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2025 Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence

    Celebrate Ontario's best in tourism

    The Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence celebrate success and recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to Ontario’s tourism industry.

    Awards are jointly presented by;

     

    Nominations are OPEN

    Deadline: July 15th, 2025

     

    NEW THIS YEAR

    To better recognize collaboration and impact, any organization or individual you reference as contributing to the success of your initiative must now submit a letter of support or reference.

    Video submission requirement—a short video (maximum 5 minutes) filmed on your phone is all you need! Use this video to walk us through your application and address the criteria. 

     

    Tourism Industry Awards of Excellence

    Presented to organizations, businesses, and individuals that represent the quality of offerings that make Ontario a destination of choice—innovations, events, employers, and the tourism champions who make it all possible.

     

    Nomination Categories:

    Lifetime Achievement Award
    Tourism Champion of The Year
    Tourism Event of The Year
    Tourism Employer of The Year
    Sustainable Tourism Award 
    Accessible Tourism Award 
    Indigenous Tourism Award
    Tourism Innovator of The Year     

     

    Tourism Marketing & Travel Media Awards of Excellence

    Celebrate the excellence and innovation of those who contribute to Ontario’s tourism industry through impactful tourism partnerships, marketing activities, and media relations provincially, nationally, and internationally. 

    Nomination Categories:

    Tourism Digital Marketing Award
    Tourism Marketing Partnership Award
    Tourism Marketing Campaign Award - Over $50K
    Tourism Marketing Campaign Award - Under $50K
    Travel Media Story Award
    Travel Media Photography Award

    Culinary Tourism Award of Excellence

    These awards are about the passion and excellence of those dedicated to advancing the culinary tourism movement in Ontario; they recognize those who work hard to tell the stories of our growers, producers, chefs, winemakers, and brewers.

     

    Nomination Categories:

    2025 Culinary and Agritourism Award of Excellence

    OTEC Workforce Innovation & Collaboration Award

    The OTEC Workforce Innovation & Collaboration Award recognizes a business or organization that has developed an innovative, local solution to a workforce challenge, accomplished through collaborative partnership(s). Eligible organizations should demonstrate how they have engaged with local stakeholders and developed unique connections, leveraged a range of resources, and/or achieved measurable results.

     

    Nomination Categories:

    Workforce Innovation & Collaboration Award

    Doug Smith Award

    This award is given to a post-secondary individual who has expressed a desire to work in finance and embodies the spirit of tourism in Ontario. This person should be directly enrolled in a post-secondary program in hospitality, tourism, culinary, or business programming. This award is named in honor of Nieuport Aviation’s former Chief Financial Officer, Doug Smith.

     

    Nomination Categories:

    The Doug Smith Award

    Ontario's Choice Awards

    Visitors vote for their favourites in eight categories. The top three attractions with the most votes are finalists for  the Attraction of the Year Award; the winner is announced at the Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence Gala in October 2025.

    Two tips to make your nomination stand out to our judges:

     

    Provide actions made towards diversity, equity, and inclusion in what they are being nominated for.

    Each nomination has the opportunity to nominate another business for an Ontario Tourism Awards of Excellence. (doesn’t have to be the same category, but could be). By doing so, they will get an additional point in the judges' scoring. They can earn a second point, if they fill out a nomination application for that other individual or tourism business mentioned.

     

    Administrative Fees

    Please note that administrative fees will be applied to your award submissions except for Tourism Champion of The Year & Lifetime Achievement Awards.

    Member Administrative Fee: $99

    Non-Member Administrative Fee: $149

    Additional Application Administrative Fee: $25