The Toronto-Algonquin Greenway, or TAG, committee is hosting a reception next Tuesday, Sept. 17 to announce details surrounding a summit they will be hosting in November.
TAG is an initiative to develop the Toronto Algonquin Greenway as an international sustainable travel route.
Promotional partner, Haliburton County director of tourism Amanda Virtanen, explained, “TAG’s founders have curated a series of parks, paths, waterways and rail trails between Toronto and Algonquin Provincial Park. It is a cycling-friendly route, which allows for more cycling tourism within the Haliburton Highlands (as part of the Greenway). Along with initiatives like Ontario by Bike and Share the Road – TAG is a cycle-friendly tourism product that will hopefully bring even more visitors to our region.”
The TAG committee is part of the Haliburton County Community Cooperative. Its mandate is to “encourage, develop and support entrepreneurial initiatives that contribute to the social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being of Haliburton County and its residents.”
In a media release, TAG co-ordinator Pamela Marsales said “Toronto-Algonquin Greenway is being planned as a long distance tourist travel attraction that will benefit 30 individual communities along its route.”
The public media reception, at Rails End Gallery on Sept. 17 from 5:30-6:30 p.m., is to announce a TAG Summit for Nov. 3-4 at Sir Sam’s Ski and Ride. Marsales said that thanks to a grant from the Haliburton County Development Corporation (HCDC), they will be able to bring in an international guest speaker.
“Everyone is welcome to learn about the ‘slow travel’ greenway, its international tourism potential, and the guest speakers who will participate in November,” Marsales said. The summit will welcome stakeholders from the GTA to Algonquin Park and showcase Haliburton Highlands as an innovator in sustainable tourism, she added.
“I’m very excited for TAG. This is a big idea that I hope will make a leap forward,” said Barb Bolin, a board member of HCDC.
Marsales is also enthusiastic about the upcoming summit.
“TAG Summit 2019 is an opportunity for the community to welcome a diverse mix of partners coming at our invitation to collaborate in an international tourism innovation. TAG’s particular approach to integrated travel and community development has attracted attention from greenway peers in Europe and the USA.”
