PTBOCanada Featured Post: Fun Facts About Peterborough & The Kawarthas Tourism
/Peterborough and the Kawarthas has the perfect blend of rural and urban landscapes and experiences. The long-standing tourism industry in the region plays an important role in the vibrancy of the local economy.
Watch the informative video below, check out the fun infographic stats and read our Q&A with Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism (PKT) to learn more about our awesome tourism sector...
PTBOCanada: How important is the tourism sector to the local economy?
PKT: The local tourism sector has over 1,000 businesses, all of whom have an important part in serving visitors and contribute to making lasting impressions and encouraging return visitation to the area. Our destination has a combination of internationally known tourism brands alongside many unique, innovative and entrepreneurial tourism businesses. Tourism is a key economic driver for the region.
PTBOCanada: How many visitors come to this region each year, and how does that affect the local economy?
PKT: Peterborough & the Kawarthas sees more than 3 million visitors annually. Those visitors spend over $350 million in the local economy, creating more than 2,600 tourism industry jobs.
PTBOCanada: Who is responsible for marketing Peterborough & the Kawarthas?
PKT: Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism (PKT) is the official Destination Marketing Organization for the Peterborough Region. It’s a division of Peterborough Economic Development.
PTBOCanada: What is a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO)?
PKT: A DMO is the official organization responsible for providing industry leadership and destination marketing services to attract visitors to a region. As the area’s DMO, PKT plays a key role in the long-term development of the area through strategic tourism development and marketing strategies.
Recent examples of the ways that Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism does this include securing the Travel Media Association of Canada conference in 2015, launching the area’s first official road cycling routes—watch this great cycling video here—and working with a variety of tourism stakeholders to develop Under Water Dining at Lock 21, which is slated to launch in 2017.
Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism stewards the destination brand, and serves as the primary point of entry to visitors of the region by offering current information (maps, visitor guide, website, etc) as well as one-on-one visitor services by phone, email, social media and in person at the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Visitor Centre.
Q: What is the difference between PKT and the area’s Regional Tourism Organization (RTO)?
PKT: Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism is the official DMO for the City of Peterborough & County of Peterborough, including the eight rural townships and two first nations. The province of Ontario is divided into 13 tourism regions. Peterborough & the Kawarthas makes up ½ of the Kawarthas Northumberland Tourism Region, which also includes Northumberland County and The City of Kawartha Lakes.
Q: What does Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism do for the local economy?
PKT: As a not-for-profit, partnership-based organization with more than 400 registered tourism business partners, PKT works alongside tourism stakeholders to deliver exceptional experiences that results in:
-> increased visitation and return visits
-> increased spending and overnight stays
-> rave reviews and recommendations
To accomplish these goals, PKT focuses on strategic, brand-aligned destination marketing and tourism development initiatives achieved through:
-> external marketing & communications
-> travel media relations
-> experience development
-> key tourism sector attraction (Meetings/Conferences/Incentive Travel, Group Travel/Travel Trade etc.)
In addition to this work, PKT offers a variety of supporting services which are accessible to tourism stakeholders including product and marketing consulting, education, networking and promotional opportunities.
Q: What makes Peterborough & the Kawarthas a great place to visit compared to other areas?
PKT: Our rich mix of heritage city, cottage country and flourishing farmlands—unique in Ontario—makes investing, living and visiting here something out of the ordinary.
Peterborough & the Kawarthas has the perfect blend of country and city landscapes. Visitors are continually attracted to the destination as it offers a large volume and variety of experiences year round.
Unlike many other destinations, Peterborough & the Kawarthas is not over-developed and over-priced. It’s relatively unspoiled, true to its heritage and easy to get to making it more affordable and accessible and more authentic than the competition. These unique attributes, along with an impressive list of things to do, ensure that the destination can offer the natural and authentic experiences visitors yearn for in today’s highly competitive global market.
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