Connecting communities with Georgian Bay touring route.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: TRANSPORTATION

Sudbury is looking to further expand its reach into the international tourism market through a proposed Georgian Bay touring route.

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Initiated three years ago as a potential tourism development between various municipalities along the coast of Georgian Bay, the project was officially adopted by the province following an initiative that gathered a number of tourism destinations into a single cohesive and marketable unit.

As one of the world's 20 largest lakes, Georgian Bay features more than 2,000 kilometres of shoreline and more than 30,000 islands.

"You can't drive around Georgian Bay without going through Sudbury," says Ian Wood, coordinator of tourism and marketing, City of Greater Sudbury.

"That's to our advantage, because even though we're not located on the bay, we certainly have lots of connections with Manitoulin Island and other communities. We see this as another opportunity to entice people to come through Sudbury."

The proposed route would pass through Sudbury, Pointe-au-Baril and Parry Sound before passing through Midland, Wasaga Beach, Thornbury and Owen Sound. It would then travel up the Bruce Peninsula to Wiarton before crossing through Manitoulin Island and Espanola, closing the loop at Sudbury.

The project recently received $45,000 from the province to hire a consultant to identify what opportunities the touring route might hold for the various member communities, and to develop a plan to move the project forward. More complete funding for the project is expected from the various communities' upcoming fiscal budgets.

"A number of us around Georgian Bay have been talking on and off on how we could work together, but this provides a framework for us to come together at one table and form a project steering committee," says Wood.

Sudbury is the largest city on the tour, and stands to be ideally positioned to act as a sort of full-service regional centre with Dynamic Earth and Science North, as natural stopovers for visitors.

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