 |
|
Ontario By Bike Network:
Industry Update - February 2018
|
|
Ontario By Bike Updates & News
We are ready for cycling season to begin with a number of marketing and promotions in place, upcoming workshops and a number of other initiatives that will see us through the year building capacity and further developing Ontario as premier cycle tourism destination.
Now Available
The 2018 Cycling in Ontario / Le velo en Ontario guide is here! With an all new design, increased page count (40 pages), print run (40,000 copies) and number of partners; both the English and French versions are going to move fast. To request copies of this popular and free publication, and to assist with distribution, email quantity and address to
[email protected]
. To view digital copy go to:
OntarioByBike.ca/2018
Upcoming Workshops
March 6 - Bancroft: Getting out there early, we will be hosting an Ontario By Bike
cycle tourism readiness and certification workshop in Bancroft early March. If you are located in or near Hastings County, make sure you register and attend. More info
HERE.
May 11 - Brockville:
We will be hosting a half day workshop session to assist eastern Ontario businesses and partners with cycle tourism destination readiness as a part of the Eastern Ontario Active Transportation Summit. Consider joining us. Find out more info
HERE.
Renewal Partners
We are pleased to announce our partners whose program renewal was due for 2018. With program participation now guaranteed through 2020, over the course of this year we will be refreshing all information on our Great Places to Cycle pages, in our tool kits, verifying all certification listings and hosting webinars for the following regions: Simcoe, Lanark and Northumberland Counties; Halton Region; Ottawa Valley/Renfrew. If you are located within one of these regions we will be in contact with more information over the coming months.
Capacity Building & Strategic Action Plan
As part of a Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport, Tourism Development Fund grant, we will be undertaking a number of projects over the year. First up is to develop a strategic action plan that will further guide the growth of the Ontario By Bike Network and assist with collaborative efforts among key partners. We have recently refreshed our
Ontario By Bike Industry Partnership Advisory Committee and along with further outreach, we will be asking for input from a number of stakeholders. If you would like further information and to participate, send an email request to
[email protected].
To wrap up this grant, in March 2019 we will be hosting our 4th Cycle Tourism Conference. Stay tuned for more information.
Ontario By Bike Ride Tours Schedule 2018
We have just announced our tours for this summer and may be coming to a destination near you, bringing along a group of avid cyclists and making use of the services of Ontario By Bike certified bicycle friendly businesses along the way. To view our tour schedule visit
OntarioByBike.ca/Rides
Digital Marketing Campaign
A significant digital marketing campaign promoting Ontario as a cycling destination is now underway and running through the Spring. Working in partnership with Regional Tourism Organizations, the Waterfront Regeneration Trust, Greenbelt Foundation, Destination Ontario (formerly OTMPC) and Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport, the campaign is targeting cyclists from Quebec and U.S. border states. An initial campaign that ran in Fall 2017, resulted
in 9.5 million impressions and 143,851 clicks to OntarioByBike.ca. A large focus of this campaign is to promote cycling in Ontario from the Great Lakes to Greenbelt to Great North.
Provincial Updates
Province-Wide Cycling Network: A final report and recommendations for the Network have been presented to the Ministries' involved in this project. Expect more news and an opportunity for review coming soon.
#CycleON Action Plan 2.0: The Government of Ontario
is developing the next multi-year action plan to advance the implementation of #CycleON: Ontario's Cycling Strategy.
Ontario By Bike was pleased to be a part of the Minister's working group to develop this policy. A proposed policy has been posted on the Environmental Registry for a 30 day public review and comment period, ending March 7th.
This is your opportunity to r
eview and provide feedback. View HERE.
|
|
Stay Connected with Ontario By Bike!
Share your destination or business posts using the hashtag #OntarioByBike & #BikeON!
|
Bicycle Friendly Businesses
|
Bayview Wildwood Resort
After attending an Ontario By Bike Cycle Tourism Development workshop in Gravenhurst last fall, this resort quickly certified as bicycle and proceeded to build out their cycling product and services.
They now offer 'Cycle and Stay' packages, promoting
The Bike Stop staff in Orillia as their 'official bike experts', as well as working with cycling partners in Muskoka and Simcoe to help with mapping routes from their resort.
|
|
|
Credit: Bayview Wildwood Resort
|
Announced earlier this year, they now have two new tandem bikes for guests to use to explore the region!
|
Sweet Bottoms Cafe
Owner, Wayne, an avid cyclists himself, caters to cyclists filling water bottles, serving up proper portions and acting as a local road and trail guide for those riding through.
|
|
|
Credit: RideCycleSpin.com
|
What's more, he also collects and rebuilds vintage bicycles, housing a vintage bicycle museum called "
The Vintage Psyclist" in the back of his cafe!
|
Tell us your story of being a bicycle friendly business. Send us some details and pictures so we can share with consumers interested in exploring Ontario by bike. Send email to [email protected].
|
Bicycle Friendly Campgrounds
Survey &
Report
Last fall, a
n online survey was conducted by Ontario By Bike, with the aim of connecting with
the cycling community and offering them an opportunity to provide feedback on visiting Ontario campgrounds with bikes. In total, 361 responses were collected.
A report was completed and is now available online; providing insight into understanding current satisfaction levels, identifying areas of needs and concerns at campgrounds and to profile cyclists visiting campgrounds in Ontario.
|
|
Spring is Around the Corner
While it is still winter weather outside, it may seem that the busy summer and cycling season is far off, but it won't be long until that all changes and spring arrives. And with that, we are ready to roll, moving forward on a number of projects as per the updates in this enewsletter sent to you and all our industry partners.
With so much happening, this year we are going to increase our industry communications, and begin sending this enewsletter bi-monthly. In our following editions we will be bringing you more information from beyond our programming and hope to hear from you with news contributions that we can consider sharing. If you are an Ontario By Bike certified bicycle friendly business do let us know if you are offering something new for cyclists, have a cycling related story to tell or numbers to share on cyclists visiting your location. We are always keen to hear back from industry partners, so please don't hesitate to contact us directly by email.
Until next time, c
heers
From Louisa & Michael
Ontario By Bike Network
Project of Transportation Options
850 Coxwell Ave ~ Toronto, ON ~ M4C 5R1
Office: 416-827-2774
Toll-Free: 1-866-701-2774
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
