Rotarian Cassandra Bonn introduced the lunch speaker, Dug Stevenson, Executive Director of the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board. Dug grew up in the dairy capital of the Maritimes, Sussex, N.B. before leaving for his undergrad at McGill University and then moving to Toronto for grad studies at Humber College. Dug has led the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board since 2016 where his team of five (5) have been recognized with national and provincial awards in tourism and economic development for their marketing, branding and projects, including the Lieutenant Governor's Award from the Economic Developers Association of Ontario -- their highest marketing honour. The Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board is a public-private Destination Marketing and Management Organization with a mandate of marketing tourism and resident attraction for the partners of Belleville, Brighton, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Napanee, Quinte Home Builders' Association and Quinte West. As ED, Dug is responsible for overseeing all of the operations, setting strategic goals and ensuring the organizations mission is effectively carried out.
Dug introduced the 10th Edition of the Bay of Quinte Discovery Guide and this book is packed with information about what is happening in and about our region. You can get a copy of this book at visitor centres and popular spots around the area. You can also go to their website bayofquinte.ca and have a tour and visit numerous links to many attractions, opportunities, job openings, eateries and even a map to get you where you want to go. You can vote for your favourite local businesses and attractions in over 50 categories in the Best of the Bay Contest. The way people travel is changing in terms of the relationship between the visitor and the destination. Experiential tourism seeks to connect visitors to the local stories that are the heart of a region. One of the main goals of the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board is to be at the forefront of that change and stay locked in step with tourism trends domestically and internationally. We are lucky to live in such as biodiverse region with so many incredible natural assets that we have a responsibility to grow tourism sustainably and to protect those assets for our residents. By fostering positive visitor behaviour through these new experiences we help to develop, we foster tourism as a force for good for the Bay of Quinte communities. It is evident that Dug and his team have developed a brand and destination for our region with innovative ideas that have attracted tens of thousands of people and really put the Bay of Quinte on the map. A few visitor facts were shared. Over 30% visit our area for the outdoors such as golf, hiking, boating, beaches. Two plus million people visit a year and 60% of those stay overnight. Check out the annual report for more information on the return on investment that tourism and resident attraction bring to this area.
Tim McKinney thanked Dug for his presentation, admitting that he learned lots from the book review alone!