Today, the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) is leading a series of advocacy meetings with Members of Provincial Parliament and departmental officials from all parties during Tourism Day at Queen’s Park. Tourism Day brings together delegates from communities across the province, from a range of sectors and perspectives to showcase the strength of the industry, and to deliver vital information about the current state of tourism in Ontario.
This important annual event provides a platform for industry leaders and stakeholders to communicate firsthand with policymakers about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
“The tourism industry is a key economic driver in Ontario, contributing billions of dollars and providing hundreds of thousands of jobs. Bringing a range of members with us to Queen’s Park is an invaluable opportunity to highlight the economic importance and opportunities in our sector, and a way to ensure that we are collaborating and supporting government initiatives,” said Andrew Siegwart, President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association Ontario.
TIAO’s goal is to build stronger connections between tourism businesses and government leaders, ensuring a shared approach to addressing challenges and opportunities. TIAO’s key recommendations fall under the pillars of Economic Growth, Workforce Development and Infrastructure Investment.
Ontario’s tourism economy is showing year-over-year gains in visitation and spending, however, is still behind 2019 levels in key areas like cross border and overseas visitation and business travel. Tourism operators are still facing significant challenges, including high debt levels and rising costs, which are constraining profitability and limiting reinvestment. Additionally, recent changes to federal immigration policies, without corresponding mitigation strategies, are exacerbating labour shortages across the sector, and infrastructure gaps are further hindering the industry’s ability to grow, connect, and compete effectively.
Through these dialogues, TIAO is bringing solutions and recommendations for Economic Growth through:
- Enhanced provincial marketing investment to enable competitive domestic and international visitor attraction
- Investment in Indigenous tourism to establish equitable provincial funding for Indigenous tourism businesses
- Support for competitive event bids to help Ontario destinations secure more business and sporting events, driving overnight international visitation
- Support to strengthen Municipal Accommodation Tax regulation
Workforce Development recommendations include:
- Proactively reacting - through joint advocacy with MPPs to the federal government - to reduced international student levels through expanding post graduation work permit (PGWP) eligibility and creating pathways to permanent residency
- Developing a domestic workforce plan to connect underemployed Ontarians with meaningful tourism job opportunities
Infrastructure Investment recommendations include:
- Restoring air service levels and addressing declining air service to regional and northern destinations
- Enhancing ground transportation services to improve accessibility, connectivity and sustainability moving citizens, domestic and international visitors around the province.
Vital collaboration and investment are required to position Ontario for market growth.
TIAO is leading the development of an industry-led Ontario Tourism Strategy, with a focus on economic and employment growth and sustainability. The goal is to provide a comprehensive roadmap for industry that emphasizes collaboration, innovation, market development and sustainability as cornerstones for enhancing the industry’s competitiveness and adaptability. Initial survey results of over 600 respondents indicate that stakeholders broadly agree on the importance of building foundational elements like infrastructure while leveraging marketing to attract visitors.
The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario remains committed to advocating for the sector’s needs and fostering stronger partnerships with government and other stakeholders to drive innovation, sustainability, and growth in Ontario’s tourism economy.