Peterborough Tourism Strategy

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https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COPTourismStrategySurvey

The City of Peterborough is developing a Tourism Strategy to guide how Peterborough can grow as a competitive, sustainable, four-season destination. Over the coming weeks and months, there will be opportunities for the community to participate in conversations and other engagement activities to shape the future of tourism in Peterborough.

The City has engaged Bannikin, an Ontario-based tourism consultancy, to facilitate the strategy development process. Bannikin is being supported by a City-based project team. The project began at the end of July 2025, and it is expected to be completed in Spring 2026.

Meaningful community engagement is at the foundation of this tourism strategy development work and several opportunities for community participation are built into this project across Fall 2025. The first opportunity for community members (including businesses, residents and visitors) to contribute will be through an online survey. Information gathered here will be used to inform the development of recommendations. In late Fall 2025, there will be in-person ‘community café’ sessions that will be an opportunity re-engage members of the community, to invite others into the conversation, and to share what we have heard from the community so far.

How We're Consulting with Community

  • Online Community+ Survey throughout October (Now Open)
  • Virtual Key Informant Interviews throughout October
    1. To engage selected voices from the community, including elected officials, City staff, local partners and collaborators, and leaders from Hiawatha First Nation and Curve Lake First Nation
  • Virtual Focus Groups in early to mid-November
    1. To engage selected representatives of key interest groups and representatives of tourism business clusters
  • In-person Community Cafés in mid-November

Why Tourism?

There are numerous social, economic, cultural and community benefits to promoting Peterborough as a tourism destination. Peterborough is a conveniently located destination of choice for many in the province of Ontario (particularly the Greater Toronto Area), as well as other Canadian and international visitors.

Peterborough welcomes more than 3 million visitors each year who spend more than $300 million in the local economy.

The City successfully secured funding support through Kawarthas Northumberland (Regional Tourism Organization 8)'s Partnership Allocation Fund for the Tourism Strategy project.

Tourism destination marketing is supported through the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT), which is collected through transient accommodation stays, such as stays at hotels, motels, and inns, at a rate of 4 percent.

Peterborough Tourism Initiatives

The development of this comprehensive, city-focused Tourism Strategy is the latest initiative that has been undertaken by the City of Peterborough since tourism service delivery was brought ‘in-house’ at the beginning of 2025. Other initiatives undertaken by the City’s destination marketing program, Peterborough Tourism, include several successful sports tourism bid opportunities coming to Peterborough in 2025 and 2026, media hosting including a live broadcast with CP24 Breakfast, the launch of a new year-round Visitor Centre operating out of the Peterborough Memorial Centre, and a suite of digital and print marketing pieces.

Next Steps

This page will be updated regularly with information and status updates on the project. If you would like more information about the project or how you can get involved, please contact Cara Walsh, Communications Specialist, Strategic Communications and Service Peterborough by email at cwalsh@peterborough.ca or by telephone at 705-742-7777 ext. 2165. 

The City of Peterborough is developing a Tourism Strategy to guide how Peterborough can grow as a competitive, sustainable, four-season destination. Over the coming weeks and months, there will be opportunities for the community to participate in conversations and other engagement activities to shape the future of tourism in Peterborough.

The City has engaged Bannikin, an Ontario-based tourism consultancy, to facilitate the strategy development process. Bannikin is being supported by a City-based project team. The project began at the end of July 2025, and it is expected to be completed in Spring 2026.

Meaningful community engagement is at the foundation of this tourism strategy development work and several opportunities for community participation are built into this project across Fall 2025. The first opportunity for community members (including businesses, residents and visitors) to contribute will be through an online survey. Information gathered here will be used to inform the development of recommendations. In late Fall 2025, there will be in-person ‘community café’ sessions that will be an opportunity re-engage members of the community, to invite others into the conversation, and to share what we have heard from the community so far.

How We're Consulting with Community

  • Online Community+ Survey throughout October (Now Open)
  • Virtual Key Informant Interviews throughout October
    1. To engage selected voices from the community, including elected officials, City staff, local partners and collaborators, and leaders from Hiawatha First Nation and Curve Lake First Nation
  • Virtual Focus Groups in early to mid-November
    1. To engage selected representatives of key interest groups and representatives of tourism business clusters
  • In-person Community Cafés in mid-November

Why Tourism?

There are numerous social, economic, cultural and community benefits to promoting Peterborough as a tourism destination. Peterborough is a conveniently located destination of choice for many in the province of Ontario (particularly the Greater Toronto Area), as well as other Canadian and international visitors.

Peterborough welcomes more than 3 million visitors each year who spend more than $300 million in the local economy.

The City successfully secured funding support through Kawarthas Northumberland (Regional Tourism Organization 8)'s Partnership Allocation Fund for the Tourism Strategy project.

Tourism destination marketing is supported through the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT), which is collected through transient accommodation stays, such as stays at hotels, motels, and inns, at a rate of 4 percent.

Peterborough Tourism Initiatives

The development of this comprehensive, city-focused Tourism Strategy is the latest initiative that has been undertaken by the City of Peterborough since tourism service delivery was brought ‘in-house’ at the beginning of 2025. Other initiatives undertaken by the City’s destination marketing program, Peterborough Tourism, include several successful sports tourism bid opportunities coming to Peterborough in 2025 and 2026, media hosting including a live broadcast with CP24 Breakfast, the launch of a new year-round Visitor Centre operating out of the Peterborough Memorial Centre, and a suite of digital and print marketing pieces.

Next Steps

This page will be updated regularly with information and status updates on the project. If you would like more information about the project or how you can get involved, please contact Cara Walsh, Communications Specialist, Strategic Communications and Service Peterborough by email at cwalsh@peterborough.ca or by telephone at 705-742-7777 ext. 2165. 

  • Project Goal and Objectives

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    Project Goal

    By the end of April 2026, the City of Peterborough will have a comprehensive framework for guiding the strategic and sustainable development of Peterborough as a destination. This community-informed and data-driven tourism strategy will provide City staff with a roadmap for collaborating on tourism development, management, and marketing across departments and with external partners.

    Project Objectives

    In working towards this goal, the strategy development process will seek to:

    • Define a clear and collective vision for tourism that is informed by those who will bring it to life, and principles to guide the process.
    • Meaningfully engage a breadth and diversity of ecosystem actors, i.e., key interest groups while growing awareness about the value of tourism to Peterborough.
    • Identify key tourism assets, experiences, and infrastructure that can be leveraged in destination development efforts, and gaps related to these that may point to opportunities.
    • Confirm value propositions and unique points of differentiation that will help to position the Peterborough as a welcoming, inclusive, and growing four-season destination of choice.
    • Identify target markets and segments that will maximize the value that visitation can bring to Peterborough.
    • Determine how to optimize capitals and resources, including criteria and protocols for the use of MAT.
    • Explore Peterborough’s partnership network, including exploring how tourism is connected to different areas of work at the City, and understand how best to collaborate and create synergy within it.
    • Identify development, management, and promotional (marketing) strategies that will ensure Peterborough is able to attract, welcome, and host visitors is a manner that creates net positive impact for the community.
    • Design the framework for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the City of Peterborough Tourism Strategy.

  • Project Background

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    The City of Peterborough is developing a tourism strategy to guide Peterborough’s development as a destination. The City is working towards a community-informed and data-driven tourism strategy that will provide City staff with a roadmap for collaborating on tourism development, management, and marketing across departments and with external partners.

    The tourism strategy will aim to position Peterborough as a competitive, sustainable, four-season tourism destination while supporting local businesses, fostering partnerships, and aligning with broader regional, provincial, and national tourism strategies. The strategy development process follows a recent move to take tourism service delivery ‘in-house' as a function of the municipality.

    Previously, this work had been delivered by a third-party regional economic development organization operating as Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development. This organization, which was co-funded by the City and County, Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation, was dissolved as an entity as of December 31, 2024.

Page last updated: 01 Oct 2025, 05:45 AM