Grey County Visitor Survey 2009 The Resource Management Consulting Group www.rmcg.ca February 10, 2010

Outline Summary 3 Purpose & Methodology 4 Grey County Tourism Markets Page Summary 3 Purpose & Methodology 4 Grey County Tourism Markets 7 Trip Characteristics 10 Trip Motivations & Experiences 14 Satisfaction with Visit 20 Grey County Awareness 22 Advertising and Promotion 24 10/02/10

Summary Why did visitors come to Grey County? Drawn by nature, scenery and water Village at Blue and Scenic Caves show up as being important (this is expected not only because of their importance, but also because these were the only two attractions administering surveys) Who were Grey’s visitors? Primarily from Central Ontario More empty-nesters in Grey County sample, more families in Georgian Bay sample Most were repeat visitors, but… 24% 1st timers Few from US & overseas and few new Canadians How did they plan their trips? Word-of-mouth, local visitor information and internet How did Grey County rate? Excellent 9+ out of 10 by 2/3 of respondents, ¾ expect to return to Grey county within 3 years >90% will recommend Grey County to others 10/02/10

Purpose & Methodology Why the survey? To gather and analyze visitor information for destination development in Grey County How? Visitor intercept survey (did not survey second-home owners) Interviews conducted by site staff Where? 12 survey sites throughout and bordering Grey County 11 were visitor information centres, one was privately-owned attraction 8 sites along Georgian Bay were surveyed as part of the 2009 Georgian Bay Visitor Survey, 4 more sites were added to get information for South Grey When? July-August 2009 10/02/10

Georgian Triangle VC - 16% 2009 Survey Sites Wiarton – 11% Georgian Bay survey sites Grey County survey sites Owen Sound – 4% Thornbury -5% Craigleith - 12% Grey Roots Museum – 5% Georgian Triangle VC - 16% This report is based on the 644 completed surveys Completed at 12 sites Map shows the proportion of the survey sample completed at each site 80% of surveys completed as part of the Georgian Bay Visitor Survey 20% were supplemental Grey Survey Village at Blue VC – 16% Scenic Caves Markdale – 1% Hanover – 1% Durham – 15% Neustadt – 3% 10/02/10

2008 Survey Number of Completed Surveys 2009 2008 GT Visitor Centre 100 61 Village at Blue   Scenic Caves 75 148 Durham 74 Wiarton 70 31 Craigleith 67 Thornbury Grey Roots Museum 29 88 Owen Sound VC 26 11 Neustadt 21 Hanover 4 TOTAL 597 339 Five sites were surveyed in 2008 as part of the 2008 Georgian Bay Visitor Survey The survey results for these 5 sites will be compared to the results of the 17 Georgian Bay sites in another report The results from the 2008 Grey County sites cannot be compared to the 2009 Grey County sites because the sample locations and response distributions are too different 10/02/10

Grey County Tourism Markets

Who were Grey’s visitors? Even gender split Families 43% had children living at home Interesting split… 32% of South Grey respondents and 70% of Georgian Bay respondents Prime working age (younger than Ontario pop) Well educated – almost 50% with university/college education 10/02/10

Where did Grey County’s 2009 visitors come from? Domestic Ontario markets 86% Canadian residents (most from Ontario- K, L,M,N) Most Ontario residents from the central part of the province (L) Of international visitors (86) 44% from USA, 41% from Europe & 2% from Asia 75% of visitors Canadian born Of the remainder (160), 27% born USA 41% in Europe and 17% in Asia Toronto Central Ontario Northern Ontario Eastern Ontario Southwestern Ontario 10/02/10

Trip Characteristics

What were their travel patterns? Average party size 3.6 62% adults only 38% travelled with children (25% 1-2 children) 90% for pleasure or visiting friends & family 10/02/10

More about travel patterns… 20% were day visitors and 72% stayed for 3 nights or less in Grey County and/or Georgian Bay1 For shorter trips (< 3 nights) visitors spent all of their time all of their time in Grey and/or Georgian Bay1 For longer trips (>3 nights) they stayed at other destinations outside of region ¾ repeat visitors with 30% visiting >5 times in the past 5 years Healthy 24% first time visitors The visitors intercepted at the Georgian Bay sites were asked about their stay in the Georgian Bay catchment, while those at the Grey sites were asked about their stay in Grey County. 10/02/10

Accommodation (question asked only at Grey County survey sites n=128, not at Georgian Bay sites) Over 1/3 (35%) stayed with friends and family Another third stayed in motels/hotels and cottages/cabins 20% camped in a provincial park, conservation area or private park The smallest proportions stayed in B&Bs, resorts and timeshares 10/02/10

Trip Motivations & Experiences 14

Top Reasons for Visiting Visitors were asked their top reasons for visiting South Grey County/Georgian Bay Most frequently mentioned were: experiencing nature, hiking and going to a beach Outdoors Water-based Cultural 10/02/10

Top Reasons for Visiting SGC/GB Outdoors Water-based Cultural Outdoor experiences were the major reasons for visiting South Grey and Georgian Bay The Grey County sites are the inland sites and 75% of the sample was from Durham For these visitors, Outdoor activities, including camping and seeing waterfall were tops Georgian Bay activities were less frequently mentioned (water-based, village, caving) 10/02/10

Looking at Top 3 Outdoor Activities Nature, hiking, caving and enjoying a scenic viewpoint most popular Caving had a high rating partially because Scenic Caves was on of the survey sites (15% of visitors surveyed there, 19% rated caving in top 3) Niche activities such as golf (15%), off-road cycling (10%), road cycling (7%) & rock climbing attracting smaller markets Note: These are the top three activities listed by respondents. These responses are not comparable to the longer 2008 Georgian Bay survey, where respondents listed all activities they participated in. 10/02/10

Looking at Top 3 Water-Based Activities Beaching & swimming most popular water-based activitis Followed by fishing, kayaking & visiting a lighthouse Note: These are the top three activities listed by respondents. These responses are not comparable to the longer 2008 Georgian Bay survey, where respondents listed all activities they participated in. 10/02/10

What were their Experiences? Village at Blue most popular (10% of visitors surveyed there, but 19% ranked it in top three) Festivals and events also popular Note: These are the top three activities listed by respondents. These responses are not comparable to the longer 2008 Georgian Bay survey, where respondents listed all activities they participated in. 10/02/10

Satisfaction with Visit

Well Done! Congratulations! Very strong ratings ~90% rated their Grey County experience 8 or higher, 37% gave their experience 10 out of 10 78% expect to return within the next 3 years, 17% were undecided & <2% don’t expect to return 95% likely to recommend Georgian Bay to friends or family N=607 10/02/10

Grey County Awareness

Were they aware of Grey County Activities Were they aware of Grey County Activities? (question asked only at South Grey County survey sites n=129, not at Georgian Bay sites) Just over half were aware of any of the Grey County activities presented Highest awareness was for the waterfalls tour(32% of respondents) 10/02/10

Advertising & Promotion

What information sources were used? The responses for Georgian Bay and South Grey County trip planning cannot be combined because the question about internet use was asked differently in the two surveys Previous experience and advice of friends and family were extremely important to both groups For Grey, the total of all internet source users was considerably lower than for Georgian Bay (not sure if this was the case or if using more categories caused a lower response) 10/02/10