Dear Partner in Tourism,

Happy March Break! It’s been a busy few weeks since we sent you an industry newsletter and we’ve compiled a few new funding opportunities, industry updates and important announcements to bring you up to speed on the tourism industry in London, across Ontario and throughout Canada. Please take a moment to read about the following topics:

ADS MEDIA SOLUTIONS OPPORTUNITY: LONDON HOTEL IN-ROOM GUEST REFERRAL PROGRAM

Dani Sweet, from ADS Media Solutions, has reached out to Tourism London, and we've secured feature space in their 2024 London Hotel In-Room Guest Referral Program.

The platform is partnered with 12 hotels across the city and reaches over 360,000 guests throughout the year through their digital directory. The digital directories are located at the front desk, as well as in every guest room and they allow you to connect with potential customers directly as they are searching for things to do while visiting London.

Dani has put together some special offers for Tourism London members, and you can enroll in the 2024 Program by connecting with her on or before Friday, March 15, 2024. Your custom ad design will be featured in the hotels of your choice for a full-year program (April 2024-April 2025). You can view a sample here.

You’re also welcome to reach out to Dani directly to discuss the package she’s put together. You can contact her by email at dani@adsmediasolutions.ca or by phone at 519.796.3237.

APPLY NOW: EXPLORE MY MAIN STREET $15M FUND NOW OPEN

Applications are now open for My Main Street, a $15-million investment to support main street businesses and communities across southern Ontario. Funded by the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), My Main Street is being delivered through two new streams: The Business Sustainability Stream and the Community Activator Stream.

Business Sustainability Stream
The My Main Street Business Sustainability stream will provide non-repayable contributions for businesses located on main streets across southern Ontario that provide a business case on how the funding will strengthen their existing capacity and support growth. Learn more.

Community Activator Stream
The My Main Street Community Activator stream will support local, high-impact placemaking projects including events and festivals, community enhancements and streetscape improvements designed to draw visitors and increase local vibrancy. Learn more.

My Main Street funding returns to reanimate neighbourhoods and offer streamlined, direct-to-business supports that will help drive visitors and locals to main streets. The program will use advanced market research tools to address the localized needs and identify opportunities for participating main streets to support business recovery, sustainability and growth strategies.

Thinking about applying? Applications are open until March 31, 2024. There’s even an Application Guide to help you through the process.

ONTARIO SUMMER GAMES: VENUE ANNOUNCEMENT + VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT

The London 2024 Ontario Summer Games Host Organizing Committee announced earlier this month the list of 21 venues that will host the Ontario Summer Games events from August 1-4, 2024. Many of the venues announced also hosted events for the 2018 Games. Earl Nichols Arena (Box Lacrosse), Northridge Field (Baseball) and FireRock Golf Club (Golf) are among the new venues for the 2024 Games. Melville United Church (Road Cycling), Port Stanley Sailing Club (Sailing) and St. Mary’s Quarry (Triathlon) are regional venues which have been a great partnership and will no doubt serve as a legacy from these Games.

There are also still volunteer opportunities available for this event. 600 volunteers are needed to help support the Games, which will feature over 3,500 participants competing in 18 different sports across the city over the Civic holiday weekend. Learn more about the venues chosen and the volunteer opportunities available at the link below.

REGISTER NOW: 2024 IMPACT SUSTAINABILITY TRAVEL & TOURISM ONTARIO

IMPACT Regional Ontario is headed to Toronto May 5-7, 2024. Taking place at Canada’s first mass-timber, zero-carbon higher education facility at Centennial College, IMPACT Regional Ontario 2024 brings together thought leaders, destination and industry experts, educators and government officials committed to making tourism more sustainable.

What can you expect? Engaging discussions, innovative solutions and a vibrant community dedicated to shaping the future of sustainable tourism. IMPACT Regional 2024 is not just a conference; it's a catalyst for positive change in the industry.

TIAO UPDATE: ADVOCACY ON INTERNATIONAL STUDEN PERMIT CAP

The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) has been actively responding to the recently announced international student permit cap, which aims to enhance the student experience and address housing concerns by reducing undergraduate study permits by 35% nationwide. Ontario, hosting 70% of Canada's international students, is expected to be disproportionately affected, particularly impacting its renowned post-secondary programs in tourism and hospitality, and their students who work in tourism while studying in Ontario. A TIAO member survey highlighted concerns such as increased recruitment costs, reduced service levels for customers and revenue losses for operators.

The Ontario Government's subsequent announcement of $1.3 billion in funding is viewed as a positive first step by TIAO; however, they continue to press for further measures to support schools, students and industry.

DESTINATION ONTARIO LAUNCHES LATEST INDUSTRY HEALTH CHECK

Destination Ontario’s Data & Insights team has released the most recent Ontario Tourism Health Check report highlighting recovery indicators such as accommodation occupancy rates and border crossings. This report tells the tourism recovery story by curating relevant tourism data into a format that visualizes the information for industry stakeholders.

Key Takeaway:

• Tourism in Ontario is in an overall upward recovery trend. Some KPIs have fully surpassed 2022 levels in all regions but are still below pre-pandemic levels (2019).

Highlights:

• Border crossings from all key international markets (except US) in November 2023 surpassed 2022 levels but have not reached pre-pandemic levels (2019) by 22.7% gap; US entries grew 16.1% versus November 2022 but declined 22.1% compared to November 2019.
• • Ontario experienced a higher net loss of entries from the US through border crossings compared to before the pandemic in 2019. However, in Summer 2023, there was more net entry gain from other international countries (except US) compared to the pre-pandemic levels (2019).
• Travel Price Index (TPI) in December 2023 increased by 1.1% compared with December 2022 levels, following a 0.4% decrease in November.
• Short-term rental occupancy rates in December 2023 have underperformed compared with December 2022 levels by 3.8 percentage point gap and October 2019 levels by 8.5 percentage point gap on average for all regions.
• Hotel occupancy rate in November 2023 have surpassed November 2022 levels by 0.3 percentage point and have surpassed November 2019 levels by 1.0 percentage point gap on average for all regions.

This report is based on open-data and is shareable with the Ontario tourism industry.

Please share any updates from your business with us by emailing tourinfo@londontourism.ca or by tagging us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

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