OHTO Networking Event Attracts Business Owners To Northbrook

Jun 06, 2013

Staff and the members of the board of directors from the Ontario Highlands Tourist Organization (OHTO) held a special event at Addison's Restaurant in Northbrook on May 28. The event was part of a two- day exploration and familiarization tour for OHTO board members and staff to meet business owners in the area and invite them to join OHTO and benefit from the many programs and services that the organization has to offer. Membership in OHTO is free.

Nicole Whiting, manager with OHTO, and other staff members spoke at the event, which included a wine and cheese meet and greet. The organization, which is based in Pembroke, has been in operation for three years and its goal is to increase tourism and visitation to the region, which according to Whiting is the second largest tourism region in Northern Ontario, covering over 25,000 square kilometres and including Renfrew and Lanark counties and portions of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, Hastings and Haliburton counties.

The organization stemmed from a Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport initiative and a competitiveness study done in 2009 that evaluated how Ontario was doing as compared to the rest of the country as far as tourism visitation and spending goes. The report recommended creating 13 regional tourism regions to better align tourism development efforts and marketing. “While there are a number of smaller organizations doing their fair share of marketing tourism in the smaller regions,” Whiting said, “our organization was set up to be the collaborative body that brings together all of the businesses and organizations throughout the region who have an interest in growing tourism. Our job is to create conditions and to leverage and combine resources to better enhance the tourism product that we have here and to promote it to the world.”

OHTO offers a number of services and programs that can benefit tourism businesses in the region, including a new free customer service designation program called “Ohvation” where OHTO will send a mystery shopper to member businesses so that owners can get a consumer’s perspective of the goods and services that their business is offering. The business owners receive a full report and can win a special designation if they score 80% or greater. If they make the grade, they also can receive other promotional opportunities through OHTO.

Also on offer are a number of workshops such as one on packaging, in which businesses can learn how to offer special packages and to link with other businesses in the area. After developing a package, the participating businesses are then invited to advertise them on the OHTO website.

Whiting has been to the area before, and regarding its specific strengths and weaknesses she said, “This region bar none has the most potential in Ontario for attracting visitors. The unspoiled natural attractions and the natural environment, along with the wealth of seasonal outdoor experiences to participate in are huge”, she said.

Asked about the weaknesses she said that the size of the area is both a strength and a weakness. “Due to the large geographical area, we tend to lack a bit of quantity even though the quality is very high. Unfortunately a lot of the businesses are very spread out, which can make it difficult for them to collaborate, but that being said, the size of the area also adds to the quality of the natural environment.” Membership in the organization automatically makes members eligible for all of the programming the organization offers. Whiting said, “The key thing for members is the communications that we offer. We have ongoing monthly communications to all of our members, which highlight skills development workshops, funding opportunities and other development, advertising and marketing opportunities for businesses that join up.” For those who did not make it out to the event, Whiting encourages them to sign up. “We are here to offer very concrete benefits to tourism business operators in our region.”

Interested business owners can visit www.ohto.ca and also www.ontarioshighlands.ca