OntarioLiveMusic.ca at the Ontario Tourism Summit

On November 12 & 13, 2014, we took a trip to Blue Mountains, ON to participate in the Ontario Tourism Summit. A gathering of hundreds of tourism professionals from across the province, the Summit was an ideal opportunity for us to network with the industry as they heard about the latest industry forecasts and recognized industry leaders.

One of the emerging trends is the burgeoning music tourism business. Music Canada President Graham Henderson gave an extremely well-received keynote (Ontario’s Music Tourism Pitch) about efforts to capitalize on a vibrant music community. It was nice to see so many people paying attention to music as both a reason to travel and as an indicator of Ontario’s economic strength.

Situated in the Summit’s Marketplace, we talked to many attendees as they stopped by the OntarioLiveMusic.ca booth. We had the opportunity to demo the site; provide a sneak peek at our redesign; meet government, business, and community leaders from every corner of the province; and get people excited about our soon-to-be-launched widget. With the widget, information can be pulled directly from OntarioLiveMusic.ca, targeted to a specific region, and customized for display on other websites. We received commitment from many to use the widget when it’s launched next month. The feedback about this tool and the site as a whole was overwhelmingly positive.

Hamilton’s DB Cooper, OntarioLiveMusic.ca Project Manager Amber Authier and Data Manager Sarah Rix pose at the OntarioLiveMusic.ca booth at the Ontario Tourism Summit in Blue Mountains, ON.

To top it all off, we had Hamilton’s DB Cooper on-hand to entertain Summit attendees. The indie rock group played a great set between conference sessions – entertaining the Marketplace and helping us prove that live music really is #AlwaysON.

Hamilton-based indie band DB Cooper performing at the Ontario Tourism Summit Marketplace.

Ontario is packed with fantastic artists, dedicated fans, and incredible venues. We’ll continue to increase the exposure of music to people both in and travelling to the province. To do the same, visit us at OntarioLiveMusic.ca. Have a music event coming up? Submit your listings here.