Impact of US Visitors and Trade on Ontario's Tourism

Yesterday morning, TIAO met with Minister Stan Cho, Deputy Minister Nancy Kennedy and Assistant Deputy Minister Katherine Kelly Gatten, along with senior staff from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, Destination Ontario and others to discuss strategy and to prepare for implications of potential trade disputes on Ontario's tourism industry.

Political and economic uncertainties, particularly in the Canada-U.S. relationship, will impact tourism. The U.S. market represents 22% of tourism spending in Ontario, making cross-border travel and trade essential to our industry’s health.  Shifts in immigration policies, tariffs, and trade agreements will have significant ripple effects on travel patterns and consumer behavior.

There are many scenarios to plan and prepare for, and we are committed to being prepared and responsive on behalf of our members across the province. We will keep our membership informed as things progress.

In this context, if you are a tourism business or operator who is or has bookings or does sourcing through the United States, we would appreciate hearing from you! If you are a support organization, please share with your networks. Please take a few minutes to answer these questions as we continue our work in this area on your behalf:

Yesterday afternoon, TIAO’s President and CEO Andrew Siegwart presented before the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs in St. Catharines.

Andrew shared six recommendations to ensure Ontario’s tourism industry continues to thrive in an increasingly uncertain market prior to finalizing our Pre Budget submission. Read the full recommendations on our website;

Early next week, the TIAO team will head to the ROMA Conference in Toronto and will be attending Ministry meetings with our delegation with Municipal Accommodation Tax reform as our priority focus. Thank you in advance to our delegates who will be joining us at ROMA, including Blue Mountain Village Association, Kingston Accommodation Partners, Destination Northern Ontario, the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association, the Town of Lincoln, and Economic Developers Council of Ontario.

After seven years of industry consultation and feedback, TIAO is pushing that now is the right time to address some gaps in the current regulation to make it easier for municipalities, industry and the province to reap the benefits. We want to help municipalities push past the challenges and to ensure that the MAT can best meet its objectives of supporting the growth and development of local visitor economies, while improving collaboration and consultation with industry.