The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

w w w .in si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B E A V E R W ed n es d ay , A u g u st 3 , 2 01 1 1 8 Halton offers countless opportu- nities for entertainment, recreation, education, relaxation and fun. And just in time for summer vacation, Halton Region has a tour- ism marketing campaign that fea- tures a number of new ways to spread the word about all there is to see and do in Halton. Social media platforms Facebook and Twitter are key components in the campaign. Haltons tourism market is growing, said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. Tourism can make a strong contribution to community build- ing and quality of life in Halton, so it makes good sense to use all of the tools at our disposal, including social media, to promote Haltons tourism assets. "Whether you are planning a 'staycation', looking for ways to keep out-of-town guests enter- tained, or just want to help promote our wonderful community, I invite you to discover Halton on Facebook and Twitter. According to a tourism update presented to Regional Council in 2010: 3.1 million tourists came to Halton Region in 2008 the $287.2 million spent by these visitors generated about $123.7 million in direct economic activity (GDP) in Halton about 2,400 direct jobs in Halton were generated as a result of visitor spending here visitor spending in Halton gen- erates $131.1 million in taxes (direct, indirect, and induced) prov- ince-wide, including $4.2 million at the municipal level. Social media is having a big impact on the tourism industry, like it is on many other industries, said John Davidson, Halton Regions Director of Economic Development. Rather than broadcasting mes- sages, social media allows us to start conversations and communi- cate one-on-one with residents, visitors and prospective visitors. Halton plans to use the new tools to promote upcoming events, interesting facts and useful travel tips and allow visitors to share their own Halton travel tips, stories, pho- tos and videos. The campaign follows on the work started by the Halton Tourism Advisory Committee (2008-2011), which was instrumental in launch- ing a number of tourism initiatives including a new tourism portal called Discovering Halton on the Region's website at www.halton.ca/ tourism. For further information on Haltons tourism initiatives, dial 311, 905-825-6000, toll free 1-866- 442-5866, TTY 905-827-9833 or visit www.halton.ca/tourism. Find Halton-Tourism on Facebook <http://www.facebook. c o m / p a g e s / H a l t o n - Tourism/174681889259739> and join the conversation on Twitter < h t t p : / / w w w . t w i t t e r . c o m / HaltonTourism> @HaltonTourism. There's lots to do in Halton Halton Region uses social media to spread the word