Michael is a recognized leader in travel and tourism in Canada. In his current role, he leads Ottawa’s official destination organization, which spearheads sales and marketing initiatives for attracting visitors to Canada’s capital, while also making investments in the long-term stewardship and development of the destination.

Prior to joining Ottawa Tourism, Michael served as Senior Vice President with InterVISTAS Consulting, where he was responsible for the firm’s airline, air service development, and tourism practices in Canada. Michael has over 15 years experience at the management level with two of Canada’s major airports, the Winnipeg Airports Authority and the Ottawa International Airport Authority.

Michael is very active within the tourism industry and other business groups. He is a Board member with the Ottawa Convention Centre, the Ottawa International Hockey Festival, and the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO), where he serves as Vice Chair of the Board. He was the inaugural Co-Chair of the Canadian Destination Leadership Council with Destinations International; he has been the Board Chair of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and the Ottawa Board of Trade; and he has also served on the boards of Destinations International, the Ottawa 2017 Bureau and Invest Ottawa. He is a volunteer member of the Advisory Council for Meeting Professionals Against Human Trafficking and the Advisory Committee for the Hospitality & Tourism Management Degree Program at Algonquin College.

Michael is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, he is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and he is an inductee to the Order of Ottawa. Michael’s business leadership and volunteerism has been formally recognized by a broad range of stakeholders, such as Airport Business Magazine, the Ottawa Business Journal, le Regroupement des Gens d'Affaires de la Capitale Nationale, and Ottawa’s own tourism industry.

Michael has a Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Manitoba, and he is a Certified Barbecue Judge.

Passionate about the interconnection between food, agriculture, tourism, arts, and culture, Rebecca has been instrumental in developing tourism products including Prince Edward County’s award-winning Taste Trail & Arts Trail and the Culinary Tourism Alliance’s Feast On® certification program.

In her role at the Culinary Tourism Alliance (CTA), Rebecca manages highly participatory and asset-based community development projects at the local, regional, provincial, and national levels. Rebecca oversees programming, partnership development, and develop comprehensive marketing partnerships to increase awareness of Canada’s food tourism experiences.

Rebecca has contributed her expertise to a variety of industry boards including the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) and the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Sustainable Development Goals Working Group. She has written curriculum for Centennial Colleges Food Tourism Post Graduate Program, contributed chapters to the 2nd UNWTO Global Report on Gastronomic Tourism, produced a chapter on Transforming the Terroir into a Tourist Destination to the Routledge Handbook of Gastronomic Tourism (release date of fall 2019). Rebecca completed a Master of Arts in Global Leadership at Royal Roads University in 2021 with a specific interest in sustainable tourism and is a part-time professor at George Brown College in their Food Tourism Entrepreneurship program.

Born and raised in Toronto, Rebecca spent her summers in rural Prince Edward County. In grade 12 year, she sailed with West Island Colleges Class Afloat on a 156-foot-tall ship to 20 countries in Europe and Africa – an experience that rooted her passion for travel, adventure, and taste of place! She continues to split her time between Toronto (week) and Prince Edward County (weekends) sharing her adventures with her husband and two teenage sons.

Dionne Bishop is an award winning event planner having won the 2024 Best Corporate Event 1M for her work with Canada’s largest Real Estate Conference bringing 2,500 people to the City of Toronto. She is a 2023 Smart Women in Meetings Award winner and the 2022 MPI Toronto Planner Member of the Year. As the founder of Events by Dionne Inc, Dionne brings over 20 years experience in the Events and Marketing industries and has successfully planned corporate meetings and social events across major markets in Canada and the United States. As a Founding member of the Future of Black Tourism, Dionne represents Ontario as a viable region to develop a stronger Black Tourism eco-system between Canada and the United States. She has worked alongside Tourism Innovation Lab in the development of the OSW Black Tourism “Spark” Program in the capacity of Mentor and Judge and continues to drive initiatives for Black Tourism in the Province. Dionne is Secretary of the Board for the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) and now serves as the Co-Chair of the DEIA Committee. She was the 2023 Logistics Chair for MPI Toronto’s The EVENT, Past-President and Gala Chair of International Live Events Association (ILEA) Toronto Chapter and is an active member of Destination Toronto, National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals and MPI Toronto.

Paul Di Ianni is the Town of Lincoln’s first Director of Economic Development and Communications. After spending close to a decade working in Toronto at Queen’s Park and in the private sector, both focusing on economic development and stakeholder relations, Paul is now devoted to assisting businesses in Lincoln, driving retention and expansion, innovation, and entrepreneurship activities. Following his time at Queen’s Park, Paul worked in public affairs for Edelman Public Relations, the world’s largest PR firm. While at Edelman, Paul led the team that successfully advocated for foreign direct investment in Ontario for both the Ontario Ministries of Economic Development and Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, among other clients. Paul holds both a combined Honours Degree in History and Political Science and a Master of Arts in in Political Science from McMaster University.  

Colin Morrison is  General Manager of the Ottawa Marriott Hotel. Mr. Morrison serves as Chair of the Tourism Development Council, a group of city stakeholders including the Ottawa Board of Trade, the Ottawa International Airport Authority, Invest Ottawa, OSEG, the Shaw Centre, the National Capital Commission, Parks Canada, Economic Development Ottawa and Mayor Sutcliffe, tasked with stewardship of the portion of Municipal Accommodations Tax dedicated to Tourism Development in Ottawa. Mr. Morrison also serves as Past Chair of both Ottawa Tourism and the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association. Colin is also a Director of the Bytown Museum which explores the stories of city and its people from the early days of Bytown to the Ottawa of today. During the pandemic, Colin was Co-Chair of the Ontario Governments COVID advisory panel for Hospitality and Tourism. In 2022 Colin received the Donald Blakeslee Award as Ottawa’s Hotelier of the Year. Colin and his wife Elena are parents to Liam, a third year Law student at UVic and Shannon, a fourth year Criminology student at Carleton University.