The team at Kawarthas Northumberland has penned Ontario’s first-ever Regional Tourism Organization (RTO) operated Visitor Information Centre!
Also called “Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8)”, the organization has been at the forefront of tourism development and implementation for years.
They held the official soft opening of the Kawarthas Northumberland Visitor Information Centre, located in the former Lock Master’s house at 9 Bridge Street North Hastings. Trent Hills Mayor Bob Crate, David Britton, Parks Canada Director of Ontario Waterways, Donna Bennett RTO8 Board Member, Deputy Mayor Mike Metcalf and Councillor Rick English participated in the ribbon cutting. Tours of the visitor centre followed.
“This initiative brings both a Federal and Provincial partnership together. Parks Canada and the Province of Ontario. The support from them both over the past three years to make today happen has been amazing. We’ve taken a vacant asset of Parks Canada and turned it into a showpiece to service the region” stated Brenda Wood RTO8 Executive Director
The attendees took in the colourful murals that adorn the visitor centre walls. Local Indigenous artist Tia Cavanagh created “Giigoonh”, where she chose fish species local to the waters that surround us. Caitlin Taguibao, an Indigenous illustrator and mural painter was inspired by the movement of water and of wanting to get outside and explore. Caitlin’s mural includes a hand offering up a butter tart, representing the popular Kawarthas Northumberland Butter Tart Tour.
Positioned along the historic Trent-Severn Waterway, the visitor centre offers information on the entire region and features a new state-of-the art digital kiosk. The goal is to encourage longer stays and increased tourism dollars spent within the region and for visitors to explore further within the Kawarthas Northumberland region, which encompasses Northumberland County, the City and County of Peterborough, and the City of Kawartha Lakes.
The project is made possible through the support of the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries.
