STRATFORD, Ont. — Teen singing sensation Justin Bieber put his hometown of Stratford, Ont., on the map with pop music fans.
Now teens are scooping up a map of the pop star’s favourite hangouts in the city otherwise known for its renowned theatre festival.
The Stratford Tourism Alliance says there is so much in-person demand by fans stricken with Bieber Fever, it has ordered a third printing of the paper version.
Spokesman Eugene Zakreski says about 10,000 fans from as far as England, France and Argentina have downloaded the “Bieber-iffic map” online since it launched two months ago.
About 1,500 fans have walked into tourism information kiosks and snapped up the Bieber map.
Zakreski says July statistics show about 25 per cent more new visitors came to the town than in 2009, and anecdotally, he’s seen more young girls holding the map in their hands.
“They’ve come here specifically to see Bieber’s haunts,” he says.
“This year has been a pretty buoyant season.”
The town usually sees swells of tourists from southern Ontario and U.S. border states during its annual Shakespeare festival, but Zakreski says hotels in the city are so full this year they’re turning away customers and fielding double the phone calls they normally get. Zakreski says that thanks to the Bieber map and other aggressive ad campaigns, spring traffic on the tourism website has jumped 558 per cent over last year.
There’s been such a response, the board is considering running organized tours around the time of the launch of the upcoming Bieber book and film.
The map features 18 points of Bieber interest, including a skateboard park, community centre where he entered a singing contest, Chinese restaurant, and the steps of a theatre where he sang and played for money.
Dylan Morrow, 20, who has worked at the Scoopers ice cream shop for the past five summers says the store is normally a busy place, but he’s seen more and more young girls come in since it was placed on the map.
For the record, Morrow was the last employee to serve Bieber — he ordered a massive strawberry banana triple yogurt in a waffle cone.
“We’re pretty steady with the local crowd, but this summer we’ve seen a lot of extra tourism, but not relative to the festival as it would normally be. It’s been more related to Justin Bieber hotspots,” he said.
The tourism board came up with the idea when kids in town to watch Shakespeare plays on school trips walked up to tourism kiosks and asked about where Bieber went to school, and which restaurant is his favourite, said Zakreski.