Tourism Day

Kevin Eshkawkogan, recognized as a visionary and trailblazer, is the founder and President & CEO of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Ontario (ITO). For more than 25 years, Kevin has dedicated his career to building businesses and strengthening Indigenous economies. He launched his first corporation at just 19 years old and has since been involved in nearly 75 corporations, always striving to support others in realizing their potential.

Through ITO, Kevin leads a dynamic team responsible for spearheading the growth of authentic Indigenous tourism in Ontario while improving the socio-economic well-being of Indigenous communities. This is achieved through a wide range of initiatives, including economic development advisory services, workforce training, professional development workshops, conferences, and industry-leading research. Under Kevin’s leadership, ITO has cultivated meaningful partnerships with governments, Destination Marketing Organizations, and industry allies, uniting Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners to collectively advance and promote authentic Indigenous cultural tourism.

This session will explore Midland’s visitors through the lens of Environics Analytics (EA) insights, using privacy-first mobile movement data.  Where do visitors come from and when, who are they, using EA’s PRIZM segmentation, and what are their demographics, activity and media preferences?  Turning these insights into action is key, and takeaways for next steps will round out this interactive presentation.

Bryan Plumstead is a tourism and destination development professional with more than 35 years of experience in tourism, economic development, visitor analytics, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement. Founder and Principal Consultant of BP Insights, he has completed over 40 tourism research projects since 2022, with many of those for Simcoe County Tourism and member municipalities.  Bryan was a board member for the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario from 2017-2021 and is currently on the tourism team with the Georgian Bay GeoPark.

Be a Film Friendly Business will explore new business opportunities and additional revenue streams for businesses in Simcoe County looking to enter the multi-billion-dollar annual Ontario screen-based production industry. Join film strategist and lead research and development executive, Tom Strnad, from the South Georgian Bay Media Association In. (SBGMA) as he offers industry insight, best practices and a behind-the-scenes analysis of what it takes to make a first impression on a film, television or media production that is in Simcoe County as a 'Film Friendly Business' production partner.

Tom Strnad is a film producer and post-production supervisor with over 25 years experience in film, television and media production. Tom has received funding from Telefilm Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Creates and the NFB and has screened films at festivals such as TIFF, VIFF, SXSW, FIPA and Montreal WFF. Tom is responsible for ongoing research and development that includes digital strategy, film preservation, and community access to media arts for the SGBMA. Tom has worked on Ontario Creates-funded research projects for the SGBMA, including Attracting Film Production to Small Town Ontario and Filmmaking Outside the Box: Disconnection and Disruption in Rural Ontario. Tom is a full member of DGC Ontario, a voting member of the Canadian Academy of Film & Television, and an associate member of the Canadian Cinema Editors. Tom is the co-owner of Mountain Goat Film Company Inc., a feature film and television production company with a focus on compelling voices in cinema. Tom studied film at York University and graduated with honours.

Experiences can help boost your bottom line. Finding new revenue streams is always great but is building an agritourism experience the best fit for your business? Join Kim Clarke to understand why crafting a new experience might be a great fit for your business.  Kim will take you through the ingredients that make the best experiences, share stories of how this has helped others and show you how you can use experiences to grow your bottom line.

Kim Clarke is the Manger, Stakeholder Relations at Regional Tourism Organization 7, BruceGreySimcoe.  Kim has spent over 20 years in the tourism industry leading, coaching and elbows deep in product and experience development. 

Seeing the big picture, collaborating with others, and telling your story are a few of Kim’s main philosophies when it comes to experience development.  She has worked on large award-nominated products like the Golf in Ontario that spans across most of the province and has helped small businesses develop their own experiences that will help add to their bottom line.  She finds herself working with other regional tourism organizations, municipalities, destination marketing organizations, and individual businesses to create amazing things for people to do when they travel.

Kim brings a background in business administration and a flair for creative marketing.  She is passionate about creating amazing things to do in BruceGreySimcoe.

It’s no secret, visitors want to experience a destination like a local. Where is the best coffee, barstool, park bench, bagel or smoked meat sandwich, all recommended by someone who lives there.  In this session learn about a cool new concept called My Midland, developed as a key action from the Midland Tourism Strategy and supported by the County of Simcoe. The goal is to leverage local pride, and keep people exploring for longer and… spend more money.  Let Chris guide you through the My Midland concept and get energized to become part of it.

Chris Hughes is co-owner and director at BC Hughes located in Shallow Lake, Ontario (located right beside the really big one – Lake Huron).  As a University of Waterloo alumnus, Chris was trained on the integration of business and the environment.  Something extremely relative in today’s tourism economies.  Chris specializes in developing memorable and innovative tourism experiences; from the Han Wi (full moon dinner), to goat yoga to motorcycle touring routes, he thrives on working with businesses and communities of all sizes. His mandate is simple:  Develop a kick-ass visitor experience by focusing on the little details, and your customers will sell it for you.