Heather Latter
In order to promote big-game hunting in Northwestern Ontario, the Sunset Country Travel Association has teamed up with Times’ Web Design to create a new website targeted specifically to hunters, which was launched late Friday.
Entitled “Hunt Sunset Country,” the website can be found at www.huntsunsetcountry.com
But this website differs from many other local sites because it features a social media aspect, allowing both outfitters and hunters to create and maintain profiles where they can post photos, videos, and stories about hunting.
“What we’re trying to do, ultimately, is connect hunters with the people who supply the hunts,” explained SCTA executive director Gerry Cariou.
“From an economic point of view, hunting is high yield in the sense that the outfitters and lodges earn some good income from the product itself,” he noted.
Cariou said while the main goal is to attract tourists to the area, the website is for anyone who enjoys hunting, stressing those living in the area who enjoy hunting certainly are invited to also create a profile and use the website for all it has to offer.
“We want to maximize the economic benefit from this form of tourism, which is hunting, by putting this website out,” he remarked.
“But we also want to make it different with the social media aspect and invite people to join our hunting community.”
Leanne Beck, of Times’ Web Design, agreed the social media aspect of this site makes it unique.
“We’ve created a whole new portal for hunting and it should certainly drive hunters to Sunset Country,” she said, explaining designing this site was a large project for the Times’ Web team and unlike anything else they’ve done in the past.
“It was a lot of work, but we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished,” she enthused.
The new website also features a compilation of about 200 outfitters in Sunset Country and easily allows the user to search through to find what they are looking for—from lodges offering moose, bear, or deer hunting to drive-in, boat-in or fly-in ones.
Hunters also can use the website to find information about hunting regulations and crossing the border, as well as hunting tips and strategies.
Other aspects of the site include a forum, games, newsfeed, and blogs.
“We’re looking to make it a fun site, but at the same time make it so it is usable and results in connecting hunters with the lodge owners, which are a very important part of the economy in Northwestern Ontario,” Cariou stressed.
He added a portion of the funding for this project, which comes from the Ministry of Tourism and Recreation through Regional Tourism Organization 13, also has gone towards promoting the website.
“We have banner ads going up on established websites, we’re doing some television promotion in the United States, and there is some print media in hunting-related publications,” he noted, saying the website also is being advertised through the North American Hunting Club.
It has a link to Facebook, too.
Cariou is hoping the website becomes well-used.
“It will evolve,” he pledged. “It’s only just been launched.
“We want to hear from the people using it, what they like and what needs to be changed,” he remarked. “And it will evolve over time.
“I do anticipate, over the long-term, anyone who is interested in hunting up in this part of Ontario will be part of this site, or it will at least be an aspect of what they find when the look for information,” Cariou reasoned.
