CANADA: Ontario Must Attract More International International Tourists

A report from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce released on Thursday said that while the fortunes of the province's tourism operators are improving, Ontario still must attract more international visitors.

The 40-page report, titled Closing the Tourism Gap, Creating a Long-Term Advantage for Ontario, found tourism businesses and other members of the industry support more than 360,000 jobs and generate more than $25 billion in gross domestic product.

Also, the report ranked southeastern Ontario eighth in percentage of total employment at 4.6 per cent. Algonquin Park, Almaguin Highlands, Muskoka and Parry Sound come in first at 15.3 per cent. The Niagara region comes in at 11.8 per cent, second in the province.

Tourism brings in 2.4 per cent of total municipal revenues in southeastern Ontario, ranking the area 10th out of 15 tourism regions in the province.

The region not only includes the Kingston area, but goes from about Prince Edward County along the Highway 401 corridor east to the Quebec border.

Martin Sherris, CEO of the Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce, said local tourism organizations are ahead of the curve.

"They do very, very well in tourism here in Kingston," Sherris said Thursday.

Locally, Sherris said, tourism is a $700 million-per-year business, but to stay successful, Kingston and other tourism hot spots in the province need more support from the provincial government.

Sherris said that between 2006 and 2012, Ontario lagged significantly behind the curve of international tourism, and while things are looking up, Sherris wants to see positive numbers maintained well into the future.

"Everybody is doing better now and we're doing phenomenal in Kingston, but what we're looking at here is beyond the next couple of years. We need a cohesive branding strategy that allows Ontario, and specifically Kingston, to grow and take advantage of international visitors in a big way."

Sherris believes the government can facilitate a way all 15 tourism regions in the province work together for a provincewide tourism strategy, "so that Kingston can market Kingston to the world, but marketing the province itself will have a bigger impact globally."

He also said the government can help Kingston tourism by making it easier for local operators to apply for funding for tourism initiatives and improvements.

"We need the Ontario government to be more open to allowing these industries to be innovative and entrepreneurial, reduce the regulatory burden and cost of marketing themselves."

Allan O'Dette, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, said in the report that 2016 has been a good year so far for tourism in Canada, with overnight visits up 10 per cent over 2015.

"While this growth is encouraging, it should also be cause for reflection. Until recently, our province was experiencing relatively little growth in the number of visitors each year, and current visitation numbers remain below historical levels," he wrote. "Meanwhile, the number of visitors internationally has increased steadily, resulting in a widening tourism gap between our province and international tourism trends."

O'Dette agrees that the government needs to active steps to ensure that this year's boost in tourism is sustained over the long term.

"To achieve real growth in our tourism industry, we must tap into growth in the international tourism markets," he said.

CANADA: Lost Revenue From The Province's Tourism Industry Impacting Job Creation And Growth

The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce (SSMCOC), in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC), released new data that reveals a significant tourism opportunity gap when compared to international growth rates.

According to the organization's report, Closing the Tourism Gap: Creating a Long-Term Advantage for Ontario, the Province has foregone nearly $16 billion in visitor spending between 2006 and 2012 by not keeping up with global growth trends.

SSMCOC President Paul Johnson points out that Ontario’s tourism businesses and other members of the industry support over 360,000 jobs and generate over $25 billion in GDP.

In Sault Ste. Marie, tourism represents 4.5 per cent of total employment and a full 5 per cent of total municipal revenues, one of the highest rates of municipal revenues stemming from tourism in the province.

According to Johnson, “tourism plays a vital economic role in Ontario, and as a border community and a key point of entry into Canada, it is a cornerstone of our local economy.”

According to the report, a weaker Canadian dollar and relatively stable gas prices have allowed for a fairly strong year for tourism in Ontario, but it is important that steps are taken to ensure that recent growth is translated into long-term, sustainable gains in tourism visitation.

Rory Ring, CEO of the SSMCOC notes that the report makes several recommendations including the development of a government-wide Ontario tourism strategy and moving to a multi-year tourism marketing funding model which would allow for greater consistency and increase the effectiveness of marketing dollars.

It also calls on the government to work with tourism operators to reduce regulatory and other cost burdens and add tourism to the Province’s Red Tape Challenge, a consultation process currently being undertaken by the government into cutting potentially unnecessary regulations that cost Ontario’s businesses money and time.

Ring suggests that one of the compelling points brought out during the report’s consultation process is that over 90 per cent of tourism businesses have less than 20 employees and many are struggling with both high input costs and a skills gap.

They may in fact be facing the same obstacles experienced by SME’s [small and medium enterprises] in other sectors, but even more acutely.

“This reinforces the messaging that the Sault Chamber and Chambers from across the province have been focussed on throughout 2016. Our Small Business - Too Big To Ignore campaign calls on the Province to put plans firmly in place to deal with issues such as high energy costs, skills shortages and modernization of labour legislation,” he says.

To produce this report, the OCC convened a group of Ontario’s leading thinkers within the tourism community.

The report builds on previous initiatives undertaken by members of the tourism industry and further substantiates the need for a focused and measured approach targeted towards supporting the future of tourism in Ontario.

Ian McMillan, Executive Director of Tourism Sault Ste. Marie took part in the consultation process for the report.

“The Ontario Chamber of Commerce should be commended for bringing together a diverse group of tourism industry leaders to provide input for this important report,” McMillan says. “The findings and recommendations will provide a framework for the tourism industry in the coming years. I was pleased to be able to bring a Northern perspective to the process.”

“Ontario's tourism sector needs a dedicated strategy driven by the provincial government that not only promotes tourism within Ontario, but also focuses on drawing in visitors from around the world,” says Allan O’Dette, President and CEO of the OCC. “If we can do this successfully, the province will achieve substantial economic gains while keeping up with global growth trends.”

The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of 700 plus business and agencies in Sault Ste. Marie and has been serving the needs of this community since 1889.

The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce will lead the way as the voice of business, advancing economic prosperity for its membership and the business community.