RTO Development Continues to Build Regional Support

The Regional Tourism Organization framework continues to develop throughout the Province and Region 13, the area encompassing most of Northern Ontario, is no exception.

The regional approach to tourism in Ontario is a long overdue change in thinking and reflects the need for the industry to begin to collaborate, coordinate and align with one another and the Provincial strategy to maximize resources and deliver services that have the consumer in mind. There have simply been far too many independent tourism organizations duplicating each other's efforts and at the end of the day, not really using their given resources effectively in reaching consumers.

What I personally like about the regional approach is two fold. It reduces the duplication and silos created in the past among organizations and it focuses on the entire management side of the tourism industry. The four pillars include marketing, product development, capacity building and investment attraction. There is more to tourism than marketing. Its about making educated research driven decisions that match product to the consumers needs and desires. This regional process begins that trans formative journey.

As many know, Thunder Bay is one of 19 signatories to the Region 13 Transition Plan and I am the executive lead for region 13C, Northwestern Ontario, working alongside Tom Pearson (Lodge operator and Sunset Country President), Don Pearl (North of Superior Tourism), Heather Paterson (Tourism Kenora) and Harold Lohn (Lodge operator and Northern Committee member)

We've been busy working on the draft bylaws, terms of reference for the regional strategic plan and solicitation of priority projects. As has been previously announced, of the $65 million in annual transition funding for Ontario, $4.2 million is earmarked for region 13 and $1.554 million for 13C, the region stretching from White River to the Manitoba Boarder and from the US Border to Hudson's Bay. This is a massive territory with dozens of communities and thousands of tourism stake holders. Reaching out to everyone in the past 6 months has not been a quick or easy task but we're making our way around.

To date, we've received approximately two dozen projects ranging from marketing to product development and capacity building. Some are under way and some are in the planning stages. One of the first successes of the transition process however, has little do to with any one specific process but rather, the fact that it has communities in the northwest opening up discussions with each other more than at any other time in my memory of the industry. We're collaborating more, sharing information and resources and looking for ways to capitalize on each other's strengths to reach new markets.

We've established several online communications tools to help the industry keep pace with the process as we move towards the establishment of the permanent office and inaugural board of directors. The Transition team website, RTO13.com and twitter.com/rto13 are up and running and provide meeting minutes, transition information and other relevant information to help the tourism industry understand the process.

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?