COUNTY OF OXFORD 2012 BUSINESS PLAN TOURISM OXFORD
1. Business Overview a. Service Statement is a partner-based Destination Marketing Organization, providing marketing and product development programs to our partners in Woodstock, Tillsonburg, Ingersoll, Bright, Embro, Tavistock, Sweaburg, Beachville, Plattsville, Otterville, Norwich, Burgessville, Princeton, Drumbo, Thamesford, Mt. Elgin, Lakeside, Harrington, Uniondale, and places in between. coordinates regional tourism opportunities to its fee-paying Partners in cooperation with the Southwest Ontario Corporation (SWOTC*). With its head office in Woodstock, SWOTC is comprised of 9 destination marketing organizations (; Norfolk; Middlesex; Elgin; London; Haldimand; Chatham-Kent; Sarnia-Lambton; Windsor-Essex-Pelee Island). b. Service Profile Relations: feature stories Community Events Staging Tracking and Participation QR Code Promotions GPS coordinate promotion for partners www.tourismoxfor d.ca www.oxfordfresh.c om www.rideoxford.ca www.doorsopenox ford.ca Themed Promotional: YouTube Videos Annual Guide Marketing Social Programs: Facebook Twitter Blog Release Service Visitor Information Centre (7days/week: staffed 9 a.m.-5 p.m. self serve 24 hrs/day year round Specialty Lure Brochures Regional Marketing Radio Initiatives Compaigns using Jingle Page 2 of 6
Regional tourism wayfinding signage Regional collaborations in new markets(golf, fishing) tourism studies BR +E First Impressions Agritourism Networking events Mix n'mingle, Business After 5 Cheese Trail Project Product Google Map access Keynote speaker events with various authorities Hoteliers Working Group Cultivating local food farm to table activities Training workshops (social media, group tour readiness, tourism packaging, etc. Birding, Ecotourism, Camping Municipal Collaborations (e.g.airport development, sports tourism development, Taiwanese relations, Amish tourism etc.) Creative Connections Inc. networking events Visitor Information Centre (7 days/week: staffed 9 am-5 pm,self-serve 24 hrs/day year round) Community Awareness Newsletters Releases, email blasts, Intranet posts Local conference/ tournament planning & support County Trails Council Community Events: Staging and Participation Speaking Engagements to Local organizations Local newspaper, radio and television interviews Page 3 of 6
c. Organizational Profile Specialist Administrative Support Counsellor JCP (Job Creation Project) d. FTE Count (Full time, part time and overtime) Service FTE Requirements by Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 (includes JCP as 0.5 FTE) 3 3 3 3 Change from Previous Year (14.3%) 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% e. Key Stakeholders Partners (aka members) Business and Leisure Travellers Provincial Ministries (OMAFRA, and Culture) Creative Connections Board Linked to several organizations *8 Regional destination marketing organizations County Trails Council Region #1 (SWOTC) Carolinian Canada Board Ontario Motorcoach Association Page 4 of 6
2. Work Plan a. Departmental Business Goals 2012 Goals/Objectives Resources Culinary Ontario Trillium grant Expected Completion Sports tournament Staff resources 2013 Airport based attraction Staff resources 2013 Trails conference Staff resources Q2 trails, birding and ecotourism development/promotion Partnership in Region #1 projects Culinary two-year project - 2011-2012 Heritage and Marketing Ontario Trillium, County staff resources Southwest Ontario Corporation $102,600 2-year Ontario Trillium grant JCP staff support 2013 Notes/Risks Increased spending on locally-grown food Collaborative planning and research process with Woodstock Economic Office Collaborative planning process with Tillsonburg Economic Office Collaborative planning process with Ontario Trails Council, Trails Council, Carolinian Canada Subject to grant funding taking a lead on this regional ecotourism project Priority Projects: Market, Culinary, Agritourism, Birding,Coastal & Riverfront, Recreation (golf,camping,fishing) and Motorcycle Facebook,Twitter,YouTube, Fresh Blog; mobile phone compatibility Develop guided and selfguided walking tours and collaterals 2013 Goals/Objectives Resources Partnership in Region #1 projects Southwest Ontario Corporation Expected Completion Notes/Risks Projects: Culinary, Agritourism, Birding,Coastal & Riverfront, Recreation Experiences, and Motorcycle, and Market Page 5 of 6
3. Performance Measurement Output Measures - Quantity 2010 2011 2012 2013 New Events 1 1 1 Motorcoach 850 850 850 850 Efficiency Measures - $ Cost Gross expenditures $257,699 $266,254 $266,817 $272,407 Gross expenditures as a % of total County gross expenditures 0.11% 0.14% 0.14% 0.15% Cost per household $5.95 $6.05 $6.00 $6.03 Cost per capita $2.66 $2.71 $2.68 $2.69 Effectiveness/Customer Service (RFI) Requests for Info - Phone 5,830 5,500 6,500 7,500 RFI Drop-in Visitor Information Centre 12,500 12,500 15,000 17,000 RFI - Email 14,850 15,000 16,000 17,000 Measurement In terms of efficiencies, the budget supports a mega-million dollar industry in. Over the last 10 years, annual visitor spending inside has increased from $16.3 million per year to $57.6 million per year 1, supporting 3,216 local jobs 2. This is largely due to increased awareness of the brand, through targeted marketing of our collective tourism products. This attracts more media, group tour and independent travel attention. The lucrative Group Operator market finds that collectively, there are sufficient travel experiences/ dining/accommodations choices to suit their clientele, as a viable group tour destination. 1 according to Ontario Ministry of and Stats Can reports 2 according to the Local Training Board stats Page 6 of 6
TOURISM 2012 BUDGET REPORT 2012 2011 2011 REQUESTED BUDGET BUDGET FORECAST BUDGET BUDGET VARIANCE % VARIANCE REVENUES PROVINCIAL (500) (2,000) (1,000) 1,000 (50.00%) USER FEES (52,202) (49,038) (49,000) 38 (0.08%) TOTAL REVENUES (52,702) (51,038) (50,000) 1,038 (2.03%) SALARIES AND BENEFITS 138,430 138,429 145,531 7,102 5.13% OPERATING EXPENSES 83,520 90,675 89,461 (1,214) (1.34%) PROGRAM EXPENSES 32,000 36,000 30,800 (5,200) (14.44%) CAPITAL 1,150 1,150 1,025 (125) (10.87%) TOTAL 202,398 215,216 216,817 1,601 0.74%