ONTARIO’S national parklands and lakeland districts will be the subject of new destination promotion at Spotlight Canada’s annual UK trade show, being held in London in March.
UK representative for Ontario Tourism, Sharon Bernstein said: “The Georgian Bay area of the province has no exposure in the British market so we want to get more tour operators featuring it.
“It offers stunning scenery, cruising on the many lakes within the area and resorts located around some of the most beautiful bays in Ontario.
“Stars like Tom Hanks and Goldie Hawn have their second homes there and locations include Midland, Owen Sound, Collingwood, Penetanguishene and Killarney.”
Set in northeastern Ontario, Georgian Bay is in the heart of the province’s 30,000 Islands district – the largest grouping of its kind in the world – which also has around 1,000 inland lakes.
Activities include hiking, boating, canoeing, fishing and scuba diving.
Killarney, a former Georgian Bay fur trading post, is now a small holiday town, from where wilderness hiking, camping and canoeing are popular pursuits.
In the city-breaks market, Ontario now intends to promote two centres linking Toronto with Ottawa following the success of combining Toronto with the Niagara region.
Bernstein said: “People tend to think of Ottawa simply as the capital but it’s not just a city, it’s a regionthat has a wealth of opportunities.
“We are now trying to get more operators on board to feature it with Toronto with a transfer by train.”
She added that there are plenty of shopping, dining, entertainment and heritage attractions in the city, as well as white-water rafting on the Ottawa River and other outdoor activities within the region.