Collingwood Council has received a request for funding in the amount of $50,000.00 for the new budget year from the Georgian Triangle Tourist Association.

The request was based on research, need and future economic development of the Tourism Industry for the Collingwood, southern Georgian Bay region.

The Georgian Triangle Tourist Association has been a long-time resident of Collingwood, operating a Visitor Information Centre at 30 Mountain Road. The association currently boasts a membership of 279. The centre is open 364 days of the year and provides information on accommodation, activities and special events to thousands of visitors each year. The centre is staffed by a full time Executive Director and two Visitor Information Counselor/Office Clerical Support Staff members. In addition, three to four summer students are hired to help out during the busy summer season.

For the past two summers, the GTTA has operated a Fee for Service contract with the Town of The Blue Mountains in the newly restored Craigleith Depot, providing visitor information services three days per week throughout the summer.

In submitting a funding request to the Town of Collingwood for 2008, the GTTA pointed out that regionally, the only visitor numbers currently published are from nearby Blue Mountain Resorts, indicating 1.5 million visitors annually. “Since current municipal funding comes only from our two geographical municipal partners, Collingwood and the town of the Blue Mountains and most of the economic impact from tourism is generated by the Blue Mountain Resorts marketing strategies, we have been focused on regional services and basic promotion” the report states. The GTTA is the only organization in the region dedicated to serving tourists year round, with a combination of Visitor Services in person, estimated at 30,000 in 2007. The new web site www.collingwoodthebluemountains.com , an update to the previous web site, is estimated to serve approximately 100,000 each year. In addition, the GTTA publishes and distributes 90,000 copies of an area visitor guide.

The assets of the GTTA currently include a building and property at 30 Mountain Road. This property has recently been listed for sale to help the organization clear it’s debt. The GTTA states that there are some challenges with the sale due to the current zoning of the property.

The Georgian Triangle Tourist Association has been going through a restructuring process over the past 21 months and the next step in the process will be strategic planning sessions, led by Cheryl Brine, Consultant OMAFRA.

In addition to the $50,000.00 financial contribution requested for 2008 fiscal year, the GTTA has asked for rent-free facilities, in which to provide Visitor Information Services, ideally the Welcome Centre at The Station. Directional signage would be an additional expense involved to ensure visitors can easily find the Information Centre.

A similar $50,000.00 funding request has beensubmitted to the Town of The Blue Mountains.