The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s latest tourism strategy and action plan sparked debate at Tuesday’s council meeting, especially over the mission statement, the absence of the phrase “wine country” and the overall tone of the document.
Some councillors and members of the tourism strategy committee said the phrase “wine country” is important to include, because it reflects what NOTL is known for. But town staff wanted to remove it and use broader wording that includes more industries like food and culture.
The original version of the mission statement said: “Niagara-on-the-Lake is an extraordinary wine country destination, known for its natural beauty and unrivalled cultural experiences.
Staff changed it to: “Niagara-on-the-Lake is an extraordinary destination, known for its natural beauty, food and wine and unrivalled cultural experiences.
Staff said this version would help make the town appeal to more visitors and businesses, not just people interested in wine.
But Coun. Andrew Niven proposed a change to bring “wine country” back into the statement, although the amendment was deferred.
“I believe words matter and for who we are and what our entire economic outlook is built around, there is one overarching industry, and I feel that’s wine,” he said.
Coun. Tim Balasiuk added that the prominent view of the vineyards tourists see as they drive in shows that NOTL is a wine destination.
Coun. Wendy Cheropita said wine is one of the town’s biggest assets and tourism groups like Destination Canada and the regional tourism organization highlight it as a key strength for destinations
“And you leverage strengths,” she said.
Vladimir Haltigin, a resident and member of the tourism strategy committee, presented to council and said he was “profoundly disappointed” with the staff’s decision to change the mission statement, which he said the committee worked hard on.
In an interview with The Lake Report, Coun. Maria Mavridis said she understood Haltigin.
“I would have reacted the same way as Vlad — prior to being on council,” she said. “I would have been like, ‘Hey, I put in this many hours, I work this hard on this, and now, staff have come in and they’ve scratched out and made changes.’”
Mavridis said the town should have been clearer from the start about how much of the committee’s work might be revised by staff.
“Say at the beginning, ‘Now, however, this is going to go to staff, and staff will be making changes,’” she said.
Haltigin was not a fan of the removal of “wine country.”
He said Niagara is highlighted as a key tourism corridor in Destination Canada’s 2024-2025 tourism corridor strategy, alongside world-famous wine areas like Napa Valley. He said that shows how important wine is to the town’s image.
“That’s a very positive benchmark, chosen by them, to show our status and influence in NOTL,” he said.
However, not everyone agreed that “wine country” should be the focus.
Coun. Erwin Wiens said the mission statement was too focused on one part of tourism.
“I’m concerned that we’re taking one avenue of tourism above all else, because this isn’t marketing,” he said.
Coun. Sandra O’Connor said the town needs to look at tourism as a whole, not just wine.
“It’s great for a marketing strategy,” she said. “But for a tourism strategy, I think we really need to be more all-encompassing as we go forward.”
The committee and the CBRE project team drafted the plan, but staff finalized it using a “town lens,” said Mavridis in an interview.
This was to make sure it fit with other goals of the town, she said.
“A lot of the stuff was removed, some stuff was added,” she said, explaining that most committee members came from marketing backgrounds, especially in the wine industry — which she felt led to a bit of preference being given to the wine sector.
But Mavridis said it’s not the town’s job to define NOTL as a “wine destination.”
“That’s the tourism board’s (Tourism NOTL) job,” she said, adding that it’s the town’s role to create a tourism strategy, not a marketing strategy.
A tourism strategy is a big-picture plan for how a town manages and grows tourism, like improving public spaces to manage the impacts of visitors and making sure tourism fits with the community’s long-term goals, she said.
A marketing strategy, on the other hand, is all about how to promote and sell NOTL to visitors.
In an interview, Tourism NOTL executive director Kathy Weiss said while the town can choose not to use the term “wine country” in its strategy, Tourism NOTL will continue using it in marketing.
“Whereas the town, they have to think about representing the entire sector,” she said. “But we will certainly be using that terminology in our marketing and promotion.”
Vintage Hotels and the Shaw Festival also use “wine country,” she added.
During the meeting, O’Connor also proposed rewording one of the goals in the plan, replacing the word “profitable” with “economic well-being.” The original goal stated: “Develop an overall goal for use of the Town’s share of MAT revenue: to ensure NOTL is a profitable and sustainable destination for visitors, businesses and residents.”
The approved change was: “Develop an overall goal for use of the town’s share of MAT revenue: to ensure NOTL’s economic well being and sustainability as a destination for visitors, businesses and residents.”
Coun. Adriana Vizzari asked why sidewalks weren’t listed as part of the “visitor infrastructure and investment attraction” priority, when examples like bike lanes and buses were. She wondered if those examples should be removed if sidewalks aren’t included.
But Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa said the word “infrastructure” is general enough to include sidewalks and other things.
Haltigin said words like “ultimate” and “authoritative” made the document feel like staff was giving orders to Tourism NOTL.
“The tone of the document has the feel of being directive versus collaborative,” he said.
He pointed to the end of the plan, which says council will solidify the town’s leadership in guiding tourism policy, while enabling Tourism NOTL to handle marketing and promotion.
Coun. Cheropita asked the town’s chief administrative officer, Bruce Zvaniga, if the town was trying to micro-manage Tourism NOTL.
Zvaniga said no and explained the town just has the power to choose its official marketing organization — and it chose Tourism NOTL. That reassured Cheropita.
Zvaniga also said the town is drafting a new agreement with Tourism NOTL.
It will set out expectations, building on the existing agreement, for how funds from the municipal accommodation tax should be used — with a goal of finishing it by the end of the second quarter this year.
O’Connor reminded council and staff that while Tourism NOTL is defined as “independent from the town,” if the municipal accommodation tax legislation requires the two to have an agreement making sure the tax money is used only to promote tourism — it’s not technically “independent.”
Zalepa agreed and called it a fair point.
