With natural attractions and scenic beauty at every bend in the road or curve in the coast, it is no wonder that Bruce County draws visitors from all over the world. In Bruce County, tourism is big business.

The Latest 2007 Tourism Spending Research for Bruce County

Bruce County Tourism Facts

- Ontario’s tourism industry is the province’s ninth largest industry by revenue and volume and the seventh largest employer. In Bruce County, tourism is our second largest industry.

- In 1995, Ontario’s tourism revenue was $12 billion. Bruce County’s direct tourism revenue is estimated at $118 million and growing. With the income multipliers, this figure becomes closer to $295 million.

- In Bruce County, tourism contributes approximately $10 million towards municipal, provincial and federal taxes every year. The total assessed value of tourist accommodation (excluding bed and breakfasts) in Bruce was $210 million as of 1989.

- While the tourism industry employs one in 15 employees worldwide, and one in 10 within Ontario, the tourism industry in Bruce County employs more than one in seven (1:6.7) of the working population.

The Value of Tourism

Tourism delivers $118 million directly into the Bruce County economy annually. It is estimated that between 14% and 20% of each dollar spent by visitors is spent on accommodation, 27% on food and beverage, up to 20% on gas, oil and repairs, up to 18% on recreation, and 15% on retail purchases. Tourism is responsible for more than 40% of the total sales at service stations and more than 30% of entire retail sales within Bruce County.

Bruce County’s tourism revenue is considerably enhanced by events and activities that are organized by volunteers with service clubs, the agricultural societies, charities and community non-profit groups. With over 700 such events, they represent a major tourist attraction. A survey of 11 agriculture-related events in 1995 found that visitors to these events spent, on average, $45.45 per person in the community on those event days - money which would not have been spent in the area otherwise. Visitors to Port Elgin’s Pumpkinfest spent over $65 per person during the event, and in 1996 over 32,000 people attended.

In Bruce County, the income multiplier factor, based on the services and products which can be purchased in the County by businesses receiving the direct tourist dollar is, on average, 90%. This means that each new tourist dollar coming into the area is worth almost $2 compared to "local" money. The value of dollars from offshore visitors, those from the United States, Europe and Japan, has a multiplier effect of 143% or almost $3 for every local dollar spent. The $118 million originally spent by tourists in the County doubles or triples depending on where the money originated. This means that tourism in Bruce County, with spin-offs, is worth between $236 million and $354 million per year to the local economy.