Design As Clear As A Loons Call!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly popular. There are AI tools for many things, from creating social media content to website design. As a business owner in the tourism industry, your time is valuable. You are stretched thin ensuring everything from guest experience to marketing is ideal, so using AI to free up your time is absolutely tempting. AI generated images, videos, etc. are fast, cheap, and easy to use. However, tourism branding requires personalization to be effective. AI generated content may be harming your brand, which leads to less sales. This month we will go over how AI use may be harming your brand and how you can effectively use AI in your business. 

Our Creative Director, Jack spent the day April 21st at the first Kollab in the Kawarthas event hosted at Elmhurst Resort organized by Peterborough County Tourism. It was a great day learning and connecting with many tourism operators from the county at an event built to make connections within the industry.

You probably already have a sense of who your best guests are. You can picture them: the couple who spends three days paddling and asks for trail recommendations at checkout, the family that wants to know where the food comes from before they order, the older guests who’ve been coming back to the same cottage for fifteen years. The question isn’t really who they are. The question is whether your marketing is actually speaking to them.

This year marks something of a milestone for us: our first National Tourism Week as Loon in the Mist Creative, and we're marking it by turning our attention to the region we're proud to work in.

Scammers and phishers sometimes attempt to scam or steal access to your website through official looking emails that could appear to come from either Loon in the Mist Creative or Squarespace. Don’t be fooled by these emails. Here are some tells and things to look for when you get a suspicious email and some general advice. When in doubt, feel free to reach out to us using known email and phone numbers for authentication.

Usually, this time of year the snow is melting, birds are returning, and plants are waking up. Despite the odd weather, it is time for tourism businesses to refresh their branding. As winter destinations close and people are returning from warmer climates, it is important to be prepared to welcome them. This month we will go over the ways you can update your brand. Loon in the Mist Creative is here to help you on your marketing journey. 

Photo Credit: Destination Ontario

The web has become the main resource of information for a majority of people. Travellers are not only using Google to find hotels, restaurants, festivals, and attractions, they are also comparing prices and booking online. Having a strong online presence, especially a solid website, is becoming more important than ever. 

We have all been to various community events whether celebrating a local or national holiday, farmers market’s or a seasonal festival. You know how to attend, but do you know how to make the most out of attending a community event as a vendor? Here are our tips to make your attendance as successful as possible!

We get it. When you're running a small business or a lean marketing team for a destination marketing organization, every dollar counts. So when someone mentions they got a logo designed for $200 on a platform like Upwork, it sounds like a smart move. Quick, affordable, done.

If you run a tourism business in Canada, a lodge, outfitter, attraction, restaurant, or tour company. your website isn’t just marketing. It’s bookings, credibility, and often your primary point of contact with visitors from around the world. Lately, some Canadian business owners have asked us a fair question: “Given current geopolitics, is it risky to keep our website hosted by a U.S. company?” It’s a reasonable concern. Headlines can make things feel uncertain. The good news is that for most Canadian small businesses, especially in tourism, the real-world risk is much lower than it might seem. Let’s break it down.

For tourism and hospitality businesses in Peterborough & the Kawarthas, your website is often the first point of contact with potential visitors. Before they see your photos, read your story, or book an experience, they see your domain name. A domain isn’t just a technical requirement, it’s a branding decision. The right domain can instantly communicate what you offer, attract the right audience, and make your business easier to remember in a competitive tourism landscape. While many businesses default to a traditional .com or .ca, premium top-level domains (TLDs) offer an opportunity to be clearer, more descriptive, and more aligned with your experience-driven brand.

Are you looking for a refreshed website? Need to stock up on business cards? Or looking for signage? A graphic designer is the perfect person to help you with these projects.