Ontario Tourism Summit 2017

Sponsored by JLM Strategic Marketing

First Time Attendee Breakfast with TIAO Board of Directors

Sarah Martin (Vice President, Public Sector, MasterCard Advisors)

Tourists are relying on a multitude of online tools to plan their journeys. With travellers visiting an average of 38 travel sites leading up to a trip, reaching them can be difficult. Capturing timely, accurate, and meaningful marketing data on visitors is a major challenge. Mastercard will share some data insights into who Ontario’s key visitors are, and where they’re spending their money during their stay. By providing a 360° view of the traveller’s experience, Mastercard aims to help tourism providers improve marketing investments to attract their most valuable traveller segments. This approach often leads to more and repeat visits, greater revenue, and higher ROI within limited budget constraints.

Moderator: Kathrine Christensen (Executive Director, 1000 Islands Accommodation Partners)
Bryan Plumstead (Manager of Tourism, Grey County Tourism)
John Winston (General Manager, Tourism London)
Steve Ball (Co-Chair, Ottawa 2017)

Tourism drives the economy. But how do you educate local communities on this to ensure a province-wide understanding of the benefits that tourism brings? Hear from counties that are working alongside their communities to grow local tourism for economic prosperity, including challenges such as combating the NIMBY phenomenon.

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport

Sponsored by SÉO

1. Leveraging Your Natural Assets

Moderator: Jennifer Mason (President, JLM Strategic Marketing);
Jennie Elmslie (Co-Owner, Free Spirit Tours);
Jennifer Whitely (Executive Director, Ontario’s Lake Country);
Meg Balsillie (Founder, Farm Dog Cycles)

Ontario is full of serene lakes, breathtaking nature and beautiful landscapes; each community boasts its own natural beauty, and its own unique collection of natural tourism assets. The question is: how do you build tourism around those assets? Three tour operators will discuss how they’re leveraging their surroundings to get visitors outside, while simultaneously growing a sustainable tourism business.

2. Kingston Tourism Success Stories

Moderator: Jim Byers (Travel Writer, JimByersTravel.com);
Hugh Mackenzie (General Manager, Kingston Destination Group);
Heather Ford (Owner, Kingston Food Tours);
Geoff Waycik (Manager, Historic Sites, St. Lawrence Parks Commission)

Calling all urbanites, history lovers and foodies — Kingston is the place to be. With a critical mass of attractions such as the Kingston Penitentiary, Kingston Food Tours, iconic trolleys, 1000 Islands Cruises and Winter’s Lumina Borealis, Kingston is quickly becoming a trending destination in Ontario. Hear from these successful attractions on how, collaboratively, they’re turning Kingston from a day-trip destination to one worth extended stays.

3. Planting the Seed, Nurturing the Brand and Harvesting the Experience: Destinations Invested in Growing Food Tourism

Moderator: Rebecca Mackenzie (President & CEO, Culinary Tourism Alliance);
Pat Forrest (Senior Coordinator Partnerships and Initiatives, Tourism Northern Ontario);
Philly Markowitz (Economic Development Officer, Grey County);
Kelly Jessup (Marketing Communications Lead, Peterborough & the Kawarthas Tourism)

Learn the ins and outs of developing taste of place. From hosting 7 Forums on Food Tourism across Northern Ontario, to developing the sold out Underwater Dining @ Lock 21 event, to building the Saints and Sinners Trail—tourism experts will provide insights into fundamentals of food tourism development.

4. It’s Your Shift — Sexual Violence & Intervention Hospitality Training

Victoria Behune (President & CEO, Ontario Tourism Education Corporation);
Fatima Finnegan (‎‎Director of Corporate Marketing & Business Development, Ontario Restaurant, Hotel & Motel Association)

Developed in partnership by ORHMA, OTEC and THRC, the It’s Your Shift online training program and manager’s toolkit are being made available to industry on a complimentary basis this fall. This interactive presentation will include background information and videos on the issue of sexual violence and harassment in hospitality related businesses, the impact on those employed in the sector, and the repercussions to businesses that are not paying attention to this issue and Bill 132. Designed to introduce and highlight the components of It’s Your Shift, the session will provide owners, operators and managers with the next steps to access the online training program.

Magdalena Kaiser (Director of Public Relations, Marketing & Tourism, Wine Marketing Association of Ontario)

Discover Wine Country Ontario: Learn why international critics are calling Ontario “One of the most exciting wine regions in the world”.
Get ready for a fun and interactive mini-masterclass wine tasting and come taste and experience local Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Icewine. Fall in love with the wines that are on your doorstep and unearth what makes Ontario’s wine growing region unique. Discover the magic that is Ontario VQA wine.

David Robinson (Vice President, Strategy & Stakeholder Relations, Destination Canada)

It’s shaping up to be another record-breaking year for international tourism, but there’s no time to rest; Destination Canada is building on past success and preparing for the future. Listen to insider information from our national tourism marketing body that will set the stage for afternoon session topics. Special attention will be paid to two specific tourism markets— Chinese travellers and millennials— as well as how Canada can leverage its cultural heritage to welcome visitors from around the world.

Moderator: Darlene Upton (Executive Director, Ontario and Waterways, Parks Canada)
Nancy Lang (Co-Producer, Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven, White Pine Pictures)
Karen Carter (Executive Director, Myseum of Toronto)
Isabelle de Bruyn (Project Manager, Tourism, RDÉE Ontario)
Janis Monture (Cultural Tourism Director, Six Nations Tourism)

People travel for many reasons, one of them being to experience different cultures. In Canada, we often refer to ourselves as a mosaic rather than a melting pot, due to the inclusion and celebration of all cultures that make us one. In Ontario, we celebrate and recognize our cultural assets in many ways—but how do we drive tourism around these assets and our celebrations of them? Learn how Ontario’s unique culture can be leveraged to attract visitors, and teach them about who we are and where we come from.

Moderator: Grace Sammut (Executive Director, Resorts of Ontario)
Jason Gonsalves (Senior Advisor, Strategy & Business Development, OTT Financial Group)
Lesley Boughen (Tourism & Guest Experience Manager, Yorkdale Shopping Centre)
Scott Davidson (Site Manager, Norman Bethune House/Parks Canada)

China is quickly becoming one of our most important inbound tourism markets, with arrivals to Canada at an all-time high of 610,130 in 2016 (up 24 per cent from 2015). Important for tourism businesses to consider about tourists from China—as compared to other segments—is the way these travellers spend abroad. Learn from the experts about how to entice Chinese visitors to bring their dollars to your community, understanding differences in how they spend their money.

Sponsored by Prescott-Russell Tourism

Moderator: Kristy Adams (Program Coordinator/Professor, Hospitality Management – Hotel & Restaurant Program, Humber College)
Jenni Berg (National Business Development Executive, Contiki Holidays)
Shakir Tayabali (Vice President Integrations, Global Payments Canada)
Stan Ivankovic (Consultant, Finance & Insurance, Environics Analytics)

Canada’s millennial population is one of the country’s fastest growing age demographics, considering newcomers to the country typically fall within the 18-35 age range. Understanding this generation is the first step in capturing their attention, but how do you set yourself apart from all the noise millennials are confronted with every day? Learn from those who have been successful in capitalizing on the evolving needs of this experience-focused, cost-conscious and socially-responsible cohort.

By invitation only

Sponsored by Wine Country of Ontario & Via Rail

Sponsored by Wine Country of Ontario & Entertainment sponsored by Alphabet

Sponsored by Smart Serve & Wine Country of Ontario

Sponsored by Niagara Falls Tourism