On April 25, at the P&H Centre in Hanover, Jillian Dickens, Travel & Tourism Director for Bannikin, a boutique travel and tourism consultancy, led a session on the latest travel industry trends and how they relate to Grey County’s tourism industry. Jillian is no stranger to Grey County, having led her company's development of Grey County's Destination Development Action Plan in 2016. Jillian engaged a crowd of about 25 businesses, community and tourism organization representatives from across Grey County as she presented top trends in several buckets, with each bucket being discussed by small groups as to how those trends impacted their own businesses, community or organization. Jillian's presentation is below, and a few key take-aways from the session are summarized below.
Canada is 'hot' and recognized as a top international travel destination
We have work to do with regards to welcoming many of our new markets in understanding cultural differences and preferences
Partnering with non-traditional partners is an opportunity to broaden our offer
Pet-friendly is a growing trend
Transformational journeys are in demand
Grey County is a very safe destination
Thank you to everyone who attended this session! If you missed it or want to review anything covered please click here to view Jillian's presentation.