Many years of tourism drove united method for South Georgian Bay

Tourism has been a part of the native economic system for practically 100 years, inspiring space municipalities and enterprise homeowners to work collectively to encourage repeat guests. 

As early because the Nineteen Forties, vacationers had been displaying curiosity in Collingwood and surrounding municipalities, and by the Seventies the area’s first tourism affiliation fashioned and have become a pioneering instance of cross-border collaboration. 

Pulled collectively by guests, space cities together with Collingwood, The Blue Mountains, Meaford, Wasaga Seashore, and Clearview fashioned what’s now South Georgian Bay Tourism. 

“We stay in Ontario’s four-season out of doors recreation capital,” mentioned Melissa Twist, director of regional tourism at South Georgian Bay Tourism (SGBT). 

Beforehand often known as the Georgian Triangle Vacationer Affiliation (GTTA) and Go to South Georgian Bay, the group rebranded in 2017 as an in-destination instructional group with a mission of welcoming vacationers to the realm whereas contributing to the financial prosperity of the 5 municipalities it serves.

“It’s at all times been about collaboration and bringing these communities collectively,” mentioned Twist. “That can at all times be primary.”

Whereas Josef Jozo Weider labored tirelessly on the mountain chasing his dream of constructing a world-class ski resort  (now Blue Mountain Resort), Georgian Bay introduced a special kind of vacationer to the realm and summer season cottages began popping up alongside the shoreline all through the Thirties and 40s.

For a few years, the sidelaunch of a brand new ship within the Collingwood Shipyards additionally drew a crowd, generally busloads would come from out of city to look at the ceremony and spectacular launches.

Someday between the rise of Blue Mountain Resort and the closure of the Collingwood Shipyards, individuals began to see South Georgian Bay as a vacation spot — and increasingly vacationers had been drawn to the realm annually. 

“The pure space — the attraction of the bay and the mountain — was certain to draw vacationers,” mentioned George Weider, son of the late Josef (Jozo) Weider, who based Blue Mountain Resort. 

Within the Seventies, a committee of group leaders and enterprise homeowners noticed a necessity for an info centre in Collingwood to assist filter individuals from the mountain by way of the area and employed a neighborhood lady, Sheila Metras, to run it. 

Metras, who was in her early twenties on the time, was within the midst of finishing her grasp’s of social work at York College. She had little interest in working in tourism on the time and solely interviewed as follow — till she was provided the job later that night. 

She was shocked, however accepted, and fewer than two months into her new function she observed a spot within the native tourism business and the way in which the totally different municipalities managed their advertising. Metras thought it could be useful to band collectively to market the area as an entire. 

She pitched the concept to neighbouring cities, and after some convincing, the Blue Mountains, Clearview, Collingwood, Meaford and Wasaga Seashore had been all on board — and the GTTA was born. 

“Everybody might see the advantages of promoting collectively, as a result of alone, not one group might afford the advertising wanted to draw a global viewers,” she mentioned. “Everybody wished to be their very own, however as one of an entire.

The affiliation’s function was to facilitate the 5 Chambers of Commerce and different companies to market themselves, and so they began doing so by internet hosting community-wide fundraising occasions. No matter what it was or the place it was held, members from all 5 municipalities labored collectively to make it occur.  

“We had been very profitable,” mentioned Metras. “Individuals had been calling from everywhere in the nation asking how I received 5 municipalities, 5 communities, to work collectively.” 

Because the years went on, the affiliation turned member-based, and annual charges funded a lot of its actions. At its peak, there have been over 500 members throughout all municipalities. 

“It was revolutionary,” Metras mentioned. It was additionally an enormous financial driver for all 5 municipalities. Every city had its personal distinctive pull, however with a a lot greater mission in thoughts, they had been stronger collectively. 

In 2006, after 28 years of service, Metras formally resigned from her place. 

For a few decade, the GTTA handed by way of totally different palms and shuffled by way of quite a lot of totally different names.

Now, the function of the affiliation has turn into much less about attracting vacationers to the realm and extra about enhancing the customer expertise as soon as they’re right here. The objective of SGBT is to encourage guests to find all of the distinctive locations, actions, and experiences the entire space has to supply.

“The primary issue that has and can proceed to distinguish us is our dedication to deliver our municipal companions collectively and encourage ongoing collaboration between all 5 municipalities,” mentioned Twist. 

“Guests transfer throughout borders with out even realizing it, so it is sensible for us to market ourselves as a area,” she mentioned. “We’re stronger collectively.”