THE OPPORTUNITY
The Hamilton Halton Brant Regional Tourism Association (RTO3) commissioned an outdoor product assessment to understand the area’s diverse outdoor product offerings. The purpose was to determine where there was the greatest potential to increase awareness of the region as an outdoor tourism destination, with the goal of increasing visitor spending.
THE PROCESS
To gain awareness of the opportunities and to formulate directions for investment, the BC Hughes development team:
• Inventoried existing outdoor adventure tourism assets in the region,
• Conducted site visits and market readiness assessments at key outdoor adventure locations,
• Hosted an outdoor adventure tourism workshop and conducted interviews to gain stakeholder input into development opportunities and challenges, and
• Outlined recommendations for enhanced product development and marketing of outdoor experiences in the region.
THE OUTCOME
Through this process, the BC Hughes team found a high volume of quality outdoor assets located in the region, and provided recommendations for further development and marketing of these experiences.
Subsequently hired to implement the development of several opportunities outlined in the plan, BC Hughes was involved in the creation of the Bruce Trail Waterfall Walks Hiking Tour, the HamBur Cycling Route and the Grand River Access Improvement Project.
