ONTARIO EYES HOLIDAY VILLAGE CONCEPT

Posted on 03/23/2016

Center Parcs is a European network of holiday villages that offer luxurious accommodations and activities in forested areas of Europe and the UK. The network is the inspiration for an idea the Ontario government is considering - to develop vacation villages across the province.

Center Parcs is actually two separate companies sharing the same name and logo, with facilities in Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands and France.  Center Parcs Europe (CPE) is operated by Pierre & Vacances on Mainland European sites and owned by Blackstone Group.Center Parcs UK runs holiday villages in the UK and Ireland is owned by Brookfield Properties Corporation.The villages are either cottages in country settings, offering badminton and sailing, or more urban with activities like bowling, indoor play world or water parks and paintball fields.The provincial government is conducting a study to determine “the financial viability and potential economic impact of a vacation village in Ontario.”They are looking at potential market size, provincial demographics and analysis of current holiday behaviour, according to the tender.The successful bidder would also be asked to suggest five potential locations for the attractions in the province, and produce two reports: one for internal government use and another to attract potential investors.The Toronto Star reports that spokesperson Denelle Balfour, of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport said, “Tourism is an important economic driver in Ontario; contributing $28 billion to our economy and supporting over 350,000 jobs. Our government is always looking for ways to grow this important sector.”Balfour suggests that as a province on the US border, Ontario is a highly attractive location for the development of world-leading tourism products and experiences.”