A New Vision for a Classic Destination: Niagara-on-the-Lake 2.0

What town has 19,000 residents, is one of Canada’s top destinations, and welcomes more than three million visitors each year?

That would be Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

If it wasn’t your first guess, there’s a team of people working on an ambitious strategy to make sure that NOTL – already known for its wine, theatre, food and historic charms – becomes top of mind for distinct experiences within the area’s five unique communities: Glendale, Virgil, Old Town, Queenston, and St. Davids.

The aim is to attract a broader range of visitors with a diversity of world-class options.

That team is being led by CBRE’s Rebecca Godfrey, who remembers visiting Niagara-on-the-Lake as a high school student to attend the Shaw Festival, and then later in life for her best friend’s farm wedding.

“No matter what your reason to visit, the sense of place and unique setting make NOTL unforgettable,” she says.

Defining NOTL’s Value Proposition

Godfrey, who leads CBRE’s Tourism Consulting group, will be channeling her admiration for Niagara-on-the-Lake into her team’s latest assignment: crafting a strategy aimed at elevating the town’s tourism industry in part by defining its value proposition as a destination.

The goal is to build strategic leadership in NOTL’s tourism industry, assess its market readiness, and then provide insights to strengthen the tourism ecosystem of the town and surrounding area.

“We all take a lot of pride in this project,” Godfrey says. “It’s an incredible opportunity for us to work with all of NOTL’s world-class operators, entrepreneurs and residents to determine a vision for what the destination is and could be in the future.”

The process starts with a full environmental scan and a destination analysis for NOTL. “Then we’ll help develop a strategy to allocate resources and grow tourism in a sustainable way that will benefit visitors, the community and the environment,” says Godfrey.

She and her team have plenty of experience when it comes to creating tourism plans for municipalities, having worked on tourism strategies and master plans for a range of rural and urban communities in Ontario and Eastern Canada.

“No two destinations are alike,” Godfrey says. “But we’ll bring the wisdom and expertise we gained through these efforts to bear in making Niagara-on-the-Lake an even more alluring place to visit than it already is.”

Customized Visitor Experiences

There have long been aspirations to build on NOTL’s wine economy and evolve the area into something akin to California’s Napa Valley or Sonoma regions. These wine-based economies have knock-on effects for complementary cultural business, such as restaurants, hotels, galleries and theatres.

In addition to strong wine and agricultural offerings, NOTL has the benefit of historic and cultural assets and beautiful natural surroundings. The wine region has served as the basis for NOTL’s development, but coming up with a vision for the future requires acknowledgment of all the area’s other attractions and attributes.

Plans for a new distillery,  eco-park and waterfront enhancements all have the potential to round out the visitor experience. The distinctive offerings of the area’s five communities could be collectively enhanced by the new strategy.

While it’s still early days, CBRE’s Hildegard Snelgrove says Niagara-on-the-Lake has an opportunity to differentiate itself from neighbouring Niagara Falls by emphasizing the customized premium experiences on offer in NOTL— whether it’s a luxurious spa day, farm-to-table culinary experience, or a personal tour from a small winery owner.

“There are certainly benefits that come from being near Niagara Falls, but anyone who has been to both locations can tell you that they offer very different experiences,” says Snelgrove. “For us the goal is for people to have a personal experience that entices them to come back.”

NOTL has fewer than 20,000 people living and working there, but is one of the most visited places in Canada. “Tourism is a big deal for this small town,” says Snelgrove. “It affects every single person living here.”

The Niagara-on-the-Lake consulting team (from left): Daniel Hollingsworth, Hildegard Snelgrove, Jennifer King-Callon and Rebecca Godfrey.

Extensive Consultation

That’s why a robust process to create a vision for the future is going to involve extensive consultations led by CBRE, including surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews with those working in the local tourism and agricultural industries, to garner a diverse range of input.

“Already we’ve received some great feedback from our focus groups on the importance of improved tourism infrastructure while maintaining the small-town charm that Niagara-on-the-Lake is known for,” Godfrey says.

“The emphasis was on striking a balance between celebrating the history and heritage while also growing into a sustainable tourism destination in the future.”

“We want to get as much insight from as many stakeholders as we can,” Godfrey adds. “We’re trying to create a vision that’s tangible – a north star, so everyone is moving in the same direction regardless of where they’re coming from.”

We’ll keep you updated as this project evolves. In the meantime, you may want to consider a trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake with renewed curiosity and excitement– the tourism experts are doing just that.