Celebrating the region’s young leaders was a highlight of 2025 for Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board Executive Director Dug Stevenson.
The board held its first ever Bay of Quinte “40 under 40” recognizing local individuals under the age of 40 making a difference in the community.
There were more than 200 nominations resulting in 44 individuals being honoured.
And it wasn’t just about, you know, what’s your career? It was based around a more fulsome approach to life and impact on this Quinte region. You know, what are you doing volunteer-wise? How are you helping outside of your career or what are your achievements?”
Stevenson says the group will meet early in the new year to discuss ways to solve some local community issues.
From a tourism perspective, 2025 was a great year for the Bay of Quinte region.
Leisure tourism was up as many people avoided travelling to the United States due to the trade war.
“We’re up over two per cent over last year. Which might not sound like much but when we talk about overnight accommodation and we’ve got over 1,500 hotel rooms and then hundreds of short-term accommodations in this region, over two per cent is actually quite a bit and each percentage point is worth, you know, millions of dollars.”
Stevenson says golf tourism was especially strong noting that the Bay of Quinte region saw about $750,000 in spending on golf packages alone in 2025.
“So we’re part of a provincial partnership, Golf in Ontario. And we outsell every region in that partnership, Niagara, Muskoka, London, two to one. And a lot of them came here this year because they cancelled golf in the United States.”
He believes the Quinte region has become the province’s top golf destination.
