Tourism in the Town of Innisfil is active and evolving. The Innisfil Tourism Strategy sets forth a more structured, intentional approach to tourism to ensure economic opportunity is realized while protecting community well-being and environmental assets.

Read the Innisfil Tourism Strategy

Why now?

Located along the shores of Lake Simcoe and within an hour of the Greater Toronto Area along the Highway 400 corridor, Innisfil has experienced steady growth in tourism activity over the past decade. At the same time, visitation remains largely seasonal and day-trip focused, infrastructure gaps limit overnight stays, and tourism coordination is currently embedded within broader municipal functions. 

The strategy includes 31 recommended actions to:

• Build a business support foundation for the tourism sector by clarifying tourism leadership and governance
• Leverage the newly established Innisfil Tourism Network to connect local operators and ecosystem partners
• Improve business and workforce readiness with training and collaboration
• Strengthen performance tracking and reporting of tourism activity in Innisfil

Purpose

Provide clear direction for how the Town of Innisfil could proactively support, strengthen and steward the growth of the local tourism industry over the next five years.

Vision

Innisfil is recognized as a welcoming, four-season destination where visitors experience the Town’s vast waterfront, unique small-town communities, and local culture in ways that support local businesses, respect residents, and contribute to long-term community economic prosperity.

Strategic framework

Three interconnected priorities guide tourism development in Innisfil: 

1. Capacity Building: Strengthening leadership, coordination, workforce readiness, and data to support long-term tourism development. 
2. Development: Enhancing and connecting visitor experiences to increase visitation, extend stays, and grow economic impact. 
3. Stewardship: Ensuring tourism growth is balanced, sustainable, community-aligned, and integrated into municipal planning.

Process and community engagement

The Innisfil Tourism Strategy is the result of:

• Thorough review of key background documents, including the 2017 Innisfil Tourism Destination Management Plan, Economic Development Strategic Plan, Innisfil Tourism Geofence Project, and various Tourism Simcoe County (TSC) and RTO7 strategic plans and initiatives 
• Mapping of local tourism attractions and events, resulting in 359 tourism assets mapped
• Community and business engagement, including:
  • individual interviews with key stakeholders and partners
  • an in-person Tourism Summit engagement event for local businesses
  • business and community surveys 

We thank the Province of Ontario and the Regional Tourism Organization (RTO) 7 (BruceGreySimcoe) for their funding contributions to this project.