Tourism's Seat at the Investment Table
This week, Canada welcomed global investors to Toronto for the first Canada Investment Summit, putting a spotlight on a question that extends well beyond the investment community: how do we position Canada for growth in a rapidly changing economic and political landscape?
In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke about strengthening Canada’s competitiveness, building greater connectivity, attracting investment and positioning the country as a trusted partner in an uncertain world. He also pointed directly to transportation infrastructure and regional air connections as part of building a more connected Canadian economy.
For tourism, those conversations feel especially relevant.
They also echo many of the priorities we have been advancing through Forward Motion: Ontario’s Tourism Strategy. From attracting more visitors and spending, to improving transportation connectivity and unlocking investment in new tourism products and experiences, the strategy recognizes tourism as an important part of Ontario’s broader economic growth story.
How Ontario is perceived, how easily people can reach us, what they experience when they arrive, and the stories we tell about our destinations all contribute to our ability to compete. Tourism is not separate from conversations about investment and economic growth. It is part of them.
That was also a key theme in our latest episode of the Forward Motion podcast, What Will it Take to Grow Ontario Tourism featuring my colleague Nathan Olmstead. I recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t yet.
The timing also feels especially relevant. Ontario communities are preparing for municipal elections on October 26, while the tourism industry continues to navigate changing visitor attitudes, economic uncertainty, evolving demand and a shifting policy environment. All of that makes understanding how people are thinking, what is influencing their decisions, and where opportunities are emerging increasingly important.
That is one of the reasons we're proud to host Dr. David Coletto at this year’s Ontario Tourism Summit.
At OTS26, Dr. Coletto will bring a data-driven lens to the forces shaping Ontario tourism, exploring shifting visitor attitudes, economic opportunities, emerging demand and how the industry can strategically position itself for future growth and the upcoming municipal elections.
Those broader political and policy conversations will begin even before the Summit officially opens. At Tourism Beyond Borders: Navigating Politics, Policy and Purpose, TIAO and Destinations International Advocacy will bring together Canadian, U.S. and international tourism leaders to explore how the sector can navigate geopolitical tension, shifting trade relationships and economic uncertainty while remaining competitive and strengthening communities, economies and international relationships.
The session will feature Isabel Hill, drawing on her experience working across four U.S. administrations, alongside Amir Eylon, who will share the latest domestic and international traveller research. An international panel will then examine the trends, policy issues and cross-border dynamics shaping tourism, and what they mean for the industry’s future.
For those of us working in communications and marketing, there is an important thread running through all of this: positioning matters.
Whether we are attracting visitors, investment, talent or opportunity, people make decisions based partly on what they know, what they believe and how they experience a place. Understanding those audiences, the issues influencing them and the wider environment around us helps us tell Ontario’s tourism story more effectively.
At a moment when Canada is thinking deliberately about how it competes, connects and positions itself globally, OTS26 gives Ontario’s tourism industry an opportunity to have that same conversation about where we are headed and how we position ourselves for what comes next.
Katie Law,
Manager, Marketing, Digital Services & Communications