Formally known as the Georgian Triangle Tourist Association, Visit South Georgian Bay, the region’s most experienced tourism organization, is reinventing how it does business to better reflect visitor needs in a booming tourism economy.
In the fall of 2018, it announced a bold re-branding to South Georgian Bay Tourism, based on a new platform and industry first focus, becoming a Destination Education Organization (DEO).
It now announces the next phase of its evolution… the creation of new Visitor Information Centres. Driven by the insight that digital has become the leading source of information for tourists planning to visit any destination, these new Information Centres will provide ‘last mile’ education to tourists about all the great things to do in South Georgian Bay. The new Information Centres will be located in hotels, restaurants, attractions, as well as other businesses and organizations that meet a specific set of criteria. Starting April 1, 2019, there will be locations in each of South Georgian Bay’s participating municipalities which include Town of Meaford, Town of The Blue Mountains, Town of Collingwood and Township of Clearview.
The new Visitor Information Centres will also be highlighted on the 2019 Visitor Map and on the website at www.SouthGeorgianBay.ca. The website will include new enhanced portals for each of the participating municipalities’ towns and villages, reinforcing one of the region’s unique attributes as a ‘collection of communities.’
With the tourism organization staff focus shifting to keeping these new Visitor Information Centres educated about all the great things happening in South Georgian Bay every season, the organization will be moving out of the Collingwood Museum which has served as a central office for many years. In exchange for space at the Collingwood Museum, the association provided welcoming services for Museum visitors.
“The information office at the Museum has been a mutually beneficial arrangement but our organization needs to evolve based on our new strategic focus and the emergence of the ‘digital tourist’,” commented Mylisa Henderson, a Board Member for South Georgian Bay Tourism and Co-Owner of Scandinave Spa Blue Mountain.
As of the start of September, the tourism association will vacate the Collingwood Museum.
Dean Collver, Director of Parks, Recreation & Culture for the Town of Collingwood oversees the Collingwood Museum, recognizes this as mutually beneficial decision. “Tourism is definitely evolving, and the static Information Centre model is being replaced by new technology and other opportunities. We are grateful for the partnership with the tourism association over the past several years, but we are excited for the progressive direction that South Georgian Bay Tourism is taking with this new model and we are fully supportive of the change.”
About South Georgian Bay Tourism
The Destination Education Organization (DEO) helps enhance the visitor experience through seamless connections between visitors and the region’s highly unique products and experiences, educating both tourists and businesses on South Georgian Bay and why it is Ontario’s Four-Season Playground. It provides visitors with specific in-market themed and activity-based itineraries of what to do, best of guides and content curation to encourage extended length of stay and increased spending at tourism businesses. South Georgian Bay is the regional seal of quality as the destination information authority for visitors. It is governed by an eight-member Board of Directors, with public and private sector representation from the regional tourism industry.
For more information or media interviews contact:
Melissa 705-445-7722 ext. melissa@southgeorgianbay.ca
http://www.visitsouthgeorgianbay.ca/