Simcoe County is on display in one of the world's most high-profile locations.
A digital ad telling people to “escape the city” and “go north to Simcoe County” is being featured in New York’s Times Square.
“Why Times Square? Because it's the biggest… it's the Big Apple,” says David Parks, director of tourism for the County of Simcoe. “It was an opportunity that came to us, so we took it.”
The ad, which is part of a $35,000 package, will also be shown at Union Station in Toronto, along the subway line and in travel magazines.
An estimated $1.5 million people go through Times Square on a normal day – many more during the Thanksgiving weekend.
It’s a move the county hopes can help the local economy.
“The more business that we can do, the more work we can give our local area, kids and people, and just have a better experience.”
Fern Resort in Orillia is just one of many local businesses that rely heavily on American tourists. About a quarter of the resorts business comes from south of the border.
“The resort was actually built on American business. That’s what started off the resorting industry in Ontario,” says Mark Downing, president of Fern Resort. “The American business has been ebbing and flowing over the last number of years but it has rebounded extremely strongly over the last year.”
The ad runs in Times Square until Nov. 28.
