’Tis the season

Council endorses 2025 Tourism Management Plan

The County’s 2025 Tourism Management Plan, including how the approved budget of $240,750 would be spent in 2025, has been endorsed by County council. The report also recommends public consultation with residents and stakeholders take place on managing the municipal portion of MAT revenues, which will help inform Council on the preferred way to spend the funds in future budget years.

Julianne Snepsts, Programs Supervisor with Community Services, Programs and Initiatives, presented the Tourism Management Plan and MAT consultation report to Committee of the Whole last Thursday.

She said the program had evolved into investing MAT into things that are good in the community, helping to shape a more positive and productive conversation about tourism.

“In the early days of tourism management in the community, it was very much a reaction to the moment we were in. There was a lot of things that were introduced in the plan that were necessary for managing tourism in the moment. That created some friction and unintended consequences, but also did a lot of good work,” said Snepsts.

She noted that the summer season’s outlook suggests positivity with uncertainty.

“Preliminary data from tourism partners and municipal sources suggest a positive outlook for the 2025 summer tourism season. Overnight accommodation bookings for summer 2025 increased by up to 40 per cent compared to similar periods in 2024,” she said.

The report did note that there is still some uncertainty around the impact of tariffs and cross-border tensions on the local tourism economy. “On the one hand, Canadian travellers might prefer to vacation locally rather than travel to the United States of America, and a weak Canadian dollar could attract international visitors to destinations like the County. On the other hand, the political climate might deter American visitors, and a recession caused by tariffs could discourage Ontarians from travelling, even close to home,” stated Snepsts in the report.

Wellington councillor Corey Engelsdorfer said he was hearing from a lot of local businesses that it was a ‘wait and see’ type of year. He also worried about the impact the road closure in Wellington might have on local businesses and visitors.

“Loyalist Parkway is our main artery into the County and it is closed in Wellington right now. My fear is that we are going to get out-of-towners coming to the County not realizing that it is closed and then they get sent around on detour routes and end up frustrated and it ruins their trip and they decide not to return in the future. The trail is also closed in Wellington and I know a lot of people visit the County specifically to use that trail,” said Engelsdorfer.

He then asked if there were plans and messaging in place to let visitors know of the road and trail closure.

“I personally am not a part of any conversations around the detour and what messaging might be happening. I am not aware of any plans,” said Snepsts. She did note that her department would talk to Visit the County about messaging to support visitors expectations and understanding on how it will all work.

Ameliasburgh councillor Janice Maynard turned the conversation to the state of the County’s rural roads. She said she was finding it hard to allocate any money to the “soft costs of tourism”. We are in a critical deficit on [road] infrastructure and we will not be the place of choice for people to come if people can’t get around comfortably,” she said. “If we are attracting tourists, you don’t have to go very far off of any of the few highways to understand the depth and the breadth of the infrastructure issues we have.”

Maynard noted she thought there was a formal policy where half of the MAT funds would go to infrastructure and community projects.

“From that half we have hived off some for those soft costs, the ones that are supportive directly of the tourist industry. It was always the intent, I thought, that the half that came back to the County would help support our infrastructure.”

Maynard then noted that the public consultation should not be used as a main indicator of what the population at large thinks should happen.

“You are not going to hear from the silent majority, because when you say you are having a tourist management policy consultation, they are not thinking about whether that will make a difference about how many potholes get filled this year.”

Speaking to the consultation, Councillor Kate MacNaughton suggested it should be broadened to all members of the community rather than just singling out the tourism industry.

“Considering the voices of the community that have so long been saying that we need to determine ways for tourism to help us manage our community because there are a lot of impacts,” said MacNaughton.

Councillor Sam Branderhorst asked if a youth component will be added to the consultation.

“Youth feel that they get ignored on how to incorporate this tax to better fit their voices into our community,” she said.

Snepsts indicated that staff had already envisioned including the County’s youth population.

“We have good relationships and are developing relationships with youth serving agencies and youth in the community and would always include a youth component to a conversation as broad as this one,” said Snepsts.

Speaking to how the money is spent, Councillor Roy Pennell said believed Council should be handling the money on a year to year basis.

“I suspect we are going to be in major troubles with roads this year. Maybe there is a specific dock we need to have fixed. Maybe there is a spot where we need bike lanes. We should be looking yearly instead of five years down the road,” said Pennell.

CAO Marcia Wallace said that Council currently does decide how to use the money on a year to year basis.

“We think it would be worth having a conversation about a more thoughtful and longer term perspective on how to spend the money,” she said.

“In the last several years, we have made offthe- cuff decision at budget time on how to spend the MAT money. When we have this report, this will feed into the 2026 budget deliberations,” added Councillor John Hirsch.

Councillor Maynard circled back once again to roads, saying tourists are on all of the rural roads.

“Half of the money already goes to tourism entities. We had a policy. It was well thought out when we put it in place. If we are going to change course and divert money to other areas, I cannot support it. It was based on needing good infrastructure to support viable tourism in the long run,” she said.

Hillier councillor Chris Braney said he understands that the councillor’s roads are visible to residents.

“I like this plan. I think we have to stick with it. But I will say to councillors Maynard, Pennell and Grosso. I have heard you. I have driven Salem Road. I get it. I think we can all get our heads collectively together at some point this year to try to find some answers. I am committed to that. I wouldn’t want to take it out of this plan.”

HIGHLIGHTS
With funding from the federal and provincial governments, the County will be installing new fastcharging electric vehicle charges in the King Street parking lot in Picton. The user fee is proposed at $20 per hour.

Council had previously approved three projects in the 2025 budget, including continuation of the Uride ride program. An expression of interest is to be published this year to explore other ride-hailing partnership options as staff are also working on a transit strategy refresh.

The first round of the PEC Arts Fund $50,000 grant through the County Foundation is to be announced before May.

The seasonal washroom service, at a cost of $30,000, has staff across multiple departments co-ordinate having washrooms at boat launches, municipal parks and other outdoor amenities throughout the County.

Staff are also proposing a different approach to summer transit enhancements in 2025, one that brings more partners into the mix to design and fund the program, and one that serves more of the County’s geography.

The Transportation Master Plan workplan includes a maximum of $35,000 for a transit enhancement that will be co-designed and co-funded with private sector partners. Base31 has confirmed their intent to partner, and to encourage partnership from other private sector businesses. The Chamber, through its service agreement approved by Council on March 11, 2025, would be a promotional and business outreach partner for this project.

The initial design is for a route that connects Bloomfield to Belleville on Friday evenings and on Saturdays and Sundays, to support people coming into the County for work or for car-free tourism. This would connect with a route that travels between Wellington, Bloomfield, Picton and Base31.

The estimated costs of this program would be between $35,000 and $50,000 depending on service times and dates. The final scope of the program will depend on financial contributions from private sector partners.