Last Chance for Input: Impact of U.S. Visitors and Trade on Ontario's Tourism

Earlier this week, the TIAO team attended the Rural Ontario Municipality Association’s (ROMA) Conference in Toronto. The delegation consisted of representatives from 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. The group took part in multiple meetings with provincial government caucus members and Ministry staff, to recommend necessary enhancements to the existing Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) regulation.  

These meetings allowed for focused discussion and engagement on the topic – we took MPPs and senior staff through our recommendations outlined here. Having our delegation members with us allowed for specific and real examples from municipalities that have gone through or are in the process of implementing the MAT. 

After seven years of industry consultation and feedback since the regulations came into effect, TIAO believes that now is the right time to address barriers in the current guidelines. These simple updates would allow stakeholders to realize the benefits that the MAT stands to bring to communities across the province, and to help municipalities push past the challenges to ensure that the MAT can best meet its objectives of supporting the growth and development of local visitor economies.  

We look forward to our follow ups from these meetings and to continuing our push to help municipalities across the province implement this important lever for the visitor economy.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to Madison Simmons at msimmons@tiaontario.ca.