Thunder Bay Marathon Expands in its Third Year

The Thunder Bay Marathon - Miles With the Giant, is now entering its third year and growing with a goal to become one of this region's premier fall annual sport tourism events. This past week, a couple of developments will help solidify that vision.

The marathon was conceived a number of years back by a group of local community and tourism leaders eager to fill a void in both the local fall sports scene and the traditionally slow fall tourism season. The creation of a high quality, well executed event that would grow annually was the vision established. Marathons are big sport tourism business. Duluth's Grandma's Marathon, an iconic race operating every June for decades, draws some twenty six thousand runners, filling hotel rooms, restaurants and attractions during race weekend. For Thunder Bay, with its bold dedication towards developing an active transportation strategy, dedicated trails and the overall promotion of health and fitness, this is a nice fit.

Based on feedback from the past event's runners and experiences gained through the logistics side of the event over the first two years, the route has been changed from two 13.1 mile loops to a single 26.2 mile route that will take in more of the community to include Confederation Collage and Lakehead University campus. The event will still start and finish at Prince Arthur's Landing and include the Boulevard Lake loop but it will offer some new territory and expand the appeal to runners. This will also be the year that the organizers work to have the race certified by Athletics Canada to become a Boston Marathon qualifier, an important certification to attract more running visitors from outside the community.

The second welcome development this week is the announcement by the Ministry of Tourism that the event will be receiving $40 000 from the Celebrate Ontario program to expand their operational capacity and build a much larger sustainable event. Tourism Thunder Bay has supported this great event since it was conceived with marketing support and we'll continue to help promote it through our media channels this year as well as co sponsor some of the costs associated with promoting the event at other Marathons in key close haul markets.

Of course a big thanks has to go out to the volunteer board of directors who give passionately to building this into an iconic annual event, the local Hotelier's coalition for their support and recognition of sport tourism development and our co workers at the City of Thunder Bay including events, police, engineering and our own sport tourism folks who have helped make the reality of a 26.2 mile course using a multitude of city streets possible. Nothing compliments our tourism vision to become regarded as Canada's Best outdoor city like a marathon that features the big Lake and the Sleeping Giant as a backdrop and winds through the city's parks, lakes, classic neighbourhoods and historic downtown core.

Registration is now open and the new route is posted on the marathon website. You can check it all out at thunderbaymarathon.com

Ministry of Tourism and Culture Unveils New Website.

Just prior to Christmas, 2010, the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture rolled out their new website to reflect the merging of the tourism and culture portfolios.

Tourism is a moving portfolio and it's policy home, at all levels of government in most jurisdictions around the globe tends to bounce around. Sometimes its a stand alone and often, its merged with Parks, Culture, Economic Development and other related portfolios. Currently, its merger with Culture reflects the important role cultural tourism such as historical attractions, culinary, and performing arts play in the overall tourism industry in Ontario. I never get too hung up on its alignment and merger with other portfolios so long as the tools and resources are there at the appropriate levels to move our industry forward.

Because of the merger, the new website takes an additional click to get to the real meat of the tourism industry information. However, once there, the information resource selection is a little more streamlined and all the relevant information the industry needs to make most major and minor business development and marketing decisions are still right there.

A tool within the site we use extensively is the TREIM model, an online customizable research tool that allows event and attractions organizers estimate the economic impacts of their activities. Its one of the main reports we run for every major event being planned with our involvement or advice.

There are some quick links and some new customized research options now available to assist regions, census and metropolitan areas understand their main geographic visitor markets a little more quickly, albeit with some gaps, particularly with respect to the US markets. I was having some fun over the Christmas holidays playing with the new Geotravel stats tool and if you take the time to understand what the data means, its easy to apply to your own operational decisions.

Unfortunately, the regional tourism profiles, one the old tourism sites best "quick reference" features, is currently not linked up and hopefully that gets sorted out quickly as its been one of most trusted quick sources of information when providing an overview of the economic impacts of tourism, something all of us in the industry have to continuously educate our communities on. However, there is no lack of relevant local and regional data there in the meantime.

For anyone in the regional tourism industry, the Ministry's site should be bookmarked on your computer, (right alongside this one, of course) for quick reference. Its probably one of the industry's best tourism research tools in Canada.

Thunder Bay Being Promoted at the 2010 Toronto Motorcycle Show

2011 is going to be a big year for the motor cycle touring market in the Thunder Bay area.

Thunder Bay has been chosen to host the 2011 Ontario Harley Owner's Group (H.O.G.) Rally.

Organized by the Thunder Bay Chapter of the Ontario Harley Owner's Group, the event, aptly named "Thunder in the Bay", will take place from July 28-30 and is expected to see hundreds of enthusiasts descend on the community to enjoy the camaraderie of fellow riders and experience some of North America's best scenic touring routes while getting here.

This weekend, local event organizers are at the Toronto Motorcycle Show promoting the event to Harley Davidson enthusiasts in the GTA area, encouraging them to plan their summer road trip to Thunder Bay and register early for a chance to win free accommodation at the event's host hotel, the Victoria Inn, during the rally.

We're thrilled to be helping out with the event and visitors to this weekend's show will see our Thunder Bay visuals around the booth and be able to pick up a copy of our Experience magazine, promoting all there is to see and do in and around the community while they are here.

Also, a staple at this year's show are our friends from the Algoma Kinnewabi Travel Association, promoting the Lake Superior and North Channel areas to riders. For many Southern Ontario and Michigan touring riders, they will likely travel through that region to reach us and Carol and company from AKTA do a great job promoting the region and are progressive thinkers with respect to the regional approach to visitor attraction.

Motorcycle touring has seen significant growth in recent years and sales statistics on new bikes in Canada demonstrates the popularity of this form of transportation. We live on the shore of the world's greatest lake, ringed by one of North America's most scenic ribbons of highway. While promotion has been increasing in recent years, we are only really scratching the surface to reach out and attract new riders to the region. A big part of increasing awareness is the role local enthusiasts and clubs play in hosting rallies and events and promoting the region by speaking the language of the motorcycle enthusiast.

Motorcycle tourers travel light, like to stop often to take in scenic views and attractions and embrace comfortable accommodation, great food and safe and secure parking for their bikes. Our goal is that this event galvanizes the Thunder Bay motorcycle and tourism community to continue to work together to develop some sort of annual event and general tactical strategy that will increase opportunities for accommodation, culinary and cultural attractions to grow new markets.

If you're in the Toronto area this weekend, stop by the Toronto Motorcycle Show and look for the great folks at the H.O.G. display. They'll whet your appetite for planning your 2011 summer road trip to the Lake Superior area.

(Harley Davidson and H.O.G. are registered trademarks)

Heart of the Continent Partnership Brings Public Lectures to Thunder Bay

The Heart of the Continent Partnership is a bi national collective of Provincial, State and National Parks, academic and community leaders from Ontario and Minnesota working on some great initiatives that will have a positive impact for the region and help Foster new bi national partnerships based on common goals around balancing community development with neighboring public protected lands.

The reality is quite simply that Thunder Bay is the gateway city to some of the world's best known wilderness parks - Quetico, Wabikimi, Sleeping Giant, the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area and even Isle Royale National Park across the border. Creating stronger links with these fantastic natural environment assets is critical to helping grow and diversify our tourism markets. For years, cities have ignored their neighboring parks and protected areas with the mistaken belief that they bring little tourism value to the communities. As demographic shift, a growing number of travellers seek outdoor experiences with a higher level of comfort, with the vast majority appreciating the experience but wishing for softer culinary and accommodation options nearby. For those seeking to "rough it", they need a place to stage, pick up gear and groceries and have a civilized respite at the end of their epic journey. This is where we, as a city, have to link in.

One of the initiatives undertaken by the HOCP is the Gateway Communities Forum, scheduled for the fall of 2011 and a number of us are currently working on the design and development of this conference, to be co hosted between Thunder Bay and Grand Portage - a truly international partnership.

On Wednesday October 6th, the public will have a chance to take in some public forums related to our parks and protected area neighbors and understand a little more about their ecological and economic importance.

Earth wind fire and Climate change : Whats the future of our Northern Forests and Communities, takes place in the University Centre 2011 - Upper Lecture Theatre at 4:30 PM and will explore the key ecological issues of today int he region

Public Conservation - Balancing Nature and Commerce in Communities that Neighbor Public Lands, is an open conversation with members of the Gateway Communities Initiative Design Team and the public to discuss how public lands and communities can thrive side by side in an positive economic framework. This discussion takes place in the ATAC Building Room 5035 from 7 to 9 PM

For more information on the Heart of the Continent Partnership, visit their website @ www.heartofthecontinent.org

Ministry of Tourism Announces New Tourism Regions

The Ministry of Tourism has released the thirteen new travel regions, the need for which was identified within the Ontario Tourism Strategy (Sorbera Report to many). I have to say that I am pretty pleased with this decision and this is something we can work well with to strengthen our community and regional approach to growing the tourism opportunities. We've provide input to this back in April and have been communicating this message to our Ministry partners throughout the summer and fall of 2009.

Northern Ontario is labeled as area thirteen with three sub regions identified - north west, north central and north east.

This definition of these new regions makes a lot of sense as it bases the decisions more on the travel patterns and commonality of experiences rather than on traditional political boundaries. As I said previously, consumers don't care out the lines that define a travel region. They want to catch big fish, see big wildlife, kayak, attend a conference or a sporting events. In short, they want the experience first, and the destination second.

I've always fgelt that we've had far too many individual tourism marketing associations in the Province - hundreds in fact. These often duplicate each others efforts and absorb much needed marketing and product development funding on administration. Large cities like ours, typically have a much more diversified segment that includes conventions, sport tourism and major attractions and we will continue to play a role a strong urban leaders for our communities. However, on the leisure and corporate retreat, travel media and group travel, we play a powerful role as gateways but need to rely on region to supply the end experience or product. The more regional partners we have access to, the more experiences we can market and the more people will consider using Thunder Bay as the hub to reach them. Everybody wins.

For Thunder Bay, being a gateway city to a larger travel region defined by common experiences will only strengthen our reputation as one of Canada's best outdoor cities. This offers opportunities to build new partnerships and relationships as far as the Manitoba border around resource based outdoor experiences and road touring routes that use Thunder Bay as a road, sea and air hub. This has the very real potential to increase opportunities in our outdoor retail and supply segment, hotels, car rental agencies, restaurants, grocers and others who see the value in working together to further enhance our reputation.

This is also an opportunity to reach out to hundreds of new potential partners in the broader region and work with them to encourage their clients to use Thunder Bay as a gateway city. They can encourage them to stop in the city for a nights rent, a round of golf, equipment purchase and rental and other services to round out their vacation experience.

There is still a lot of work to do to formalize these regions and define our new working partnerships but the opportunities to work together are certainly exciting and worth working towards to find common ground on marketing, product development and enhanced communication to ensure we are able to reach potential new visitors better than we have in the past. Now is the time to think outside of the box.

for more information, visit http://www.tourism.gov.on.ca/english/about/n181209.htm

Vote for the Sleeping Giant in CBC's Great Canadian Song Quest.

October 14, 2009 – Thunder Bay could be immortalized through song if the Sleeping Giant is chosen as Ontario’s location for CBC Radio 2’s Great Canadian Song Quest. Voting is now open through Oct. 23 atwww.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest.

The Sleeping Giant was nominated as one of the most popular places finalist locations for Ontario in the campaign that was launched in September. The contest gives Canadians a chance to nominate what locations matter most tothem and commission 13 new songs to be written about those places. Not onlywill Canadians get to decide on one place from each province, they will also get to vote on the 13 singer-songwriters who will compose and recordthe new songs.

The City of Thunder Bay is asking residents to go towww.cbc.ca/radio2/songquest and cast their vote for the Sleeping Giant. Residents are also encouraged to ask friends and family outside of the City to participate by voting for the Sleeping Giant.

The final 13 artists will be revealed Oct. 26 and composition on the original songs will begin. The final locations and songs will be announcedon Nov. 23.

“This is a unique avenue to promote and share Thunder Bay's incrediblenatural beauty across the country,” said Mayor Lynn Peterson. “It would begreat to hear our natural wonder promoted through music.”

2009 Ontario Tourism Summit Open Provides Positive Messages on The Road Ahead.

Tourism Thunder Bay is currently attending the 2009 Ontario Tourism Summit being held at Caesar's Hotel and Casino in Windsor Ontario.

This year's event is the fifth annual gathering of Tourism marketing professionals from across the Province and is aptly titled "The Road Ahead". Over 400 delegates from Provincial, Federal and Municipal government tourism agencies, private operators and destination marketing organizations are hearing from some of the most influential voices in tourism and marketing, networking with each other and learning from each other's successes and experiences-good and bad.

For Tourism Thunder Bay, this is the venue in which Seven Day's With the Giant was conceived, where we placed second for marketing campaign under $25 000 in 2008 and where we continue to communicate with other partners to grow our tourism industry locally and regionally.

Today's sessions focused on changing consumer behaviors that we need to recognize and capture, turning our brand equity into sales and the collective efforts of the Ministry of Tourism, Canadian Tourism Commission and the Tourism Industry of Ontario to market our experiences more effectively, develop new products that consumers want, make smarter marketing decisions based on consumer research and get updates on what our government and industry associations are doing to lobby on everything from passport requirements to the HST to the need for enhanced tourism infrastructure investments.

This has also been a chance to see the local tourism economy in Windsor, experience some of their top visitor attractions, learn about their challenges and their successes and bring some of those good ideas home.

A high note of the conference so far has been a riveting presentation from Peter Yesawich, Chairman and CEO of Y Partnership. He provided a fantastic overview on Emerging lifestyle and travel trends and their implications for marketing Ontario in the year ahead. Understanding the emotional reasons that effect consumer travel behavior, how they seek out information on new travel experiences, how to appeal to them on an emotional level and understanding changes in their values provided me personally with a lot of new information to work with moving into out 2010 and 2011 marketing strategy years. Once presentations are available online, I'll endeavour to make their content available here.

In keeping with the theme of "The Road Ahead", the conference hall was adorned with some classic automobiles courtesy of the Automobile History Museum located in Windsor. On a personal note, the chance to see an authentic Shelby Cobra is a great bonus to the learning and networking environment here.

To read the conference agenda, visit www.ontariotourismsummit.com

Ministry ot Tourism Releases Celebrate Ontario Event Support Program for 2010

The Ontario Ministry of Tourism has announced today that Celebrate Ontario, the hugely popular financial support program for the tourism event sector, is renewing funding for the 2010 year. This year, once again, sees an overall budget of $11 million to be allocated to events across the Province and this year, the application deadline has been moved up considerably to November 27, 2009, rather than in past years where the deadline was in late January or early February. That gives you approximately 2 months to pull your applications and information together. Local events to have benefited over this year to March 2010 include the Sleeping Giant Loppet, Cavendish Cup, Sleeping Giant Writer's Festival and the Thunder Bay Bluesfest.

This is a great program with an easy to follow application process and I encourage event organizers who believe their event has a tourism draw to submit their applications as soon as possible for the program. As part of the packages, letters of support from the municipal tourism association are required and as I usually get a lot of requests at the 11th hour each year, I kindly ask that you submit your request to our office no later than November 18th to allow us time to review the request and respond specifically to each individual event request. I also ask that you submit a brief description of the event, operating budget, revenue sources, other partners and the estimated tourism impact to help us assess the letter of support request.

For more information, go to www.tourism.gov.on.ca/celebrateontario

The McGuffin's Launch a Great Quetico Commerative Book

Anybody in Canada and the United States who appreciates wilderness photography and conservation knows the names of Gary and Joanie McGuffin. They have done a lot to bring attention to the natural beauty of Northern Ontario through their stunning photography, epic annual adventures and leadership in conservation based causes to ensure our natural environment remains a tourism treasure for generations to come. I'm also proud to call them friends of mine and I credit them as being an instrumental part in of launching of the "Seven Days With the Giant" platform in 2008.

This morning, Gary and Joanie released a new book of images and stories to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Quetico Park. I have to admit I have never paddled Quetico but have flown over much of it in a float plane and educated myself at their visitor center. A read through their latest work uncovers the layers and depth of what is one of the world's great natural environment parks that encourages me to explore it by water, up close and personal. It also reminds me that we in Thunder Bay are fortunate to be a gateway community to this renowned wilderness area and our strategy to build Thunder Bay into one of Canada's great outdoor cities needs to integrate with such a gem.

The book is available at Chapters here in Thunder Bay and it makes a fantastic gift or a great educational keepsake for yourself. I think more local tourism partners should learn about this gem and what they can do to link themselves to it in some way. To learn more about these wonderful folks, visit http://www.garyandjoaniemcguffin.com/

SEVEN DAYS WITH THE GIANT WINNERS EXPERIENCE SUPERIOR BY NATURE HOSPITALITY

Tourism Thunder Bay is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Seven Days With the Giant promotion, our signature summer tourism marketing campaign developed to showcase the city and area as one of Canada’s best outdoor cities to outdoor enthusiasts across North America.

This year’s winners, Bob Greer of Maplewood Minnesota and his wife Kathy invited their two friends from Texas, Jack and Jeanette Hammon, to experience all the Giant has to offer. While here, they’ve explored the park with their new Nikon cameras and binoculars while trying out their new camping equipment, enjoyed Thunder Bay’s unique cultural attractions, unique and first class accommodations and iconic culinary treats, enjoyed both a sailboat and floatplane adventure on Superior and will complete their visit to the city with an epic dinner hosted by Caribou Restaurant and Wine Bar.

Tourism Thunder Bay wishes to extend its thanks to all of the sponsors who made this year’s contest and campaign possible. The sponsors include the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation, Ontario Parks, Lake Superior Visits(tour coordination and guiding), Valhalla Inn (accommodation), Sailsuperior.com (sail charter and accommodation), Wilderness North (float plane adventure), Caribou Restaurant and Wine Bar (dinner), National and Enterprise Car rentals (vehicle rentals), Gear Up for Outdoors (equipment package), The Hoito, Thunder Bay Historical Society, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Superior Outdoors magazine, Ruby Moon, Fort William Historical Park, Imagetech and Amethyst Mine Panorama.

Media are invited to the Valhalla Inn at 9:30 AM on Friday August 21st to meet with Bob, his wife and friends before they depart the city for home.

Quetico Celebrates its Diamond Anniversary in 2009

Quetico Park is one hundred years old this year and Ontario Parks is celebrating with a year long roster of events to commemorate the milestone. For North American outdoors enthusiasts, Quetico is already a well known name and is about as great a wilderness paddling experience as you will find anywhere on the planet. Summer events will kick off June 12 in celebration of Canadian Rivers Day and there will be a number of events throughout the summer, both in the park and neighboring Atikokan (www.atikokan.ca)

The Park is also an important part of a bi national visitor experience as it connects with the Superior National Forest in Minnesota. The Heart of the Continent Partnership is a coalition that consists of land managers, along with stakeholders, that work together on cross-border projects to promote the natural health of the lakes and forests near the Ontario-Minnesota Border. To honour the partnership, and raise awareness, a canoe trip will weave in and out of Canadian and U-S waterways, with paddlers visiting several communities. Quetico Park will also see the return of their legendary Canoe Marathon, a two day round trip race from French Lake to Prairie Portage, that hasn’t taken place since the 1960’s.


Quetico Park is an asset that those of us in the Thunder Bay tourism industry don't really connect with as much as we should. despite it being 200 km away from the city, its an important part of the tourism economy we need to weave into our larger sustainable tourism strategy. Thunder Bay is a gateway to wilderness adventures, the single largest travel motivator in North America. Quetico's international reputation attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually and many of those need to come through Thunder Bay, either by road or air. Opportunities exist for Thunder Bay hotels, culinary providers, outdoor equipment outfitters and retailers, car rental firms and others to capture part of the market by encouraging visitors to consider Thunder Bay as their "base camp" before heading out to Atikokan and into the park.


Quetico has developed an incredible level of brand equity among the outdoor community, a demographic generally characterised as educated and more affluent. Quetico's name is attached to such products as canoes and even lifevests and is the subject of many, many books. Aligning Thunder Bay's image with that of Quetico helps raise our profile and opportunities exist, through passive and active cross promotion, to align their brand with ours. We have embraced economic, social and environmental sustainability as the cornerstone for moving our tourism industry forward and working with our iconic parks makes good sense all around. Parks lovers are also often people who plan conferences or particpate in organized sports. Building awareness with them on the liesure market may certainly help raise our urban profile for the conference and sport tourism markets as well.



Our organized parks systems have emerged as the major visitor attraction in the region. Consider that Quetico welcomed over 92 000 visitors in 2008 while Sleeping Giant saw over 57 000 and Kakabeka Falls over 283 000 and the importance becomes clear. Entities like Ontario Parks (http://www.ontarioparks.com/) and Parks Canada (http://www.pc.gc.ca/) are increasingly expanding their tourism visitor focus, recognizing the economic value and power of the experiences and geography they manage. In Thunder Bay, the successful realignment of our urban brand around Sleeping Giant Provincial Park is a prime example. The Lake Superior National Marine Conservation, whose boundary is a scant 15 miles from Prince Arthur's Landing is another gem that will increase our profile even more. Even our fantastic local parks - Chippewa, Centennial and Marina Park are all important elements in visitor attraction and retention and do, if partnered in the right context, deliver greater economic impacts for our local business community.



For more information on Quetico Park in general or the park's centennial celebrations, visit www.ontarioparks.com/english/quet.html or http://www.parkreports.com/events/event_details.php?parkID=71&Submit=View+Events

Parks Canada Posts New Career Opportunity

Parks' Canada has a lot of exciting things going on in and around the city lately as they increase their presence and awareness of the role of National heritage and natural environment parks. The announcement of the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area in 2007 has created a lot of excitement about the growth and potential of the regional tourism industry in the long term.

Parks Canada has a career opportunity posted for an External Relations Officer to work out of Nipigon, with a focus on developing and executing communications and external relations strategies. The position is open to qualified candidates within a 160 kilometer radius of Nipigon. Its great to see new employment opportunities around the NMCA and related initiatives already taking shape.

Visit: https://psjobs-emploisfp.psc-cfp.gc.ca/psrs-srfp/applicant/page1800?toggleLanguage=en&psrsMode=1&poster=90013&noBackBtn=true for more information on this opportunity.

Ontario's Competitiveness Strategy Provides an Opportunity for Input

A few month's back, the Ontario Ministry of Tourism unveiled the blueprint to revitalize Ontario's tourism industry and improve its competitiveness on the global stage. If you haven't read this yet, its a must read for the industry and can be accessed at http://www.tourismstudy.ca/en/index.php. The report's 20 recommendations are all solid although there are not a lot of surprises with respect to the elements of the tourism economy we can improve upon. One thing is for certain. Its great to see them spelled out and movement being made to implement them.




The Province has been quick to begin unveiling some of the recommendations already, with the notable inclusion of $40 million in the 2010 budget towards regional tourism marketing. That $40 million, as you may recall, is the net from a proposed Province wide destination marketing fee being proposed. Essentially, every accommodation provider in the Province will collect a hotel room levy, with the proceeds reinvested back in the industry. While it is estimated that $100 million could be collected, retailers collecting the new tax are expected to be able to apply input tax credits, meaning that they will get back what they pay out for supplies. This is an exciting time for the future of the tourism industry in the Province but some tough decisions must be made to move us collectively forward.


The Province is currently undertaking a series of consultations across Ontario to get input into the proposed new Tourism Destination Marketing and Management regions with their own organizational structures . Two of these DMMOs have been proposed for Northern Ontario - northeast and northwest - and as you can imagine, this is creating quite a lot of spirited discussion. To that end, its imperative that the industry provide their feedback into the proposal and help craft destination management zones that are effective and make sense.



I encourage industry representatives to submit their input to Rob Ballantyne at the Ministry of Tourism by emailing your constructive and creative suggestions to him at rob.ballantyne2@ontario.ca. To help you craft your submission, follow the following questions that have been posed at the various input sessions.

Determining criteria for regional boundaries resulting in successful regional tourism management

Think about: A region being destinations that work together

Question 1: What criteria should be used to determine regional boundaries?

Think about:
Iconic attractions within an area
A well established brand
Tourism travel patterns
Minimum level of tourism activity
The potential for travel packaging

Question 2: How should the boundaries be drawn and who should draw them?

Think about:
Whether you have suggestions for specific boundaries

Question 3: How should the name of each region be decided?

Think about:
What the process should involve
The people / organizations who should be involved

Describing roles and responsibilities of a Destination Marketing and Management Organization

Question 1: What should DMMOs do?

Think about:
Leadership and coordination
Marketing and packaging
Quality of service/experience
Research/Information
Workforce development
Investment and product development

Question 2: How should DMMOs be organized?

Think about:
What is needed to put them in place
The appropriate governance model (e.g.
board structure, partnerships, success
measures)

Question 3: How would the DMMO work with others involved in tourism?

Think about:
Industry
DMOs
Associations
Ministry of Tourism
Provincial marketer
Other levels of government

Question 4: The 2009 Ontario Budget announced funding for tourism regions. What factors should be considered in distributing the funding?

Think about:
What is needed to become sustainable
The expectations of DMMOs that receive funding
Other sources of funding
How existing partnerships can be further
developed

How to move forward to establish a DMMO in this area

Question 1: What challenges or issues would have to be addressed?

Question 2: What are the strengths you have to build on in your area?