NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF BARRIE
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The City of Barrie won two Awards of Excellence from the Economic Development Council of Ontario (EDCO) at the 68th annual Conference and Showcase, which took place Feb. 4-6 in Toronto.
- 2024 Barrie Airshow – Visitor Attraction and Tourism Product Development
- Sport Tourism Strategy – Planning and Strategic Development
"Congratulations to the city’s Invest Barrie and Recreation and Culture teams and our community partners on winning two Awards of Excellence from the Economic Development Council of Ontario,” said Mayor Alex Nuttall. “This recognition truly highlights the outstanding efforts in enhancing Barrie's appeal as a tourist destination. These achievements are commendable and reflect the dedication and hard work of everyone involved."
The EDCO Awards of Excellence is an annual program that recognizes distinctive ideas and initiatives that can become economic development best practices of the future. Recipients of the EDCO Awards of Excellence are viewed as leaders in economic development and often asked to present their efforts and accomplishments at speaking engagements, including the EDCO Conference and Showcase.
About the 2024 Barrie Airshow
The City of Barrie, Canadian Forces Base Borden, County of Simcoe, Lake Simcoe Regional Airport and the Downtown Barrie BIA organized and hosted the 2024 Barrie Airshow, presented by Pratt Homes, over two days in June of 2024.
The free event brought nearly 140,000 attendees to the shores of Kempenfelt Bay and downtown Barrie, contributing over $11.3 million to the local economy.
For details on the 2025 Barrie Airshow, visit barrie.ca/Airshow.
About the Sport Tourism Strategy
Sport Tourism is the fastest growing segment in the tourism industry globally and a $7.4-billion market in Canada, according to Sport Tourism Canada. In Barrie, the city’s tourism master plan identifies the development of a sport tourism strategy that outlines, “… the structure and resources required to attract and host sport events that positively impact the Barrie brand and community…”
Together with Tourism Barrie and Sport Tourism Canada, the City of Barrie completed the Sport Tourism Strategy which was then adopted by Barrie city council on Oct. 23, 2024.
For more information, visit barrie.ca/SportTourismStrategy.
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