Discover Georgina Tourism Guide
View publication: https://www.flipsnack.com/townofgeorgina/2022-summer-fall-discover-georgina-guide/full-view.html
The Town of Georgina is a year-round destination for overnight stays and day trips, with visitors being drawn to the area for its proximity to the city and 52 kilometres of Lake Simcoe shoreline. Its Discover Georgina tourism guide is pivotal in branding the municipality as a tourism destination and attracting visitors to create an economic impact.
Georgina is one of the closest lake experience destinations to Toronto, expected to see more tourism sector growth as York Region and the greater Toronto area’s population increases. The distribution and design of the guide have pivoted in the last few years, addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and marketing trends to ensure the guide continues to promote the Town’s identity and attract visitors.
During the pandemic, the guide became available online. This was a result of shifting our tourism strategy to be local-centric and to address the digital trend with how people are accessing the information they seek. It is embedded on the Town’s website and promoted through two social media platforms and a tourism blog, highlighting the different categories and businesses featured within its pages. In the past year, it has reached 41K people and has been downloaded 2,146 times. Due to events being unpredictable during the pandemic, the guide was also made bi-annual. This allowed us to update events online as they were announced.
This summer, printed production resumed with more than 13K copies being printed and distributed locally to information centres across the province, locally at ambassador stations managed by the Georgina Chamber of Commerce and at events, both locally at externally, like the Outdoor and Adventure Show in Toronto.
Design and distribution moved in-house. This change gave us the ability to redesign the guide entirely with a new fresh look, navigation and information visitors may be looking for. We also were able to offer all supported events through our Community Betterment Program Grant free advertising space to support their efforts further.
Previously, the guide was designed and produced by a third party, with a large percentage of printed copies being distributed to locals through the newspaper. Bringing the guide in-house not only gave us more control over the content but allowed us to bring the publication online and ensure the tangible copies reach those who can provide the most economical impact. The majority of the copies are now shipped to tourism information centres. The remaining amount are distributed locally through ambassador stands, Town facilities and events. Communication through social media channels and eNewsletters ensured residents could still pick up a tangible copy or view the guide through the new online option.
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