For the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board, a recent trip to New York City is mostly about fostering relationships.
At a meeting held in Brighton Council Chambers today (Wednesday), Business Development Manager Trevor Norris highlighted a four day trip earlier this month on a travel sales mission.
He says they make a “distilled” version of the Bay of Quinte guide and then offer the guide in a digital format for people to peruse in depth later, which has been very well received.
Executive Director Dug Stevenson told the board people at this annual event, which consists of major tourism operators and destinations from across Ontario, are beginning to take notice of the Bay of Quinte. “We’re new,” he says. “We’re not the 1000 Islands and we’re not Niagara so we have a lot of follow ups there.”
Norris met with representatives from organizations such as AAA Northeast and Flight Centre. The group had eight planned events across five days. He was able to build relationships and provide tour operators and travel advisors with the education, training and tools necessary to recommend Bay of Quinte as a potential destination to their clients.
“Destination Ontario’s sales missions have been crucial in the development and growth of our travel trade strategy over the past two years,” said Norris. “Participation alongside other Ontario destinations has helped increased awareness of the Bay of Quinte region to our top markets (Quebec and northeastern United States).