Durham Tourism
Industry
Report
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Connecting, engaging and informing Durham Tourism's valued stakeholders
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Greetings from Durham Tourism
This year is flying by! How are we already in mid-November? This month we have lots of feel good stories to share–from awards and top ten rankings, to successful tours that are putting Durham Region on the map!
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Tourism Industry Highlights
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Port Perry makes the Culture Days top ten listing
Congratulations to all of the organizations, clubs and business within the Township of Scugog that participated in this year’s Culture Days weekend. The Town of Port Perry placed seventh on Culture Days’ annual listing of the Top Ten Cities and Towns with the highest number of activities published on the Culture Days website. The listing is segmented by population size, with Port Perry placing in the “Population under 50,000” category.
Culture Days reports that “nearly all of the communities placed in the Top Ten this year had designated Culture Days hubs or corridors, which played a key role in increasing our attendance.”
The 2018 edition of Culture Days was reported to be the most-attended Culture Days yet, with over 2.5 million Canadians celebrating arts and culture in their communities!
Mark
September 27, 28 and 29, 2019 in your calendars and start planning for another fabulous weekend of arts and culture! Stay tuned to the Durham Tourism Industry Report in 2019 for information on the next annual Culture Days Event.
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Cheers to Durham's craft brewery scene
Durham’s local craft brewery scene has been in the news a lot lately. And it’s not surprising; our award-winning craft breweries, as well as our wineries, cideries and distilleries, are a definite stop for residents and visitors as they travel throughout the region!
Several
awards were recently bestowed upon the
Rural Routes & Dirty Boots route, and the Greenbelt Brewery Discovery Routes. The Rural Routes & Dirty Boots route was the winner of the DINE Award for Culinary Tourism Initiative at the 12th Annual DINE and Destination Awards; while the Greenbelt Brewery Discovery Routes were the winner of the 2017 Destination Ontario Marketing Partnership Award, and was a finalist in the Ontario Culinary Tourism Award "experience" category. This route features several craft breweries and cideries, Feast ON certified restaurants and farmers’ markets in Durham Region. The project was celebrated for bringing together a unique community of partners and participants to highlight the very best in local, independent food and premium beverages to visitors. You can check out a
recent review of the route in DINE and Destination magazine.
Visitors to Durham Region have also been enjoying a trip back in time as part of the unique new
Temperance and Temptation Tour. Available as either a self-guided tour, or an all-inclusive experience tour, the tour delves into the prohibition-era stories of Durham Region, brought to life by a group of gifted actors, including Mag Ruffman. You can read an
overview of the tour on the Culinary Tourism Alliance’s website.
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Showcasing Durham's film and television production sites
On
October 11 and 15, the Durham Region Film Office (Film Durham) welcomed about 200 people from around the world for the “On Location with Hannibal” film tours. These bus tours took fans of the television series “Hannibal” to a number of locations across Durham Region, where scenes from the popular series were filmed, and coincided with the annual
Fannibal Fest Convention.
The ‘On Location with Hannibal’ film tours were a great opportunity to showcase Durham Region and its unique locations available for film and television throughout the region. Film tourism continues to grow in popularity and is a great way to increase hotel bookings and visits to Durham’s other amenities and tourist attractions.
Durham Region is playing an increasingly important role in Ontario’s film, television and digital media industry. The region’s many natural and cultural heritage locations provide for a wide range of film and television production, such as the Hannibal film and TV series.
The Durham Region Film Office, also known as “Film Durham,” works on attracting film-related investment to the region. In addition to the
Guide to Filming in Durham Region, the Film Office also offers the
Film Durham–Digital Locations Portal–an online resource, which showcases the excellent film locations that the region has to offer, and features location tours and information on productions shot in Durham.
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Promoting and respecting indigenous tourism
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This past October, the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) and Indigenous Tourism Ontario (ITO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the 2018 Ontario Tourism Summit. The two groups will work together, supporting each organization’s initiatives, as they bolster tourism in Ontario over the next three years. TIAO and ITO will work collaboratively to ensure that provincial tourism initiatives, strategies and projects represent, promote and respect indigenous tourism and use the success, reputation and experience of the province’s indigenous tourism community.
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Tourism Day at Queen's Park
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On
December 4, join the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario for Tourism Day at Queen’s Park (TD@QP) in Toronto. TIAO members will be at the legislature to meet with MPPs and Cabinet Ministers to discuss tourism in Ontario and deliver policy recommendations on behalf of the tourism industry. TIAO members should
register by November 26 to participate.
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Spotlight on: Comfort Inn, Bowmanville
Located just off highway 401 in Bowmanville, the Comfort Inn & Suites Bowmanville opened in July 2018. Since opening, the hotel has welcomed over 8,000 guests and looks forward to welcoming many more, both to the facility and to Durham Region.
Featuring 72 modern welcoming rooms and cozy beds; complimentary amenities, including a free hot breakfast with hearty and healthy options; free high-speed internet; free parking; an indoor pool and gym, the Comfort Inn & Suites Bowmanville is perfect for both business travellers and those seeking a vacation hotel. Friendly staff are available to help guests with whatever they need to make their trip to Bowmanville and the Durham Region more enjoyable. A home away from home, guests will wake up refreshed and ready for a great day!
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Excited and ready for the Durham Region 2019 Parasport Games
After two years of hard work and dedication, the Durham Region 2019 Ontario Parasport Games Committee celebrated a milestone on
November 1, when about 500 people came together to celebrate the
100 Day Countdown to the Games. Participants met some of the athletes, tried some of the parasports, watched the unveiling of the Games medal design, high fived PACHI, and left excited and ready for the Games. Students who attended the daytime sessions from Lincoln Avenue Public School, St. Francis De Sales Catholic School, Lincoln Alexander Public School, Eagle Ridge Public School, and Pickering High School couldn’t have been more enthusiastic.
This event would not have been possible without the support of many partners in the community. Thank you to the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport; the Ontario Wheelchair Sports Association, ParaSport Ontario, the Durham District School Board, Pickering High School and the Abilities Centre. Special thanks to the Oshawa Camera Club for capturing fantastic photos and to Paralympian and Para Snowboard-cross competitor Andrew Genge.
Finally, thank you to the Games Organizing Committee and sub-committee members for their commitment, creativity, and capabilities organizing and hosting a gold medal-worthy celebration.
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Download the AccessNow app
When the 2019 Ontario Parasport Games come to Durham Region in February 2019, participants, coaches and spectators will have access to a very cool tool to help them navigate the region.
AccessNow is an incredible app that allows people to pinpoint and rate accessibility at locations around the world, such as restaurants, hotels and stores. Location information is categorized as fully accessible, partially accessible, or patio access only, and accessibility features such as ramps, alternative entrances and accessible washrooms can also be included for each location.
The sports venues, hotels and locations for the Durham Region 2019 Ontario Parasport Games are being added into the AccessNow app. We encourage local businesses to add their locations as well.
The AccessNow App is available to download for free through the App Store.
Photo courtesy of Ron Pietronio.
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Connect and engage with Durham Tourism and Sport Durham on our social media pages:
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