In line with the spirit of the Friendship Accord Partnership, the Town of Saugeen Shores and Saugeen First Nation are co-developing a five-year, comprehensive two-part Community Tourism Strategy.

Part One is the Town Tourism Strategy that will result in an actionable plan to establish and strategically position Saugeen Shores as a four-season destination. This focuses on year-round experience development, destination marketability, industry and partner collaboration, as well as supporting tourism business retention and expansion.

Part Two of the project involves working on a joint Water Focused Tourism Strategy for the Town of Saugeen Shores and Saugeen First Nation. Key to this is cultural education and environmental stewardship, including strategies to support the development of a beach stewardship program. This work and the resulting tourism strategies will align with the mission and vision of both Saugeen First Nation and the Town of Saugeen Shores. The integrated development of both strategies will make sure that they are aligned and mutually reinforcing.

By the end of May 2026, the Town of Saugeen Shores and Saugeen First Nation will have an actionable, community-led Community Tourism Strategy that prioritizes sustainability. It will include two complementary components: 1) a Town Tourism Strategy and 2) a Water-Focused Tourism Strategy. The integrated Community Tourism Strategy will support the year-round visitation while stewarding the destination’s natural and cultural assets, balancing the needs of residents, visitors, tourism business owners, and the environment.

1. To align research with work already underway, ensuring that the strategy development process builds on past efforts.
2. To strengthen relationships and collaboration between the Town of Saugeen Shores and Saugeen First Nation.
3. To meaningfully engage and encourage connections amongst diverse interest groups, while growing awareness and appreciation for tourism as an opportunity.
4. To co-create an inspiring vision for tourism with clear, actionable steps to move towards this.
5. To foster a shared destination identity and identify opportunities to better connect visitors to place, through meaningful experiences and storytelling.
6. To build internal capacity to bring the tourism strategy to life through ongoing involvement in strategy decision-making and direction.

The strategy development process will involve widespread community engagement with residents, tourism businesses, partner organizations, and other interest groups. Bannikin, an Ontario-based tourism consultancy has been engaged to facilitate this process.

Key opportunities for the public to get involved include a Community Tourism Strategy Survey this spring and two Community Open Houses (listed below).