Francophone tourism has been identified as a key priority and growth opportunity for the north.
In concert with its Francophone Tourism product team, Destination Northern Ontario has developed the Francophone Tourism Plan for Northern Ontario.
Tours and an interactive map are now available on BaladoDiscoveries, the mobile application offering the largest network of historical tours in Canada.
A news release says a key initiative identified within this strategy is "to work with francophone communities and operators to create, enhance and connect experiences through the creation of itineraries that showcase the region’s culture, history, food, and people."
The group expects a massive growth of the cultural tourism industry.
"This DNO project saw the development of nine itineraries throughout northern Ontario, each consisting of 10 points of interest. Assets, such as video, images and narrative text were acquired or developed for each POI, to create interactive itineraries that highlight the region’s francophone culture and experiential tourism opportunities," says the release.
“Northern Ontario is home to many bilingual and francophone communities that are well-positioned to enhance their product and brand image to attract French speaking and culture seeking visitors,” said David MacLachlan, Executive Director, Destination Northern Ontario “The Balado project provides a great opportunity to focus on the development and growth of francophone tourism as Ontarians explore their own backyards.”
North Bay, West Nipissing. and French River will be the next series of itineraries that will go live in the coming weeks.
Itineraries are available for download in both English and French at no cost to the user.
All thematic tours include maps, itineraries, a tracking of the user's positioning, points of interest and associated content (audio files, pictures, videos, text), and are accessible without Internet in "preload" mode.
The BaladoDiscoveries network website also provides access to the tour. You can thus consult the Northern Ontario itineraries on your personal computer at home.
