WELLINGTON COUNTY – To further strengthen Wellington County’s large tourism industry, the economic development committee heard they should consider creating a tourism advisory committee to allow for an open dialogue for stakeholders.
The County of Wellington’s economic development committee got to see the result of the Experience Wellington Tourism Strategy by consultant Deloitte LLP started in August 2022 at a meeting Tuesday morning.
Tourism is no small industry in Wellington County. Clark Hoskin of Deloitte said in his presentation the estimated visitor spending in Wellington County in 2021 was $264 million, representing 44 per cent of the overall total spending in the area.
There are also more than 10,000 workers as part of the tourism industry from over 650 tourism assets or adjacent businesses identified in Wellington County.
The communities of Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo and North Perth represented the highest tourist spend in Wellington County based on data collected from point-of-sale transactions, said Hoskin.
Of the top 10 tourist destinations attracting visitors into the county, eight of those were in Centre Wellington. The top 10 list is:
- Rockwood Conservation Area
- Elora Gorge Conservation Area
- Elora Brewing Company
- Elora Mill Hotel & Spa
- Belwood Lake Conservation Area
- Gorge Country Kitchen
- Brewhouse on the Grand
- Aberfoyle Antique Market
- The Goofie Newfie
- Grand River Raceway
This strong industry is not without its risks or areas of improvement. Through conversations and focus groups with local stakeholders, Hoskins said some tourism infrastructure like parking, washrooms and signage is insufficient, over-tourism’s impact on the feel of the community and a lack of housing for workers.
“The stakeholders told us that in terms of aspiring what do they hope to see eventually, is this idea that the tourism industry would unify to a degree that there'd be kind of a voice and then there would be a way to connect them together and collaborate balance the growth and an increase awareness, perhaps not just about the iconic parts of the county but all over the county,” Hoskin said.
He didn’t believe they are ready to create a formalized destination marketing organization, not yet at least, but a first step would be to form a tourism advisory group whether formally or not.
“Something could be set up to make sure that we understand the assets that Wellington County has, that we make sure that the various tourism stakeholders are engaged and that they get together, they collaborate and know each other,” Hoskin said.
“Also the tourism advisory committee can help determine what funding resources could be available not only for marketing campaigns.”
The committee appreciated the detailed report but warden Andy Lennox asked staff what’s next.
Christina Mann, economic development manager, said the next steps would be to focus on the things identified they’ve already been doing such as engaging with local tourism and marketing agencies such as in Centre Wellington and Guelph.
On the topic of a potential tourism advisory committee, Mann said there’s opportunities to tap into the existing structure of something like Elora & Fergus Tourism that has an existing committee.
“We need to make sure it’s representative of all Wellington County because Centre Wellington already has a good thing going … but I think our role is to leverage almost, Elora Fergus, their strength and make sure that we drive towards the more rural parts of the county,” Mann said, adding this could even combat potential over-tourism in Elora or Fergus.
The committee accepted the presentation for information.
Full presentation and report can be found here.
