What is Destination Development?

Downtown development is the process of improving the economic, physical and social well-being of a community’s traditional town centre by:

• Strengthening local business and encouraging investment by building and property owners;
• Creating enjoyable public streets and spaces animated by a variety of creative and civic activities; and,
• Providing work and living opportunities that respond to people’s needs across a spectrum of ages and interests.

Project Overview

The County of Wellington in partnership with ReNew Northern Wellington and the Wellington Waterloo Community Futures will be in our downtowns for the month of June 2018 collecting data from customers. The data collected will help identify business gaps, business opportunities and where our consumers are coming from. This initiative was identified in the 2016 Business Retention and Expansion Project and is a part of a larger downtown destination development project.

Customer Origin Survey

A customer origin survey is a technique used to determine where consumers live, thereby identifying the size of the community trade area as well as the geographic area not being served by local business. In order to collect an accurate trade area, consumer data must come from a representative sample of consumers.

Business Mix Analysis

A business mix analysis identifies current functions, commercial structure and potential business opportunities. Conducting a Business Mix Analysis provides a useful snapshot of the number and types of businesses located in a community as well as any vacancies. It will also identify gaps in available services or businesses, allowing for targeted business attraction.

Trade Area Analysis

The term trade area refers to a geographic area that points to where the majority of consumers reside (75-80%) for a business. Trade areas and municipal boundaries do not usually align because the trade area is based on consumer behaviour. This means that demographic information based on the municipal boundaries may not accurately represent the characteristic of consumers. Within any trade area, businesses can be classified based on consumer behaviour, the three types are: convenience shopping, comparison-shopping, and destination shopping.