Ontario has significant opportunities to develop new tourism experiences, modernize existing assets and attract new private investment.
However, tourism projects face barriers including rising construction and borrowing costs, financing constraints, lengthy development processes and the perceived risk associated with some tourism investments. Investment also occurs along a continuum.
Before a business can undertake a major capital project, a new visitor experience often needs to be researched, developed, tested and brought to market.
Ontario currently lacks dedicated tourism investment tools addressing both stages of this cycle.
Without targeted intervention, viable projects can stall before reaching the market or attracting the capital required to grow.
TIAO's Position
Ontario should create targeted investment tools that help tourism businesses and destinations develop new visitor experiences, mobilize private capital and invest in the construction, expansion and modernization of tourism assets.
Public investment should be designed to reduce barriers, leverage significantly greater private-sector investment and address identified gaps in Ontario's tourism offering.
What TIAO Recommends
Establish a multi-year matching program to help businesses, destinations and partners develop new and enhanced tourism experiences and bring market-ready products to visitors.
Eligible activities could include:
- new and enhanced visitor experiences;
- trails, routes, corridors and journeys;
- tourism packages and collaborative experiences;
- placemaking and destination animation;
- Indigenous tourism product development;
- technology and digital visitor experiences; and
- development work required to move promising tourism concepts toward investment readiness.
Create a refundable provincial tax credit that improves project feasibility and encourages private investment in:
- new tourism developments;
- expansion and modernization of existing tourism businesses;
- equipment and technology;
- accommodation, attractions and visitor-serving infrastructure; and
- enabling infrastructure required to advance eligible tourism projects.
Enhanced incentives should be considered for investments in rural, northern, Indigenous and underserved destinations and for projects addressing identified tourism asset gaps.
Introduce targeted product-development and capital-investment tools that make more Ontario tourism projects viable and leverage significantly greater private-sector investment.
Design the two programs as complementary tools so promising projects can move from concept and market validation through to larger-scale capital investment.
Allow the programs to complement municipal, federal and private investments—including Municipal Accommodation Tax revenues where communities choose to participate—rather than replacing existing funding.
What Success Looks Like
TIAO's proposed model contemplates approximately $30 million in annual provincial investment across the two programs. Economic modelling developed for TIAO estimates that this could help unlock approximately:
- $105–165 million in private and external capital
- $300–435 million in economic output
- 1,000–2,000 jobs
The objective is not simply to increase public spending on tourism. It is to use targeted provincial tools to unlock substantially greater private investment.
- More Ontario tourism projects progress from ideaideas to market.
- Existing businesses are able to modernize and expand.
- Ontario attracts increased private tourism capital.
- New experiences address product and infrastructure gaps identified across destinations.
- Rural, northern and underserved communities gain greater access to tourism investment.
- The result is stronger year-round tourism demand, increased visitor spending and expanded employment and tax revenues.
Related Research & Resources
- Building Investment-Ready Destinations
- Ontario Tourism Asset & Gap Analysis
- Forward Motion
- TIAO Investment Attraction Environmental Scan
- TIAO Member Research: Investment Attraction
- Provincial Pre-Budget Submissions
