West Grey Council (Photo from West Grey Council YouTube)
A strategic plan presented to West Grey aims to grow economic development through tourism.
Council heard from a group from the Wilfrid Laurier University Lazaridis School of Business and Economics on a tourism and marketing strategy plan they have been work on for the municipality during a meeting on Aug. 15.
The plan explains tourism to be one of the main pillars that leads to a strong economy, by creating a community identity to help attract industry and residents in the future.
“The goal right now is to create tourism as a pillar of the community and create actionable measurable goals that are attainable for the community to operationalize and reap the benefits of in the end,” says presenter Brian Garel.
Garel says it is clear the environment has a part to play in local tourism.
“It’s definitely a piece that is a huge asset and how can we utilize the assets that are here to encourage people from all over Ontario and the world to visit West Grey. Ultimately, we want to grow a strategy for tourism development that will lead to economic development in other industries and contribute to overall growth and development,” says Garel.
Presenter Katherine Halsall says the strategy plan was developed based on the type of people who would visit West Grey, best tourism practices, and marketing strategies.
“There are actually 21 initiatives that we have recommended over the short, medium and long-term that will produce outcomes that will lead to a well-developed and intentional tourism offering,” says Garel.
An example of an initiative the municipality could undertake would be to collect marketing content like photos, videos and testimonials to used as promotional material, which could be used to show off the municipality at all times of the year.
Garel says the finalized strategy plan has been given to the municipality and can be operationalized whenever West Grey chooses to do so.
“It is something the Municipality of West Grey has struggled with. We are a tourism destination, a destination where people come, may be not as much on the four seasons, but certainly in the summer season, and how to expand and grow that, I think this is a very good vision,” says Mayor Kevin Eccles.