Who said “No Wine Country!”?
- mmavridis
- May 6
- 3 min read
Council didn’t.
Last week Council voted and approved the NOTL Tourism Strategy, 6-3.
Since then, Facebook posts have shared a few podcasts and online articles that Council made a HUGE mistake by passing the changes made by Town staff to adjust wording for the Vision statement in the Municipal document.
There are also online articles that support the Strategy passed, however do have a few facts that are incorrect.
To break it down;
The difference between a tourism strategy and a marketing strategy lies in their scope and purpose:
Tourism Strategy:
A broad, long-term plan developed by a municipality, region, or country to grow and manage tourism sustainably. It includes goals like improving infrastructure, diversifying visitor experiences, supporting local businesses, managing visitor impacts, and aligning with community values.
Marketing Strategy:
A targeted plan that focuses specifically on promoting tourism to attract visitors. It involves branding, advertising, digital campaigns, audience targeting, and promotional partnerships.
In short:
A tourism strategy is about what to develop and how tourism fits into broader goals.
A marketing strategy is about how to communicate and sell that vision to tourists.
Our Lord Mayor better explained it;
I would encourage you to review the information in the Report received by Council last week, including conclusions that you draw are not consistent with the anticipated outcomes of implementation of the Towns Tourism Strategy.
You can find that Report here:
I would direct your attention to a portion from that report... which clarifies Council’s rational for supporting the strategy.
"Vision Statement
As part of ongoing efforts to ensure that the Tourism Strategy accurately reflects the breadth and diversity of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s tourism offerings, Staff recommends refining the vision statement as follows:
Current Vision Statement: "Niagara-on-the-Lake is an extraordinary wine country destination, known for its natural beauty, and unrivalled cultural experiences."
Recommended Revision: "Niagara-on-the-Lake is an extraordinary destination, known for its natural beauty, food and wine, and unrivalled cultural experiences."
The revised vision statement better reflects the full range of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s tourism assets by explicitly including food alongside wine. This acknowledges the importance of our tender fruit and culinary sector, which plays a significant role in our local economy and visitor experience.
While wine remains a signature attraction, our community is also recognized for its fresh local produce, farm-to-table dining, and thriving culinary scene. Highlighting “food” in the vision statement ensures that these essential elements of our regional identity are given due prominence.
The updated vision statement presents Niagara-on-the-Lake as a more comprehensive and well-rounded tourism destination, appealing to a broader audience, including food enthusiasts, culinary tourists, and agritourism visitors.
Culinary tourism is an increasingly influential factor in destination selection. By integrating “food and wine” into the vision statement, we align with evolving visitor expectations and industry best practices.
This small but meaningful refinement ensures that the Tourism Strategy remains inclusive, representative, and competitive, strengthening Niagara-on-the-Lake’s positioning as a premier destination for both domestic and international travellers."
In summary, there is nothing in the adopted strategy which will stop Tourism NOTL, The Towns appointed tourism board from marketing our community as wine country. In fact, current campaigns do that very thing and will continue to do so.
It is unfortunate that this adjustment of one statement in the Town Tourism Strategy, is being heralded as an all or nothing proposition.
Making statements, that the marketing of "Wine Country" is not going to be prioritized or even considered is not consistent with the expected outcomes.
The Tourism Strategy for the Town, which is what Council adopted and the Marketing tactics for Tourism NOTL are two separate items.
The Town’s Economic Development Officer, Council and Tourism NOTL are committed to this partnership so that we leverage all of our community assets and our value proposition fully.
I hope this is helpful and you see that Council is indeed honouring the agricultural value proposition of our community.
Regardless of opinions, the Tourism Strategy now aligns with the RFP set out to the consultant and the Town’s Strategic Plan and has also drawn a great amount of eyes (the second article below has over 10 million subscribers worldwide) to our Town as a destination.
Online articles;
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