statistics , Travel Survey of Residents of Canada, and  , International Travel Survey.

Because Grey County visitors comprise a very small segment of the two national surveys and the Grey County sample is small, the data do not provide a reliable measure of year over year trends. Although visitor characteristics appear to be quite consistent across the 5 years, visitor numbers and visitor spending showed very high increases in the first 3 years and very sharp decreases in the last two years. These trends were exacerbated when the Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model (TREIM by OMTCS) was applied.

As a result, OMTCS recommended that Grey County use running averages and identify common trends for visitor characteristics across the period 2006 to 2010. Because visitor numbers, visitor spending and economic impact modeling for Grey County are not reliable, OMTCS suggested looking to trends for the BruceGreySimcoe region (see accompanying report Grey County Tourism Update 2012).

Finally, we understand that there will be considerable changes to the methodology for the Regional Tourism Profiles beginning with the 2011 data set. As a result, data prior to 2011 will not be comparable to data after 2011. Therefore, it is timely for Grey County to have assembled the 2006-2010 data and glean the insight it provides before the methodology changes.

1 February 2013

Grey County Visitor Characteristics 2006-2010

Grey County Visitor Characteristics 2006-2010 Source: Special run of Grey County data provided by Alex Galea, OMTCS Research Unit

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1 Total Visits (000s) 1,547 1,840 1,779 1,529 1,298

2 Length of Stay Overnight 49% 48% 54% 50% 48% 51% 52% 46% 50% 52% Same Day

3 Place of Origin Ontario 95% 96% 96% 97% 96% Other Canada 0% 0% 1% N/A N/A US 3% 3% 2% 2% 3% Overseas 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%

4 Top 10 Visitor Residence Locations (% of Total Visits) Same Day Visits Day and Overnight Visits 1 CD43Simcoe 18% CD 20 19% CD41 Bruce 25% CD 20 Toronto 20% CD41 Bruce 14% 2 CD41 Bruce 15% CD41 Bruce 13% CD 20 Toronto 20% CD41 Bruce 11% CD20 Toronto 11% 3 CD20Toronto 14% CD30 Waterloo 10% CD19York 11% CD30 Waterloo 10% CD23Wellington 10% 4 CD23Wellington 8% CD43 Simcoe 9% CD30 Waterloo 11% CD23Wellington 8% CD30 Waterloo 10% 5 CD21Peel 7% CD22Dufferin 8% CD42Grey 9% CD43 Simcoe 7% CD24 Halton 9% 6 CD42Grey 6% CD23Wellington 7% CD43 Simcoe 7% CD19York 6% CD42 Grey 8% 7 CD19York 4% CD19York 5% CD23Wellington 6% CD42Grey 5% CD21 Peel 7% 8 CD30Waterloo 4% CD24Halton 4% CD24Halton 5% CD21Peel 5% CD43 Simcoe 6% 9 CD39Middlesex 4% CD25Ham-Went 4% CD21Peel 4% CD24Halton 3% CD31 Perth 2% 10 CD42Halton 3% CD21Peel 2% CD25Ham-Went 0% CD39Middlesex 3% CD39 Middlesex 2%

2 February 2013

Grey County Visitor Characteristics 2006-2010

Grey County Visitor Characteristics 2006-2010 Source: Special run of Grey County data provided by Alex Galea, OMTCS Research Unit

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Overnight Visits 1 CD2Toronto 26% CD20 Toronto 24% CD 20 Toronto 36% 2 CD30Waterloo 10% CD21 Peel 12% CD19York 13% 3 CD19York 9% CD21Halton 9% CD43 Simcoe 10% 4 CD23Wellington 6% CD19York 8% CD30 Waterloo 10% 5 CD21Peel 4% CD30Waterloo 6% CD23Wellington 7% 6 CD24Halton 4% CD25Ham-Went 5% CD21Peel 7% 7 CD39Middlesex 3% CD43Simcoe 4% CD25Ham-Went 7% 8 CD43Simcoe 3% CD23Wellington 4% CD24Halton 5% 9 CD41Bruce 2% CD42Bruce 1% CD41 Bruce 3% 10 CD42Grey 2% CD22Dufferin 0% CD42 Grey 2%

5 Total Visits by Quarter (% of Total Visits) Q1 32% 27% 29% 26% 16% Q2 18% 19% 23% 24% 31%

Q3 32% 32% 35% 33% 29% Q4 18% 21% 13% 17% 24%

6 Party Composition (% of Visits) Canada Adults only 75% 76% 67% 76% 82% With Children 25% 24% 33% 24% 18% US Adults only 93% 90% 90% 93% 89% With Children 7% 10% 10% 7% 11%

3 February 2013

Grey County Visitor Characteristics 2006-2010

Grey County Visitor Characteristics 2006-2010 Source: Special run of Grey County data provided by Alex Galea, OMTCS Research Unit

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Overseas Adults only 87% 90% 79% 88% 92% With Children 13% 10% 21% 12% 8%

7 Party Size (Number) Canada 3.2 3.3 3.1 2.9 2.4 US 2.1 2.0 2.0 1.9 2.2 Average 3.1 3.3 3.1 2.9 2.4

8 Average Age (Years) 42.3 42.3 43.5 45.2 47.3

9 Visitor participation in top 9 Activities (% of Total Visits)1 1 All outdr. sports 48% All outdr. Sports 52% All outdr. sports 46% VFR 56% VFR 47% 2 VFR 38% VFR 29% VFR 40% All outdr. sports 39% All outdr. sports 27% 3 Skiing/Boarding 13% Skiing/Boarding 13% Skiing/Boarding 17% Skiing/Boarding 13% Nat/Prov 7% 4 Sightseeing 10% Shopping 9% Shopping 7% Golfing 5% Golfing 6% 5 Shopping 9% Nat/Prov Parks 8% Nat/Prov 6% Nat/Prov 4% Historic Sites 6% 6 Bars/Nightclubs 6% Golfing 7% Boating 5% Boating 4% Museum/Art Gals 6% 7 Golfing 4% Fishing 6% Golfing 5% Sports Events 3% Boating 5% 8 Fishing 4% Sightseeing 5% Sports Events 4% Fishing 3% Fishing 3% 9 Nat/Prov Parks 4% Boating 5% Sightseeing 3% Fetivals/Fairs 2% Sports Events 3%

1 “All outdoor sports” includes a wide variety of sports. The named sports (boating, golfing, fishing, hunting and downhill skiing/boarding are also included in the “all outdoor sports category”. The categories are not exhaustive. They are the common categories of the Resident Canadian survey and the International Visitor survey.

4 February 2013

Grey County Visitor Characteristics 2006-2010

Grey County Visitor Characteristics 2006-2010 Source: Special run of Grey County data provided by Alex Galea, OMTCS Research Unit

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

10 Accommodation (% of Total Nights Spent) Private Home/Cottage/ 68% 42% 62% 58% 62% Cabin Roofed Commercial 28% 34% 31% 31% 26% Camping/Trailer Park 2% 8% 5% 6% 7% Other Accommodation 3% 16% 2% 5% 5%

11 Visitor Spending by Category (% of Total) Total Expenditure $201M $241M $331M $240 M $136 M Food & Beverage (Total) 35% 30% 26% 30% 35% At Stores 13% 11% 10% 11% 14% At Restaurants/Bars 22% 19% 17% 19% 21%

Accommodation 20% 29% 17% 18% 16% Vehicle Operations 15% 14% 11% 13% 20% Recreation/Entertainment 15% 14% 9% 9% 5% Retail 13% 12% 34% 31% 23%

12 Average Expenditure Per Visit All Visitors $131 $131 $186 $157 $105

Overnight Visitors $192 $201 $288 $246 $152

5 February 2013