Efforts to promote tourism in the City of Temiskaming Shores are getting a boost from a local developer on the verge of building a $9-million Holiday Inn Express & Suites.

"Simply put, there's demand in the area for a newer property," says Sean Mackey, who's managing the project on behalf of developer Brian Mackey, his father.

"The last new hotel in Temiskaming Shores was the Waterfront Inn, which was approximately 20 years ago, so it's been a while. There's interest here for more, and I think this can help promote tourism by offering more at a time where the city is making the industry a real focus."

The grandson of long-time local hotel owners, Mackey continues a long tradition in the hospitality by managing the family-owned Quality Inn; he will also serve as general manager of the new facility.

The four-storey, 45,000-square-foot site will increase the local supply of accommodation spaces by nearly 50 per cent, adding 69 rooms to an area containing roughly 200 spaces. It will also create 25 to 30 full-time jobs.

By providing more space for interested travelers and their families, Mackey hopes the new facility will make the city more attractive as a place to host sporting events.

The facility is also targeting business travelers, with a combination of rooms ranging from one-bedroom suites to king executive rooms and double-queen rooms. The facility will also feature meeting facilities for up to 100 people, another element Mackey says could help bring more people to area.

The project is currently out to tender, and the process is expected to wrap up soon with shovels in the ground by early August. Construction will take 10 to 12 months, though Mackey says he hopes the opening date will be prior to July 1, 2010. This would allow the hotel to to take advantage of the annual Biker's Reunion, which brings more than 1,000 riders into town every year.

While travel numbers are down across the province, Mackey says the move to build a hotel in the current economy is a good way of being proactive and confident in the area's tourism potential.

"It's a tough decision to do this in the economy, since we're seeing a little bit of a downturn in travel. The only good news is that interest rates are a little more favorable at this time, and we believe by 2010 we should be out of this recession, and when people are ready to travel, we'll have a brand-new hotel they'll be able to stop at."

The project is also receiving big moral support from Temiskaming Shores Mayor Judy Pace, who hails the new hotel as a terrific addition to the city and a great symbol of local confidence in its future.

Such private-sector initiatives are key, she says, as the city and its various local partners continue to find new ways to invigorate the local tourism industry.

This includes a new vision for the local waterfront, something which began as the South Temiskaming Active Travel Organization's 19-kilometre ongoing trail project to connect the local municipalities. As the idea progressed, it transformed into a broader effort to encourage residents to rethink its approach to Lake Temiskaming. This resulted in the establishment of the Temiskaming Shores Sailing School in a former marina building next to city hall, and a proposal for a new skate park, among others.

However, the city is facing a "disappointing" lack of funding, having been turned down for multiple recreation and related infrastructure projects which Pace says would enhance the city's ability to draw sports tourism.

Despite the general lack of funding support, the city continues to gear up for a series of promising future events, including the upcoming International Plowing Match and Rural Expo, to be held in nearby Earlton.

Temiskaming has also been chosen as one of the celebration communities for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. Officials are already preparing to use the occasion and the eyes of the international media to further draw even more potential tourists when the celebration begins on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, 2009.

"We're all dealing with a new world right now with the realities of the economic recession, so it's challenging because none of us have faced this before, but I think we are faring not too bad through this," says Pace. "We're very, very lucky in that we're not a single-industry town, and there are really good things happening."

www.qualityinnnewliskeard.com 

www.temiskamingshores.ca