Regional tourist organizations roll out their plans

Jeff Green | Dec 02, 2010

At a presentation in Flinton that was hosted by the Land O’ Lakes Tourist Association, representatives from the new Ontario Highlands Tourist Organization (OHTO) introduced themselves to some local tourist operators and outlined some of the first initiatives they will be undertaking.

The Ontario Highlands Region, which is #11 out of 13 Regional Tourism Organizations (RTO) within the province, extends from Pembroke on the Ottawa River, all the way to Bancroft. The Highlands region takes in Renfrew, Lanark, Haliburton and the northern part of Hastings, Lennox and Addington and Frontenac Counties.

As Nicole Whiting, the co-ordinator of the new tourist organization explained, the ambitious goal is to double the annual tourism revenue in RTO #11 within 10 years. “Our office has guaranteed funding from the Ministry of Tourism, $850,000 per year, for two years,” she said.

Other tourist regions in the province, notably those in urban centres such as Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto, have funded some of their marketing activities through a levy charged for overnight accommodation in hotels and lodges, and the possibility of a levy will be considered in the Highlands Region as well.

The new system is not intended to replace the work done by destination marketing organizations, such as the Land O’ Lakes Tourist Association or the Lanark County Tourism Association, but it is not going to be providing any funding support for those organizations either.

As Nicole Whiting explained, the watchword for the OHTO is indeed growth. “Our goal is to grow visitation, grow visitor revenues, grow the number of direct and indirect tourism jobs, grow accommodation occupancy regionally, grow tourism investment, achieve high levels of industry engagement around OHTO activities, and grow customer responses, i.e. purchases.”

The OHTO has hired a consultant, Richard Innes of Brain Trust to assist the fledgling agency with its strategic direction. Innes outlined a process that is already underway as a team audits the tourism resources within the OHTO. The plan is to create what he called a “Premier Ranked Tourist Destination Framework” for the region.

He used an example from Hastings County, the Recreational Geology Project. The Bancroft region is known for the quantity and quality of its rare minerals, and has been the home of an internationally renowned gem show for years. The marketing opportunity was to bring in tourists who are interested in minerals to search the Bancroft region for themselves instead of only attending a two-day gem show.

“This initiative was what I call 'above the line' marketing; it is beyond the marketing that was already being done in Haliburton Highlands, aimed at attracting a different group of tourists,” Innes said.

Over the next two or three months, Innes' company will be completing an audit or inventory of tourism assets. In January that information will be analysed and brought forward to tourism operators to see what kinds of new projects or initiatives would have the greatest impact on the entire region. A final report is due in March.

Even though the process is barely underway, a couple of initiatives have already been identified. Building on the Haliburton County mineral initiative, a mineral map of the entire region is being undertaken, and hospitality training sessions, to be presented by the Disney Corporation, are planned for 2011 as well.

The Land O' Lakes Tourist Association is a stakeholder in both the Ontario Highlands Tourist Organization (RTO 11) and the St. Lawrence Tourist Association (RTO 12) which encompasses South Frontenac Township.