Ontario is making changes in its tourism funding in the hope of creating a more competitive tourism industry.
To do that, it has formed 13 new tourism regions and regional tourism organizations. They will be established in areas across Ontario in early 2010 and will be responsible for working with tourism partners to enhance and grow tourism products and marketing activities.
Huron, Perth (including Stratford), and Wellington Counties will join Waterloo Region in the new tourism region for this area.
The province will help the industry move to the new tourism regions by providing $25-million in each of the next two years. That funding is in addition to the $40-million in ongoing annual funding announced in the 2009 Ontario budget.
In Centre Wellington, Deb Dalziel has been involved in tourism promotion for several years. She said when the province consulted various regions, there was some concern Centre Wellington would be in a group that included London, which made no sense to local promoters. She said working with Kitchener, Waterloo and Stratford in particular offers opportunities locally.
Dalziel added having all of the county in a single regional entity will make some of her job a little smoother because she was uncomfortable and reluctant to speak for other parts of the county at tourism discussions.
Centre Wellington’s Economic Development manager Dave Rushton was also somewhat optimistic.
He said he participated in a conference with the Ministry of Tourism and felt “others were more concerned than we were.”
He agreed the former tourism region had been successful, but Grand River Country was broken into three different sections.
“I’m trying to be open minded about it,” he said, noting, “So much remains to be seen.”
Minto’s business and economic manager Belinda Wick-Graham said her community did not really participate much in the Saugeen Territory promotional group, and took part with Wellington County and Guelph in joint promotions.
“We’re not a huge tourist district,” she said, but added being part of a promotional group that includes tourism centres like Stratford and St. Jacobs will likely help Minto’s efforts to attract visitors. She noted Grand River Country had been very successful, but is now “broken up.”
Wick-Graham said it will be “very interesting” to see how the $40-million for destination management is broken down for communities.
In Erin, officials were willing to wait and see what would come of the redistribution.
Town Manager Lisa Haas said, “We weren’t sure if this was going to be good for us or not. We’ve been very successful with Hills of the Headwaters [the former tourism area],” and she added that Erin’s partners in that group are not particularly thrilled to lose the community, either.
However, she said Wellington County has been considering a tourism and promotional committee prior to the announcement, so, “It’s too soon to tell,” how the changes will play out.
Mayor Rod Finnie also noted being part of Hills of the Headwaters had always been “good value for the dollar” and added tourism is an important part of Erin’s economy.
He did note, though, the town was part of Wellington County and Guelph tourism promotions like Buy Local, Buy Fresh and the Guelph-Wellington Visitors’ Guide.
“They were both good,” he said, so he is willing to wait and see what the new entity will bring.
No spokesman was available from Wellington North.
The Ministry of Tourism will issue a request for expressions of interest to help identify one Regional Tourism Organization in each region to lead the industry and ensure it remains strong and competitive well into the future. The request and the guidelines will be posted on the Ministry’s website sometime this month.
Minister of Tourism Monique Smith said, “Ontario’s tourism industry is a major economic driver and job creator for our province. Our government recognizes the potential for growing Ontario as a competitive global destination.
“Through our support for the 13 new tourism regions we are helping the industry reach that potential and increase economic activity across the province.”
Tourism spending in Ontario in 2008 was $23-billion and over 300,000 people were directly and indirectly employed by the tourism industry.
