Centre for Community-Based Education 93 Bobcaygeon Road Box 655 Minden, Ontario K0M 2K0 Phone: (705) 286-2411, Fax: (705) 286-3511 E-mail ulinks@on.aibn.com Website www.ulinks.ca
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292 London Street, Traill College c/o Trent University 1600 West Bank Drive Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8 Phone: (705) 743-0523, Fax (705) 743-7170 E-mail info@trentcentre.ca Website www.trentcentre.ca
#969 Best Practices for Marketing of Tourism Website
Organization Information Peterborough County is a very special place for people, where planning and stewardship protect a diverse landscape, lifestyle, and sense of community. To achieve this vision, the County will: • respect and protect its traditions of rural lifestyle • maintain and enhance its quality of life through managed orderly growth and development • protect the integrity of the environment • preserve and promote the County’s heritage and culture • provide an efficient, helpful, cost-effective form of County Government
Project Information The County of Peterborough will be redeveloping the Trip-Click application during the winter 2009/10, following testing and evaluation of the pilot web site (www.trip-click.com). When the new application is complete, the site will provide visitors with an intuitive and engaging trip-planning experience. Trip-Click allows visitors to learn more about the region by making each person their own self-directing tour guide. The public are provided an easily-accessible listing of tour sites within the County and City of Peterborough that can be selected for inclusion in a custom tour. The tour sites are printable from a Google Maps application or downloadable into a recreational GPS unit. Each site provides an associated narrative that can be printed out or downloaded in MP3 format to provide an accessible, multi-media experience. Following the completion of the professionally developed Trip-Click web-site, the County, in partnership with the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Agency (GPAEDC) will be marketing the site’s use to local businesses and tourists. A business plan will be developed to provide inclusion on the site, regular updates, and possibly additional opportunities (e.g., annual audio recording update) for a set annual fee. This revenue stream will provide for maintenance to and enhancements of the Trip-Click web site and will ensure future longevity of the project. Marketing efforts to attract visitors will include advertisements in GPAEDC tourism material, promotion at GPAEDC-attended tourism trade shows, and participation in a media familiarization tour (e.g., ‘fam tour’). The County wishes to engage a student(s) to analyze and recommend best-practices for marketing Trip-Click to both local businesses and visitors alike. Ideally, recommendations will meet the needs of a range of age groups, income brackets, and levels of technological familiarity in both the operator and visitor spheres.
Benefit to the Host Organization and the Community Trip-Click seeks to draw interest to all eight local Townships, the City of Peterborough, and First Nations communities to increase tourism traffic, visitor awareness and economic prosperity. By providing meaningful, applicable marketing recommendations that can be immediately implemented by the County and GPAEDC, this project will help to improve promotion of local businesses and accessibility to local tourism opportunities. Trip-Click aims to respond to a gap in providing travelers with emerging and interactive tourism media and wayfinding tools. It is expected that this will draw some visitors who want to experience this ‘new media’, others who are interested in seeing the sites behind some interesting tales, and those who want to know more about an area they were already interested in visiting. Through the research by Trent students of sites from across the County, especially in more remote areas, the County seeks to increase the tourism appeal of all areas of Peterborough County & City. As a sustainable tourism project, Trip-Click also seeks to encourage an understanding and appreciation for the various cultures, experiences, landscapes, and species of Peterborough County and City. What Students Might Learn • • • Employability/career development Academic experience and pursuits Community involvement Screening or Training Requirements • None Skills or Experience Needed • • • • • Knowledge of marketing and website development Good computer skills Knowledge of regional sites Great organizational skills Ability to work independently or as a team
Resources Required for Project that will be Provided by Host • Resources and costs will be provided by host organization