Tourism Week is upon us once again here at 1 Carden.
This means lots of time spent on Facebook and Twitter, getting out into the
community, and inviting people in behind the scenes to see what it is we do. But what exactly is Tourism Week? I’d never
even heard of it until I started working at 1 Carden. And why is it important?
Organized by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), Tourism Week is a week long campaign to help promote tourism
within the local community and the country.
TIAC was founded back in 1930 as a way to help encourage the development
of tourism in Canada. These days, TIAC acts as national private sector advocate
for an industry that brings in billions of dollars every year. In 2012 alone,
the tourism sector saw 16 million people come to this country to visit. All
those visitors brought with them over $17 billion in revenue. That’s a lot of
money!
When we think of tourism in Canada, our thoughts
usually go to places like Montreal, Banff, or Vancouver. But people come to
Guelph too! And not just for the university either. People come here for Storm
games, our museums, and even to watch our rollery derby teams in action. Guelph
receives over ten million visits annually, and while most of these people come from
Ontario and Quebec, they bring with them $171 million into the area. This in
turn provides almost six thousand jobs for locals. 4.7% of the population of
Guelph is employed in tourism in some form or another!
With almost 450 businesses in Guelph involved in the
tourism industry, it’s our job here at 1 Carden to promote this beautiful city
year round. Some parts of the year are easier to promote than others. The
Hillside Festival, for example, is huge for the city. People come from around
the world to participate in the three day music fest. Turning 32 this year,
Hillside recently made a list top ten summer music festivals.
The event practically promotes itself.
That awkward lull between when all the university
students move out, and the high school and elementary students finish their
year? Not so much. There are actually a lot of things going on in the city
during May and June. It’s just a matter of finding out about it. Did you know
that every Thursday evening, Buon Gusto has a special on oysters? Every Sunday
and Wednesday the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada opens its doors to the public.
Our annual visitor guide is a valuable resource for
such information. At the end of every year we go to great lengths to connect
with our partners and the community to find out what they have planned for the
upcoming year. Come visit us to pick one up! Our online calendar
is also a valuable resource. We update it with events and things that are going
on in the city several times a week and do our best to keep the information as
current as possible.
The tourism sector is so much more than just travel
agencies, flight attendants and tacky tourist traps. Restaurants, hotels, and
even transit fall under tourism. Having a wedding reception at a hotel? Even
that is tourism. It’s important to know the impact that tourism has on our
economy, both local and national. It’s a far reaching industry, and if one part
of it is impacted, every area is affected. Remember 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina?
While those are extreme examples, they demonstrate the way a city or region can
be shut down after something happens.
Tourism is a tough little sector, though. It might
take some time, but it always bounces back after something happens. People said
that no one would come to Toronto after the SARS outbreak in 2003. It took a
little bit of time for Toronto to repair its image, but it did. And now, in
just over a month, Toronto is hosting the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games.
That’s why Tourism Week is important.
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