The Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation (GPA EDC) is launching a marketing plan to effectively promote the Peterborough Municipal Airport development to the aerospace/aviation industry. The total cost of the marketing plan will be $65,000. In July, the GPA EDC learned that $41,000 was secured by the City of Peterborough through the Peterborough Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) Eastern Ontario Development Program to develop a proactive marketing plan and promotional package designed to actively promote the Airport’s upgraded infrastructure. This project is moving forward following the announcement on Friday October 16th, 2009 that the governments of Canada and Ontario will each invest $7 million in the project with the City of Peterborough contributing the final $7 million.
In addition to the CFDC funding, the City of Peterborough and the GPA EDC will each be contributing $12,500 to promote the airport to potential new businesses. The GPA EDC will implement the business attraction and marketing programs.
“Our team has been preparing for the infrastructure announcement on October 16th,” stated David Fell, Chair of the GPA EDC Board of Directors. “The funding and the partnerships were secured and we are moving forward with the marketing portion of the airport developments. This is an exciting initiative that will be very beneficial to the entire region and we look forward to getting out and spreading the word about the great things happening at the airport and throughout the region.”
“The City of Peterborough and the Governments of Ontario and Canada have made significant contributions to the airport expansion but we realize that the economic benefit of spending these dollars will not be fully achieved without attracting new businesses and tenants,” said City of Peterborough Mayor, Paul Ayotte. “We look forward to working with the GPA EDC to secure new developments at the airport and the subsequent benefits to the regional economy.”
"The Peterborough Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) is very pleased to partner with the City of Peterborough by providing community capacity funding, through the federally sponsored Eastern Ontario Development Program, to promote the marketing component of the expansion of the municipal airport. It is recognized by our board of directors that the airport will increase its economic base by attracting a broad range of business activity in both the aviation and non-aviation sectors. The CFDC has been a significant funding partner in the overall redevelopment and expansion of the Peterborough Airport." George Gillespie, Chair, Peterborough CFDC
The expansion of the Airport and a successful business development marketing campaign will contribute significantly to an environment that will facilitate the creation of wealth and the creation of jobs. Overall the expansion will contribute to improving quality of life for the region’s citizens. Currently there are more than 450 people directly employed in the aviation industry in the Peterborough region, with 300 based at the airport.
