Who's Listening

Haliburton County has a well-developed Visitor Economy based on the stunning natural environment, the impressive variety of lodging and experiences, and the hospitality of the people. The Haliburton Highlands Destination Management Plan (DMP) is an overarching 5-year framework to help optimize that economy year-round and provide greater benefits for all residents across the County.  In 2021 County Council approved the Destination Management Plan. 

The development of this Plan was fully informed by community members since the first town hall in May 2019 through to December 2020. The contents and direction are based entirely on the aggregated priorities of local residents and tourism stakeholders who participated in the numerous live and virtual community engagement sessions.

It's exciting to have roadmap for the next 5 years and putting that plan into action is something County Tourism is committed to.  

Strengthening Community Collaboration is the first of three priorities in the plan.  

Every destination with a successful, sustainable and well-managed Visitor Economy shares one common trait. They all have proud and industrious citizens who rally other residents around common goals and values to build a better future for their communities and local industries. There are no exceptions.

To build stronger communities based on what residents want, the first step is to truly understand what their goals and values are, empirically. That’s why destinations and tourism organizations of all sizes are developing resident sentiment surveys that provide the necessary data to benchmark, track and address evolving public opinion year-over-year.