THUNDER BAY -- The summer of 2016 attracted business to local hotels like none other.
Occupancy rates in the city's accommodation sector topped 90 per cent over July and August, a figure higher than the provincial summer average and its 91.7 per cent August figure falls only a few points short of Vancouver, Canada's most packed tourism destination.
City tourism manager Paul Pepe said overnight visitors helped Thunder Bay to beat its 2015 figures as well, not only on occupancy rates but on average daily rates as well, meaning not only were hotels more full but hoteliers were profiting more from each room.
"We're really happy to see those numbers. now it's a matter of analyzing them, looking at the impact our strategies had that helped to deliver those numbers and starting to work on next year's strategy as well as starting strategies to start filling in the shoulder and winter seasons."
The statistics will be the feather in Pepe's cap as he presents the tourism department's his biannual report to city council, which will also include a record year for media, attracting a record 29 travel writers, five more than last year's record.
"It's all about telling our city's and telling our region's stories much more effectively and consumers are drawn to that. Consumers are looking for that content. They're looking for it digitally. They want to know the story behind the destination and the experiences they can do there."
Tourism staff will now drill down into those numbers to determine the origin of those hotel guests and compare the results to last year's targeted advertising campaigns. The better tourism understands its customers, Pepe said, the more effectively they can expand the city's appeal.
"We just came off an incredible summer and one we should celebrate, one we should be proud of an san industry with the numbers that we saw," Pepe said.
"But now it's a matter of moving forward and reinvesting the knowledge we gained from our markets this year and continuing to grow for 2017."
