Town of Cochrane Strategic Plan – Final Report October 2014
2. Traveling to seek undiscovered, isolated and less urban destinations.
That being said, shopping is the most common activity in which visitors to this area engage (see
inset). This is followed by eating in restaurants that offer local food and visiting lakes for
swimming, sunbathing or relaxing. Cochrane’s location in the boreal forest gives it easy access to
over 250 lakes52, a fact that suggests an important competitive advantage. Next in popularity are
strolling around communities to look at cultural or historical points of interest, camping, shopping
for arts and crafts, and visiting parks. Furthermore, nearly one third of visitors to Northern Ontario
visit a cottage while they are here.
These tourists are also characterized by the following traits:
• They seek more physically challenging
experiences
than
other
Canadian
Top Activities in which Visitors
travellers.
To Northern Ontario Participate
• They are very interested in outdoor
recreation activities, particularly camping
• Shopping at clothing and jewelry
and fresh water fishing.
stores (60%)
• They prefer to be able to access sites by
• Dining at restaurants offering local
foods (59%)
car, as opposed to bus, train or other form
• Swimming/relaxing at lakes (53%)
of transportation.
• Community walking tours (45%)
• They tend not to seek or expect luxury
• Camping (42%)
accommodation.
• Shopping for local arts/crafts (40%)
• They are somewhat younger and have
• Fresh water fishing (35%)
higher incomes compared to other
• Visiting national or provincial parks
Canadian travellers.
(35%)
• They are more likely to be couples
• Visiting a cottage (31%)
travelling without children.
• Most use the advice of friends and
relatives as an important source of
information for trip planning.
• Most rely on the internet to make travel decisions and arrangements.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, the Primary target market for Northern
Ontario tourism remains Toronto. Secondary potential markets include Montreal, British Columbia
and Calgary. These areas had the greatest incidence of Canadians who rated Ontario highly and
who reported that at least one of Northern Ontario’s fundamental activities was a main reason for
taking a trip in the past two years.
52
The Cochrane Community Adjustment Committee. (2010) Rethinking Cochrane’s Socio-Economic Future. Available
at: http://cacdc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/CAC_Recomendations_Report_May_31_2010.pdf
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