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Royal Ashburn Golf & Country Club, Whitby
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Greetings from Durham Tourism
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This issue marks the four-year anniversary of Industry Insights! Thank you for your continued support and readership of this resource! Tourism continues to grow and thrive in Durham Region, and you are an important part of this community.
We recently celebrated our seventh Tourism Partnership Symposium, hosted by Central Counties Tourism and Durham Tourism. It was great to see many of you at this event; and to celebrate, connect and collaborate with our many tourism stakeholders and partners, including Destination Ontario and the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. Our keynote speaker, Cillian Murphy, shared his thoughtful insights on sustainable community tourism, and creating a positive community experience through tourism development.
We have a busy spring ahead, as we work on enhancements to the Durham Tourism website
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watch for changes coming soon; and we are looking forward to showcasing a "Taste of Durham" at the upcoming
Terroir Symposium later this month.
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Tourism Industry Highlights
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Enjoy a "Taste of Durham" at the Terroir Symposium
On
April 23, the
Terroir Symposium will bring together innovators from the hospitality and tourism fields, including chefs, hoteliers, drink experts, writers and business leaders. Hosted by the Culinary Tourism Alliance, the symposium offers a unique program of panel discussions, keynote presentations and master classes sharing insights, ideas and experiences on how to leverage what comes from our lands, lakes and oceans. Durham Tourism and Durham College's W. Galen Weston Centre for Food have partnered together to offer "A Taste of Durham Region" at the breakfast event. Tickets to the symposium are $350 and are available through the
Terroir Symposium's website.
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University of Ontario Institute of Technology Capstone Program
Durham Tourism was proud to partner with students from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) on the completion of a Capstone Program, based around the creation of a marketing and communications plan for Durham Tourism for 2018 and 2019.
The Capstone project provides an opportunity for students to integrate academic knowledge with real business experience. The students focus on key business issues that are to be researched, analyzed and presented to their participating client. V
isit UOIT's website f
or more information on the
Capstone Program
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New: add a photo to your event or business listing on durhamtourism.ca!
We have some exciting changes in store for
durhamtourism.ca. But before the big online reveal comes later this spring, there are two exciting new features we want to let you know about. You can now add photos to your event listing on the Community Events and Festivals Calendar, as well as your business listing in the Region of Durham's Tourism directory.
To add a photo to your
event listing, simply follow these steps:
- Visit https://calendar.durham.ca/communityevents/Month/ and log in to your account.
- If you are creating a new event, select the "Submit an event" tab, and fill in your event details. Upload your image under "Event Image." Please note that the maximum file size you can upload is 2 MB.
- If you are submitting a photo to an existing event, select the "My Events" tab, edit your event, and save.
- Submit your event!
Adding a photo and updating your
business listing is easy. You can now add a photo or logo and up to four images to your profile. Just follow these steps:
- Visit https://tourismdirectory.durham.ca/ and select the "Login" button.
- Enter your username and password. Your username is your email address. If you forget your password, you can use the "forgot password" option below the login prompt to reset it.
- Once logged in, you'll see a list of businesses you can manage. Select the business you would like to update.
- You will be provided with all the details for this business listing. Simply make the necessary changes and save. Note: You can upload a logo and up to four additional images for your businesses. The recommended size is 350 pixels (width).
- If your business is not yet listed, please visit the Durham Tourism Directory web page and select Register, and you will be led through the account set up process.
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Now open: iFLY Whitby
Durham Region can now defy gravity at the newly opened
iFLY Whitby facility. This exciting indoor skydiving facility, recently opened its doors for business at 75 Consumers Drive. The facility features a modern full-glass wind tunnel, which has a 14-foot diameter and an 18-foot-tall glass flight chamber with wall-to-wall airflow. This provides the same feeling people get when they sky dive out of a plane (but indoors!).
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The 2017 Business Count results are in!
The Regional Municipality of Durham's Planning and Economic Development Department, conducted its sixth
Business Count as part of an annual Regional project that gathers employment statistics, and promotes local economic development initiatives. The project surveys local businesses and gathers data about business operations, including the type and nature of the business, the number of employees, plans for growth, floor space and location.
Information collected from the 2017 Business Count project indicates that our local businesses employ more than 196,713 people, with 64 per cent of them being full-time positions. The City of Oshawa reported the largest proportion of both businesses and jobs in the region, and statistics regarding major business sectors show that 17 per cent of jobs in Durham Region can be found in the retail sector.
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Spotlight on: WindReach Farm
WindReach Farm, located in Ashburn, is a specially designed farm centre featuring fully wheelchair accessible pathways, trails, buildings, barns and stables. The farm is designed to meet the needs of individuals with a variety of disabilities, and offers five core programs that strengthen skills, independence and physical well-being in a safe and nurturing environment. Programming includes adult day programs, equine therapy, and overnight accommodations for those with special needs, in a fully accessible house.
WindReach Farm welcomes both the special needs and able-bodied communities. Visit their
website for more information on the programming available and for upcoming special events that are open to the general public.
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Call for nominations: Central Counties Board of Directors
Is Tourism your passion? Are you a big-picture strategic thinker? Do you want to build a strong tourism industry? Central Counties Tourism is currently seeking nominations for a Director-at-large position in Durham Region, which runs for a three-year term.
Central Counties works with, and in support of, their stakeholders, building a strong tourism industry through member initiatives, creating partnerships and marketing alliances, and elevating awareness of the B2B opportunities in the region. Those who serve as Directors, do so in a welcoming, inclusive environment that inspires learning, mentoring and leadership skills. The time commitment includes five meetings a year of a half-day duration and a two-day strategy session in the fall.
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The SKYWoman initiative
SKYWoman is world-renowned Canadian artist and Beaverton resident
Ron Baird's distinctive stainless steel sculpture. It is hoped that this public art piece will eventually be located at the Beaverton Harbour. Donated in honour of Canada 150 celebrations, this public sculpture will measure nearly four stories high, and is designed to move with the wind and reflect sunlight. The Sky Woman story is celebrated by Indigenous peoples across the continent, and is featured in the creation stories of the First Nations. Sky Woman's touch down is said to be in the area of the Beaverton Harbour. The Beaverton Special Events committee conceived the idea of a public art piece as a way to enhance Beaverton's image, and to contribute to the area's tourism and economy.
It is hoped that the sculpture will bring awareness and support to the many activities that protect Lake Simcoe, an important water source for the region. The maquette, or working model, of the sculpture will soon be off to the Venice Biennale, along with a number of Barid's other works.
To become involved with or to learn more about this exciting initiative, visit the
SKYWoman website.
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Celebrate Economic Development Week with us!
The Economic Development and Tourism Division is celebrating
Economic Development Week from
May 7 to 12. We love what we do for the businesses and residents of Durham Region! Check out our
section on durham.ca to learn more about what we do, how we support the creation of jobs and wealth, and our work to increase the quality of life in the region.
In 2017, Durham Tourism began building a five-year Tourism Strategic Plan (2017-2021) to strengthen the Region's role in product and tourism experience development. Along with a new strategic plan, Durham Tourism is creating new branding, intended to give Durham a major advantage in promoting the Region against increasingly competitive markets. The 2017-2021 Tourism Strategy will be a companion to the
2017-2021 Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan. Watch for more on these exciting projects in upcoming issues of Industry Insights.
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What's new in Sport Tourism?
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Sport Event Radar
Take advantage of Sport Durham's monthly sport events radar to ensure that your business is prepared to welcome incoming athletes and visitors to Durham Region during key sport events!
Keep the following events on your radar for this month:
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Ontario Basketball U15 Girls Ontario Cup Championships. April 29, at the Abilities Centre, Brooklin High School, Father Leo J. Austin Secondary School and Sinclair Catholic Secondary School in Whitby, and Maxwell Heights Secondary School in Oshawa. Approximately 48 teams and 580 athletes will compete in six divisions.
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Oshawa Kicks Frank Sobil Spring Classic. May 5 to 6 (girls) and May 12 to 13 (boys). Approximately 12,000 players participate in this event. Multiple locations in Oshawa, Port Perry and Whitby.
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Connect and engage with
Durham Tourism and Sport Durham!
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Connect and engage with Durham Tourism and Sport Durham on our social media pages:
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