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This week started with the devastating news that we lost Keith Simmonds, General Manager and Vice President of Great Wolf Lodge of Niagara Falls, over the weekend.  

The tourism industry in Ontario is a family - and a tight-knit one at that - and Keith was a prominent member. A powerful advocate for the tourism industry in Niagara and across Ontario, he was at the forefront of demonstrating the impact of the pandemic on the tourism industry. Keith was a multiple award winner for his work in tourism, but famously would always remind people that it was his team, or wolfpack as he would say, that deserve the true credit.  

Keith’s energy and enthusiasm stretched so far, supporting his community and those around him. Many of you will know that just before Keith passed away, he had helped to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars through a sponsored cycle in aid of Campfire Circle, a charity that brings laughter and joy to kids and families affected by childhood cancer.  

Keith was a former TIAO board member serving six full years and even after his term ended, he never stopped offering his time and expertise. Whether that was providing meditation and yoga sessions during our virtual summit in 2020 or when I became CEO of TIAO being on hand with sage advice for a brand-new CEO during a worldwide pandemic. Keith’s loss will be felt deeply within Niagara and Ontario, across the tourism community and for all of those who knew him. The thoughts of the TIAO staff team and Board of Director’s are with Keith’s family and friends during this time.  

In keeping with the impact that Keith had on so many of us, there will be a celebration of his life on Sunday October 2, 2022, 11:30am at Niagara Falls Convention Centre, 6815 Stanley Ave., Niagara Falls, Ontario. For those unable to attend, it will be livestreamed at Keith Simmonds Celebration of Life.

On Monday the Federal Government confirmed press speculation that they were officially lifting the remaining border and travel restrictions on October 1. The removal of the mandatory requirement to show proof of vaccination, submit public health information through the ArriveCAN app, undergo pre- or on-arrival testing or wear masks and planes has been a key part of TIAO advocacy efforts in support of TIAC for many months. Whilst this is welcome news and finally puts us on equal footing with many other destinations in the G7, the work begins now to reassure international travellers that they can again expect a seamless travel experience when visiting to Canada. On a personal level, I’d like to thank Beth Potter and the TIAC team for their tireless work on this issue and their persistence in representing tourism to the Federal Government.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, TIAO attended Tourism HR Canada’s Labour Market Forum in Ottawa. It was the first in-person forum since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Tourism and hospitality leaders from across the country joined together to discuss the depth of the crisis, propose legislative solutions and share best practices that can help ensure our recovery is not stalled by our inability to fill vacant positions. We know here in Ontario that the labour crisis is already having a debilitating impact, with businesses remaining closed several days of the week or unable to offer the level of service they would expect to provide their customers. Topics covered included regulatory reform, changing immigration processes, pathways to permanent residency and improving the standards and image of working within our industry.

I would like to thank those that have completed our latest state of the tourism industry survey that aims to track the scale of the recovery during the summer period. We know from anecdotal information and land border crossing statistics available that the recovery remains fragile and uneven across the province. At the same time, some government loan programs are due for repayment at the end of the year. The information you provide us with helps us to provide credible data to reinforce our recommendations to the government. You can take part in our latest survey by clicking here.

Finally, on Wednesday night, TIAO attended the Canadian Special Event Awards as a nominee for three different awards for the Ontario Tourism Summit 2021. I’m delighted to report that the TIAO team was awarded two awards for Best Virtual Event by an Association or Board and Best Event by an Association or Board! As you can imagine, I’m incredibly proud of the TIAO team, especially our summit curators Carol Greenwood and Landon Logie, for their vision and expertise in delivering a multiple award-winning event.

Of course, it would be remiss of me not to remind you that if you’ve not secured your ticket for this year’s summit you can do so today by clicking here. Ensure you arrive Monday night, whether staying at Deerhurst Resort or Hidden Valley Resort, as you won’t want to miss Tuesday programming that begins at 8AM.

As ever, this is only a snapshot of the work that TIAO has undertaken. If you have any questions or would like to raise an issue with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a team member and we will endeavor to get back to you as quickly as possible.

Chris Bloore
President & CEO

This is the first advocacy report I’ve written since returning from my first family holiday since 2020. This holiday was extra special for my family, as we welcomed my parents from the UK to meet their grandchild for the first time due to the pandemic. With my wife's parents also visiting, I managed to spend several weeks touring Ontario, getting to meet TIAO members face to face in the Niagara region, Blue Mountain, Georgian Bay and many places in between. Apart from a wonderful family holiday, it was also the first time I was able to meet TIAO members enjoying a successful summer period and hear from them about what was still holding them back from being able to maximize their recovery, listen to their concerns for the future and see the challenges of debt and the labour crisis firsthand. It is these conversations that invigorate our team in our advocacy efforts.

Although we have never forgotten how incredible the tourism offer in Ontario is, I couldn’t help feeling incredibly proud of our industry and those that work within it. Despite the enormous personal and professional challenges of the worst parts of the pandemic, you’ve ensured that Ontarians and our international visitors have incredible memories to take home with them. But of course, whilst there is much to be encouraged by from our summer period, it’s critically important that we don’t let up on our efforts to remove those final obstacles to our recovery that could, if left unchecked, seriously undermine it.  

Removing vaccine mandates, tackling debt and the economic legacies of the pandemic and answering our labour crisis remain critical challenges for the future of the tourism industry. At the recent AMO conference, we sat down with 17 provincial government ministries to detail these challenges and how the government can work with the sector to solve them. You can read our briefs for that conference and the issues we were speaking about by clicking here and see our Federal Growth Strategy submission by clicking here .

On September 20th, TIAO is hosting a Forward Motion session entitled ‘Recruiting and Retaining Talent’ with Lisa Kelly, Program Manager on the Discover Ability Network, Ontario Chamber of Commerce. You can sign up for this complimentary session by clicking here.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention that tickets are selling fast for the Ontario Tourism Summit in Deerhurst next month and we’re thrilled at the enthusiasm for the event. As one of the lucky few to have seen the list of confirmed speakers and the content, it won’t surprise you to know that our Vice-President, Carol Greenwood, and events specialist, Landon Logie, have curated another outstanding couple of days. So, if you’ve not got around to buying your tickets, please visit our website to get yours!  

As ever, if you have any questions or would like to raise an issue with the TIAO team, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.  

Stay safe and I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Economic recovery across the province’s tourism industry continues to progress but at a slow and uneven pace. As summer winds down, tourism businesses face the added challenge of sustaining visitation during the shoulder season—not to mention the challenges of inflation, high gas prices, debt to pay down, and the labour crisis. At this critical time in our economic recovery, bringing together industry stakeholders and government to discuss the state of tourism and to chart a path forward is crucial.  

Last week, we did just that. We held the first of two roundtable consultations in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC). Focused on the labour crisis and with the Hon. Monte McNaughton (Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development) in attendance, the roundtable brought together DMOs, RTOs, sector associations, tourism operators, industry experts, chambers of commerce, and boards of trade across the province.  

This roundtable was an important opportunity to have the Minister’s ear on what’s driving the labour crisis in the tourism industry and how industry can work with government to ensure that tourism has the workforce it needs to recover and thrive in Ontario. A big thank you to our participants for bringing a high calibre of knowledge, insights, and expertise to the table; to the OCC and our sponsors for their partnership; and to the TIAO team for an exceptionally well-executed event. We were delighted that the roundtable was well-received by Minister McNaughton and his team.  

We’re currently in the midst of planning the second roundtable with the Hon. Neil Lumsden, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport in attendance. This roundtable will explore opportunities for growth, workforce development, the impacts of red tape, and the future of tourism in Ontario.  

The insights gathered during these roundtable consultations will inform a joint report examining the state of Ontario’s tourism industry after two unprecedented years navigating a global pandemic. A ‘ground-level’ look at the industry’s recovery and its path forward, this report will include timely recommendations to the provincial and federal governments. Stay tuned for this report. 

As always, thank you for your continued support. And of course, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to send me an email at jng@tiaontario.ca 

Jessica Ng

Director, Policy & Government Affairs