Frontenac County to embark on a “Destination Development” process

Jeff Green | Mar 03, 2021

Last month, Frontenac County Council agreed to invest $38,000 in a year-long process to develop a Destination Development Plan for Frontenac County.

Working with the two provincially mandated regional tourism organisations (RTO's), that are active in Frontenac County, the plan has a number of expected outcomes, including the identification of tourism related assets, developing a strategic framework for short and long term development and investments in tourism, and an action strategy for marketing Frontenac County to regional visitors.

Alison Vandervelde, the acting Manager for Economic Development for Frontenac County, said that by approving the plan, Frontenac County Council is acknowledging the role that tourism is destined to play in the local economy.

The tourism industry is going to develop. It is going to happen, and this plan will help us establish a vision for what that will look like, and will help us navigate that growth with the values that are important to all our residents” she said.

The Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization (OHTO) will be the lead partner with Frontenac County in the development of the plan.

“They have already worked on two other development plans, including one in Haliburton Highlands, and that will save a lot of time getting things going, because they have developed a template and we will be working with the same consultant, Destination NEXT, in the development of our plan,” she said.

The Haliburton Highlands plan resulted in 9 key takeaways that community members, tourist operators and municipal politicians will be working on over the next five to ten years.

A similar long term effort is envisioned for Frontenac County.

The first phase of the process will be an information gathering phase, followed by extensive public consultation.

“Hopefully, by the time we are planning to engage the public in the process, we will be able to gather at town halls and in person one-on-one meetings,” said Vandervelde.

The timing of this new process is opportune for the small Frontenac County department, according to Vandervelde. In 2015, Frontenac County established 'trips and trails' as a priority, and the Frontenac County brand was established in 2016. An accommodation review was done in 2017, and tourism was established as a priority for the Frontenac Ambassador Program. Since then the county has undertaken a number of marketing initiatives aimed at enhancing the profile of Frontenac as a tourism destination.

Late in 2020, an Economic Development Services Review recommended a change in focus for the department, a step back from a direct tourism attraction role, in favour of “community and destination development”.

The economic development department will be working on the first two phases of the year-long process, research and analysis, and asset and sector mapping, for the next few months.

Phases 3 and 4, business and community engagement, and a visioning workshop, will follow in the late summer or early fall, and the plan will be developed after that.

“Tourism is and will be important to many businesses in Frontenac, whether they are resorts that are specifically focussed on the tourist season, or retailers who are dependent on the summer bump to get through the year. When we asked our ambassadors what their priorities are, tourism came up. The plan will give everyone a chance to have their say in how we develop our tourism economy. I’m looking forward to getting going on it,” said Vandervelde.

In Addition to a $38,000 commitment from Frontenac County, which will be funded in the 2021 and 2022 budget years, the regional tourism organisations are kicking in an additional $32,000. Frontenac County will provide project oversight, and support as well, as part of the work plan for the economic development department.