Durham Region's
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November 2006 Durham Region’s Tourist Destination Project Growing Together: Building our tourism destination. The Regional Municipality of Durham Economic Development & Tourism Department Durham Region Premier-ranked Tourist Destination Project Team 2005 - 2006 Andrea Monaghan, Tourism Manager Jan Seppala, Tourism Coordinator Tel: 905-668-4113, Ext. 2606 Tel: 905-668-4113, Ext. 2608 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Glenda Duncan and Colleen Abbott Zaybee Bokor Researcher – Restaurants, Marinas, Skiing Researcher – Attractions, Festivals & Events Eric Johnson Paul Kilistoff Researcher – Retail, Business Improvement Areas & Researcher – Accommodations, Parks & Trails Chambers of Commerce A special thanks to Jill Vandal of the Tourism Company, whose services were retained to assist in the evaluation of Durham’s tourism performance, and to prepare a detailed 5 –10 year strategic plan that responds to the opportunities and challenges identified through the Premier-ranked Tourist Destination Framework process. The assistance, support and expertise of the following individuals and organizations are appreciated. Paul Samson - Ontario Ministry of Tourism Caroline Polgrabia - Ontario Ministry of Tourism Tracey Desjardin - Ontario Ministry of Tourism Martin Rondeau – Sudbury Tourism The Regional Municipality of Durham Economic Development & Tourism Department 605 Rossland Road E, 5L, Whitby ON L1N 6A3 Tel: 905-668-7711 Website: www.region.durham.on.ca 1 COMMITTEE MEMBERS Thank you to the Steering and Industry committee members who volunteered their time and expertise. Their contribution was invaluable to the success of this project. Steering Committee Noel Hutchinson - City of Oshawa Bob Malcolmson – The Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce Mayor Marilyn Pearce - Township of Scugog Mark Gladysz - Town of Whitby Betty Penny - Scugog Island Cruises Ltd. Tricia van der Male - Whitby Chamber of Commerce Trallee Fanara – Hillcrest Inn Bed & Breakfast Jan Vreeker - Municipality of Clarington Patricia Yackison - Whitby Information Centre Erica McDonald – City of Oshawa Marilyn McGill -Tour Operator Attractions Committee Retail Committee Gary Faulkner - Durham West Arts Centre John Redman - Redman's Country Store Kerri King - Eclipse Concerts, Inc. Alison Sheppard -Town of Ajax Angie Littlefield - Durham West Arts Centre Sue Pitchforth –Councilor, Town of Whitby Kathy Wasylenky – Councilor, Township of Uxbridge Kristyn Smith - Scugog Chamber of Commerce Bob Shepherd – Councilor, Township of Uxbridge Colleen Pingle - Pingles Farm Market Dave Marlowe - Pickering Museum Village Yvonne Williams - Driftwood Theatre Group Brian Malcolm - Parkwood, The R. S. McLaughlin Estate Food & Beverage Committee Greg Seemann - Wooden Sticks Golf Inc. Don Andrews - Don on Main Craig MacDonald - Lakeridge Ski Resort Ltd. Karen Windatt –Councilor, Township of Brock Dorothy Shier - Ontario Association of Agricultural Robin Burns - McDonalds Restaurants (Oshawa / Societies Clarington) Rocky Varcoe - Class Act Dinner Theatre Manon Lacroutz - Nice Bistro Kathy Fremes - Country Hill Farm Brenda Metcalfe - Steamers Restaurant & Catering Accommodations Committee Jason Weir, Quality Suites Whitby Ashok Narula, Holiday Inn Express Petra Schwirtz, Our Valley View Bed & Breakfast Jo Whiston, Lavender Cottage Bed & Breakfast 2 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 7 WHAT IS THE PREMIER-RANKED TOURIST DESTINATION FRAMEWORK?..................................................7 WHY DURHAM REGION ......................................................................................................................................8 THE PROJECT PROCESS ...................................................................................................................................9 DURHAM REGION COMMUNITY PROFILE ......................................................................................................15 PRODUCT EVALUATION – PrTD RATING: PARTIAL ........................................... 17 ELEMENT A: DISTINCTIVE CORE AND SUPPORTING ATTRACTIONS – PARTIAL.......................................17 ELEMENT B: QUALITY AND CRITICAL MASS – PARTIAL ...............................................................................38 ELEMENT C: SATISFACTION AND VALUE – PARTIAL ....................................................................................49 ELEMENT D: ACCESSIBILITY – YES ................................................................................................................50 ELEMENT E: ACCOMMODATIONS BASE – PARTIAL .....................................................................................55 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION – PrTD RATING: PARTIAL................................. 57 ELEMENT F: VISITATION – PARTIAL................................................................................................................57 ELEMENT G: OCCUPANCY AND YIELD – PARTIAL ........................................................................................61 ELEMENT H: CRITICAL ACCLAIM – PARTIAL ..................................................................................................63 FUTURITY EVALUATION – PrTD RATING: PARTIAL ........................................... 67 ELEMENT I: DESTINATION MARKETING – PARTIAL.......................................................................................67 ELEMENT J: PRODUCT RENEWAL – YES .......................................................................................................70 ELEMENT K: MANAGING WITHIN CARRYING CAPACITY – PARTIAL............................................................71 CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS ..................................................................... 77 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 81 GLOSSARY ........................................................................................................... 83 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................ 87 APPENDIX 1.0 RESOURCE AUDIT RESULTS ..................................................................................................89 APPENDIX 2.0 TRAVEL TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION CHECKLIST .........................................................90 APPENDIX 3.0 PERFORMANCE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................91 APPENDIX 4.0 PROPOSED REGIONAL TRAIL NETWORK MAP.....................................................................92 APPENDIX 5.0 LIST OF TOURISM RELATED HERITAGE SITES IN DURHAM ...............................................93 APPENDIX 6.0 RESOURCE OPPORTUNITY MATRIX ......................................................................................94 APPENDIX 7.0 TOURISM INVESTMENT IN DURHAM REGION.......................................................................98 3 4 INTRODUCTION WHAT IS THE PREMIER-RANKED TOURIST DESTINATION FRAMEWORK? Tourist Destinations are constantly trying to distinguish themselves in the marketplace, aspiring to achieve premier status and operate at the highest level within their reach. In 2001 The Premier-ranked Tourist Destination Framework was developed by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation. It was designed as a tool for destinations to inventory and analyze themselves in the tourism marketplace. “Premier-ranked” focuses on enabling the destination to “be the best it can be”. The word “Premier” is typically defined to mean first in rank, position, importance, or quality. Being a Premier-ranked Tourist Destination is important because it says “here is a place more attractive than the rest”, a place the potential visitor should consider first in making travel plans. The Premier-ranked workbook is a tool to measure the market status of the destination. It is a manual for working through a framework that: captures the attributes /factors/conditions considered necessary for a destination to be perceived as Premier-ranked identifies strengths and opportunities that might be used to create a sustainable competitive advantage provides a focus for building an expanded network of tourism stakeholders and consensus on future priorities for action The Framework provides tools for destination areas to use in assessing their position in the marketplace. It is intended for use by destination areas rather than individual attractions, and is relevant to destinations of any size and with any degree of current market success. Fundamentally, it is designed to identify strategic targets a destination can aim for as it strives to improve performance in the tourism marketplace. It is defined as a self-contained analytical process to be worked through. Although a commitment of time and energy is required, the investment is rewarded by insights and directions gained. A destination will have a very clear picture of its destinations status, the strengths and weakness supporting or constraining that status, and the direction that might be pursued to further improve market success. The destination should also enjoy a significantly expanded and more capable network of industry stakeholders, with a more cohesive focus on solving the challenges ahead. In order for a destination to be considered a Premier-ranked Tourist Destination it must receive an exceptional rating in the product, performance and