Blogs

On the Friday before thanksgiving, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, made a key and welcome announcement on the government's intention to relax rules on the number of hours international students would be permitted to work off-campus. As many of you are aware, the previous maximum of twenty hours off-campus was preventing many students from being able to take up opportunities to work further hours and continued to hamper business' ability to fill labour gaps.

TIAO was delighted to see this commonsense change being announced and thank our partners - especially TIAC - for their hard work in ensuring this key recommendation was delivered. This recommendation has been a key ask for the tourism industry. Moreover, Ontario and Canada as a whole are fortunate to have a significant number of students wanting to study and then work within our industry. They’re not just prospective employees, but people who will add to the fabric of our industry, communities and our province. I hope this is the start of further commonsense changes to immigration policies that level the playing field in helping those who want to work within our industry to be able to do so. Encouragingly, we know that Minister Monte McNaughton is keen to revisit the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program with the Federal government, that could further help our ability to attract international workers.

Last week, TIAO hosted a hybrid Tourism roundtable with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) with Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Neil Lumsden. With over 60 tourism leaders in attendance, we had a productive discussion regarding the state of the tourism industry in Ontario. The discussion included exchanges on labour challenges, the housing crisis, debt, immigration and regulatory barriers to growth, opportunities for investment, concern over the return of business events and travel and the importance of our gateway cities. Participants shared the latest information from their own sectors and regions but also industry led solutions that if recreated on a larger scale could help answer some of these key challenges identified. 

The contents of the discussion and the ideas shared will become a central part of TIAO’s and the OCC’s State of the Tourism Industry Report, a blueprint of ideas that we believe are key to the tourism industry in Ontario, realizing its true potential as a key economic driver. Key recommendations of the report will be presented at the Ontario Tourism Summit in Muskoka and the full report released soon after. I would like to thank all participants for their time and articulate contributions to the discussion. We could have filled the room ten times over, but the discussion was optimistic and collaborative and Minister Lumsden made it clear in his remarks that the government is keen to hear solutions to the challenges that we face and work with us to deliver them.  

Next week I will be joining colleagues in meeting Federal Members of Parliament, Senators and key bureaucrats as part of the TIAC Hill Days. This is an important set of lobby days organized by TIAC to ensure that all federal political representatives and civil servants are fully aware of the challenges facing the tourism industry and the opportunities that are there for the taking with the right investment and strategies. As we start to exit the pandemic there has never been a more important time for us to be speaking with federal representatives to ensure that they’re fully aware of the challenges of debt, the labour crisis and other obstacles to travel that will continue to hamper our recovery if not rectified. Whist I will be part of a broader team representing the entire tourism industry, I will of course ensure that Ontario, and the challenges particular to our province, are well represented. 

Many of you have been in contact with me regarding progress on the consultation that featured on the Ontario Regulatory Registry on the proposed amendment to O. Reg 565: Public Pools. As you know, TIAO put forward our own set of commonsense changes to rectify the situation that has arisen regarding hot tubs and thank those TIAO members that took up our call for action to get your consultation responses in. TIAO has been informed that consultation responses have been collated and reviewed and we expect an update from government on proposed changes in the near future. TIAO continues to press for a speedy resolution to this issue so that businesses can take bookings with confidence. We will of course update members as soon as we hear anything. 

Finally, we’re now hurtling towards the Ontario Tourism Summit in Muskoka on October 25-26. There are very limited tickets available for you to join us in what promises to be a compelling summit, so if you haven’t got your ticket yet, please don’t delay! 

As ever, this is just a snapshot of the work that the TIAO team are currently undertaking. If there is an issue that you would like to raise with the team, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us.

Best Wishes,

Chris Bloore
President & CEO

Today, TIAO and the OCC hosted a second tourism industry roundtable. Thank you to all our attendees who participated and contributed to the discussion. We appreciate and thank the Honorable Neil Lumsden, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, for taking the time to listen and discuss with tourism operators and industry experts from across the province.

The insights that we gathered during this consultation, will assist in forming a joint report with the OCC, examining the state of Ontario’s tourism industry after two unprecedented years navigating a global pandemic.   

Lastly, a huge thank you to all our sponsors for making today’s tourism roundtable possible;

• Labatt
• Beer Canada
• Ontario Federation of Agriculture
• OTEC
• Seneca College
• Greater Toronto Airports Authority

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