2016 Tourism Report

March 8, 2017

1

Agenda

Lunch

Opening Remarks

ExperienceKing Presentation

Discussion

Calendar Update

Website Page Review

Experience Development Ideas

2

Timeline Review

2014

Tourism Taskforce

3 Year Tourism Plan Approved

2015

Creation of ExperienceKing.ca & production of 10 videos + 3 event videos

No remaining budget after creation of materials beyond remaining active in social media meant growth had to be organic

2016

Focused on working dollars including Facebook advertising and strong social media

Retail Holiday act secured Sunday shopping

3

2017 Continue activities from 2016 & expand into print arena

2012Tourism advancement & Promotion identified as priority in sustainability plan

Three Year Community Tourism Plan Status Update

4 Key Goals

1. Establish Tourism Coordination and Leadership in King Township

2. Increase Visitation & Grow Tourism Revenue

3. To grow the awareness of King Township’s tourism assets with both visitors and residents

4. Provide friendly and hospitable service

4

Three Year Community Tourism Plan Status Update

5

Action Item Status

1. Hire a Part time Tourism Coordinator as part of the Economic Development Department

• Contracted services to Clear Impact as an alternative service delivery to increasing staff complement.

• Clear Impact provided all contact for the website, created and managed FB advertising and all social media, created eNewsletter content, created bundled excursions, and worked directly with tourism stakeholders, visiting sports organizations, and partner organizations (e.g. YorkScene)

2. Create a Tourism Committee Governance Document

3. Host Product and Experience Development workshops by experience cluster

• Workshop held in 2016• Symposium 2017• Working directly with businesses on experience

development

4. Identify topics of interest and deliver 2-3 workshops/year to tourism stakeholders (i.e. social media 101, accessing financing to expand your business model)

• To be delivered with eNewsletter

Three Year Community Tourism Plan Status Update

Action Item Status

5. Track attendance at festivals/sports tourism events • King City Craft Beer & Food Truck Festival

attendance tracked by PRC and set at 6,500

• Plan to expand Festival support through the

York Region Festival Alliance (Trail) initiative

and advertise in their Festival Guide did not

occur as the YRFA did not experience a

successful launch and also cancelled their

guide

6. Tie in metrics to packages and promotions created through experience development and marketing actions

7. Establish an online visitor information portal • ExperienceKing.ca is reskinned with 4 seasonal updates per year (Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall) & content updated at minimum on a weekly basis

• New section promoting King’s unique and multitude of venues for meetings, conferences, events has been added 6

Three Year Community Tourism Plan Status Update

Action Item Status

8. Produce a brochure that can be used as a tool for visitors and be distributed to local residents and placed in key target markets and local kiosks

• ExperienceKing.ca is reskinned with 4 seasonal updates per year (Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall) & content updated at minimum on a weekly basis

• New section promoting King’s unique and multitude of venues for meetings, conferences, events has been added

9. Produce a map of tourism assets with community involvement (becomes an integral part of website and promotional brochure)

• The Pumpkin Pie trail in partnership with YorkScene

has been repeated. ExperienceKing social media is

providing an increased social promotion of King's

destinations.

• A new bike map was produced by York Region, with

three routes going through King

• An interactive digital map was produced for

ExperienceKing.ca, highlighting key destinations and

dining.

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Three Year Community Tourism Plan Status Update

Action Item Status

10. Use social media to engage in conversation with visitors and local ambassadors

• FB advertising has increased fans to 1,127• 2016 reach was 70,240• The Schomberg Garden Tour was included in the FB

advertising and attendance increased +128%• There are approximately 3 posts per week with

highest frequency around events• 230 twitter followers• Highest tweet frequency around Festivals and

Events• Quarterly social media reporting

11. Empower local story tellers and use a blog to push this out

12. Identify King’s high traffic areas and develop an action plan to place collateral and signage/map in that area featuring the “must visit” attractions. Advocate to leverage areas where permitted use if not currently given.

• Increase in wayfinding

• Kiosks to be placed in high traffic areas

8

Three Year Community Tourism Plan Status Update

Action Item Status

13. Complete a branding exercise

14. Provide front line hospitality employees with local ambassador training that provides them with a robust understanding of King’s tourism assets

• Cross pollination opportunities were created by brokering connections to develop experiences in King, such as the Spring Farm Trio Trail

• An eNewsletter was developed and sent to 85 tourism stakeholders• A series of 2 day experiences that span both public and private sector

tourism activities were bundled and promoted, including • KCCB&FTF + Seneca Residence + Spray Lake (special accommodation

rate secured)• Dream Book Club Getaway• A weekend of Cluture & Caring (Doors Open King + Polo for Palliative

Care)• Schomberg Street Gallery + Dog Tales + Apple Picking

• Sports Tourism opportunities were leveraged including King Classic Soccer Tournament, YNBA Ontario Cup and cycling

• A dedicated page for a 300 person conference was created for Kingbridge Centre

9

Three Year Community Tourism Plan Status Update

Action Item Status

15. Expand the current community gateway signage to include way-finding to the area’s attractions

• 2 billboard wayfinding signs installed 2015• 1 new wayfinding sign Weston Road south of 16th

Sideroad to be installed 2017

16. Continue to support and grow the King Township banner program

• Banners now managed by PRC

10

Digital Business Model

11

Product Identification & Development• Emphasis on strategic destinations & activities that provide

unique experiences. Work with Stakeholders to create more.CONTENT CREATION

Feed Content into ExperienceKing.ca• Website serves as the hub, containing all key information.

FOUNDATION

DISSEMINATION

Broadcast the reasons to visit King to social media followers

Engage followers to like, share or retweet content & visit website

Reach followers’ contacts & gain new fans & followers

INCREASE REACH

Drive to Web

Attract visitors Increase stay & spend

Gain new followers

Website Updated on a Weekly Basis to reflect latest events. Average of 4 Facebook Posts & 5 Tweets per week.

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Awaiting Budget Approval

Maple Syrupfest

Schomberg Agricultural Society Farm Tour

Round the Bend Farm Easter Egg Hunt

Cardinal & Kingbridge Easter Brunches

Narrow Gauge Railway Show

ASK Studio Tour

Round the Bend Farm/Pathways to Perennials Mothers Day

Nobleton Victoria Day Fair

Schomberg Fair

Nobleton Dog Show

King City Craft Beer & Food Truck Festival

Spray Lake Open House

Fathers Day

Cold Creek High Ropes

Spray Lake Roots Wakeboard & Waterski Tour

Schomberg Garden Tour

Nobleton Kng City Garden Tour

Spray Lake Ontario Waterski Championships

Spray Lake Eastern Canadian Waterski Championships

Seneca Dragon Boat Races

Dog Tales Festival

Apple Picking Season

Schomberg Street Gallery

Doors Open King

Polo for Palliative Care

Pumpkin Pie Trail Inspired Menu

Soupfest

Headwaters Stable Tour

Thanksgiving Farm Visits/Fall Colours

Schomberg & Round the Bend Farm Scarecrows

Holland Marsh Hallowine

ASK Imperial Room Concert

One of a King Craft Show

Deck the Trails with Seeds & Berries

A Main Street Christmas

DECJAN FEB MARCH APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV

Created stronger reasons for visiting by bundling multiple activities together, posting to website & promoting on social media, and supporting local tournaments.

• Pathways to Perennials Workshops & Events

• Multiple restaurants

• Shopping

• Golf

• Miscellaneous ASK events

• Hiking

13

Ongoing promotion of smaller events, activities and destinations through social media.

• Horseback riding

• Polo

• Cycling

• Spray Lake

• Famers Markets

Awaiting Budget Approval

BUNDLED EXCURSIONS

Top 10 Things to Do this Week in King

Book Club Dream Getaway

Farm Trio Trail

Ultimate Summer Weekend

Barret Values Centre

A Weekend of Culture & Caring

Tis the Season to Go Shopping

SPORTS MARKETING

York North Basketball Tournament

King City Classic Soccer Tournament

DECJULY AUG SEPT OCT NOVFEB MARCH APR MAY JUNEJAN

$2,100 spent across 5 campaigns of Facebook advertising. Campaign 1: Farm Trio Trail promoted to mothers with young children

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13 day campaign, daily spend of $38.50. Most efficient spend. May indicate families with young children are a very attractive target, particularly for agritourism destinations.

Campaign 2: Secured promotional rate for accommodations from Seneca, promoted weekend of Craft Beer & Spray Lake Open House.

15

4 day campaign, daily spend of $50 targeting young adults who like craft beer. Medium efficiency. 4 groups booked Seneca using this promotional rate.

Campaign 3: Launched King’s Top 10 over May Long Weekend to drive overnight accommodation.

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4 day campaign, daily spend of $100 targeting families with children. Least efficient spend. Daily spend of $100 may be too high..

Campaign 4: Targeted gardeners. Paired advertising with social media support of Schomberg Horticultural Tour.

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21 day campaign, daily spend of $24 targeting people who like gardening. Second most efficient. Schomberg Garden Tour attendees grew from 60 in 2015 to 137 in 2016.

Campaign 5: Targeted cyclists, promoting York Region cycling map’s King Township routes.

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17 day campaign, daily spend of $30 targeting male & female cyclists. Second least efficient efficiency. May be most efficient focusing on females.

Provided monthly content to YorkScene eNewsletter to ensure the correct activities were focused on. Reach = 10,000.

19

Launch of eNewsletter

• Mailed to 99 stakeholders

• What’s going on

• Tell Us Your Plans

• Tips for restaurants

• Social Media Tips

• Mailed Quarterly

By the Numbers20

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Examples of Creative

22

23

24

25

Non Digital Activities

26

Promotional Sunglasses500 Postcards – handed out at Key Events, left on windshields

Pumpkin Pie Trail Map – event supported in the digital space

Kiosk Launch

27

January 2017 NobleKing Challenge Cup

• Brochure to be at all 3 arenas promoting where to eat.

• Contacted all casual restaurants to request a special deal.

• Free ad for Cold Creek Winter activities.

Numbers

28

Since launch, Experienceking.ca has had 21,954 unique visitors and is trending upwards.

By the Numbers

559 389 433 450

652 914

338 356 436 694

3,294 3,465

736

1,011

1,502 1,230

2,156

3,339

-

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

Unique Visitors

Facebook Advertising

2015 2016

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Since launch, Experienceking.ca has had 34,975 site visits and is trending upwards.

By the Numbers

1,168 803 876 877

1,124 1,280

718 753 805

1,260

5,312

4,462

1,454 1,713

2,632 2,280

3,074

4,384

-

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Number Monthly Visits

2015 2016

30

Facebook Advertising

Since launch, visitors to the website have viewed 121,213 pages. 97,055 pages were viewed in 2016.

By the Numbers

7,346

3,199 4,092

2,629

3,979 2,913

3,505

4,683 5,174

6,806

14,463

9,935

5,599

7,844

10,661

6,186

10,202

11,817

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

Monthly Number of Pages Viewed

2015 2016

31

Facebook Advertising

Facebook page likes of 1,020 has surpassed the 2016 goal of 500 likes by +520, and Facebook post reach has exceeded 70,000.

105

1,020

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

Likes

905 new likes

Total 2015 Total 2016

6,780

70,240

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

Total Post Reach

Reach up 63,460

Total 2015 YTD 2016

By the Numbers32

84.6% of fans live in Ontario but outside King Township. 83% are female, and 73% are between 25 & 54.

By the Numbers

York Region ex King

Mississauga/Brampton/Bolton

A/O Ontario

Outside Ontario7.6%

34.0%

15.1%

11.3%

24.1%

7.8%

Fan Home Location

King

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Toronto

Twitter followers of 211 exceeded the 2016 goal of 200. Tweet impressions are up 364% versus total calendar 2015 with no advertising dollars spent.

81

211

0

50

100

150

200

250

Followers

130 New Followers

Total 2015 2016

12,549

83,591

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

Tweet Impressions

Tweet Impressions up 71,042

Total 2015 2016

By the Numbers34

Tourism and Quality of Life video views have increased by 4,055 in 2016. Top 3 performers are all events.

2,216

6,271

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

Cumulative Video Views

4,055 new video views

Total 2015 Total 2016

1326

834 828

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Cumulative Video Views

Top 3 Performing Videos

King City Craft

Beer & Food Truck

Festival

Soupfest

By the Numbers 35

A Main Street

Christmas

Testimonials

Promotional Focus

July 5 from Emilia Staples, Kingbridge Centre

“Let me just say you have done a great job with the website. Very well laid out and great information…. If we have any other specials come up throughout the year I will let you know!”

36

May 17 YNBA Press Release

King has embraced this opportunity to showcase the tournament and showcase its community by creating www.experienceking/york-north-basketball-tournament for visitors” said YNBA’s Wallace Pidgeon. “We cannot thank King enough.”

March 31 from Sue Feddema

“We had about 2,000 people come and they

were all from Toronto.

They spent around $8,700 compared to an

average fall weekend of $4,000. They would

have spent more, but we ran out of everything.”

June 9 from Andre Flys

“We got about 8 groups totalling maybe 15 to 20

people. They all spent an average of $15.

We'd be happy to participate again. They were all

new people we'd have otherwise not seen.”

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July 5 – Shaun Freeman – re waterski championships

“We’re actually at capacity for the 30th and 31st July already!”

June 14 from Shaun Freeman

“We did have 4 suites book under the promo rate. Thank you again for everything you do in promoting King Residence!”

Oct 31 – Teri Hastings

“Thank you for the support in promoting the October 29 ASK Concert. We welcomed 140 people to Kingbridge. We are all so pleased at the attendance. It was a record for us! 57 stayed for dinner and 3 overnight.”

Aug 17 – Melissa Strange re Barrett Values Centre Custom Pages

“Wow! I think this is great. I will share it with the conveners I am working with to get their thoughts for you. Thank you so much for putting this together.”

September 8 – Ramon Regozo “Thanks so much for the info and for our visibility on your event pages.”

5 Core Strategies for 2017

1. Continue to drive awareness of destinations in King

• $2000 Facebook Advertising will increase number of fans/broaden reach

• Continue to be active on twitter – particularly with news and events

• Leverage Princess Margaret Show Home being in King

• Place kiosks in strategic locations

2. Focus on anchor activities/events likely to bring people to King and augment their impact by building around them

3. Focus on destinations unique to King – agritourism experiences, horticultural experiences, outdoor adventure experiences

4. Increase sports marketing – encourage people visiting for a sporting event to move around King through driving awareness

5. Increase cycling activity through targeting cycling clubs directly

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Strategy 1 - Awareness - 2017 Kiosk Plan

• 3 kiosks, each holding 4 brochures

• Outdoor Adventure

• Agritourism

• One of a King Dining, Accommodations and Meeting Venues

• Cultural Events & Attractions

• To be placed at high traffic locations throughout the year

• Initial print run 1,000 copies of each brochure

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40

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Strategy 2 - Anchor Activities & Events – examples of Augmenting Impact

ASK Studio Tour

• Kiosk Program – locate at 3 strategic locations

• Look at asking selected restaurants to offer a prix fixe lunch menu for both days – promote on Facebook and at tour locations

• Option to use kiosk prior to Studio Tour

King City Craft Beer & Food Truck Festival

• Repeat special rate at Seneca ($56). Promote in conjunction with Spray Lake Open House with goal to fully book Seneca.

• To be supported with Facebook Advertising

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Strategy 3 – Unique Destinations

Agritourism Destinations

• Round the Bend Farm

• Pioneer Honey

• Pine Farms Orchard

• Country Apple Orchard

• World’s Largest Inukshuk

• Schomberg Farmers Market

• Equine Destinations

• Parade of Horses

• Dog Tales

• Summer Camps

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Horticultural Destinations

• Pathways to Perennials

• Black Forest Garden Centre

• Bajar Nurseries

• Garden Tours

Outdoor Adventure Destinations

• Cold Creek Conservations Area

• Spray Lake

• Centennial Park Mountain Biking

• Equine Destinations

Cultural Destinations

• Marylake

• Seneca Eaton House

• King Heritage Centre & Museum

• Leverage interest in these unique destinations to get people to move around King – e.g. visit restaurants, shop, visit a second location

• $1,000 Facebook advertising in 2 waves

Equine Experience Development Idea

Concept

• Partner with an equine destination and Kingbridge or 20 Bells Lake to create a weekend equine experience with 1 night accommodations

• Option to collaborate with additional destinations – e.g. Spray Lake

Required

• One or more equine partners willing to collaborate to create programming and hold maximum of 4 weekends open

• Options could range or all be alike – e.g. beginner experience, trail riding adventures, healing with horses

Township to Provide

• Facebook advertising – incremental to the $2,000 already planned for tourism

• All promotional materials

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Strategy 4 – Increase Sports Marketing

• York North Basketball Association

• King Classic Soccer Tournament

• Centennial Park Mountain Bike Series

• NobleKing Hockey Challenge Cup

• Custom page for each event on experienceking.ca

• Distribute brochures of where to eat at registration

• Collaborate with Seneca in summer months for special rate

• Collaborate with sports organizations so they suggest Seneca as location to stay and link to the event’s experienceking.ca page

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Strategy 5 – Increase Cycling Traffic

• Target cycling clubs directly

• Promote York Region cycling map with 3 routes through King

• Promote Greenbelt Route

• Support local businesses along these routes and cycling friendly businesses

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http://www.york.ca/wps/wcm/connect/yorkpublic/52395ef6-4b8e-4d9f-8d20-f5c42f718b03/YorkRegionCyclingTourMapSide1.pdf?MOD=AJPEREShttp://www.york.ca/wps/wcm/connect/yorkpublic/4163823d-ebf6-4e32-8752-ada7954d2bb5/YorkRegionCyclingTourMapSide2.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

How Can We Help Your Business?

• Tell us your plans! If we know of your activities, we will do our best to promote them.

• Collaborate in experience development. If you have some ideas of unique experiences, we will work with you to flesh them out.

• Review your page on experienceking.ca – we can update

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How Can Your Business Help Experience King?

• Any metrics or testimonials help!