Tourists staying at fishing lodges have a significant impact on the Northwestern Ontario economy!

By Gerry Cariou | Executive Director, Ontario’s Sunset Country Travel Association

Tourism is a major economic sector in Northwest Ontario and it’s about time that the Government and the public started to appreciate tourism more for the jobs it creates, the impact it has on other, non-tourism sectors through tourist spending and tourism business purchases. This post summarizes some key stats about tourism in Northwestern Ontario and should be a wake-up call to those in Government and the public in general how important tourism really is to Northwestern Ontario.

Tourism is Big Business in Sunset Country!

• $288 million in economic activity

• 9,404 full-year jobs

• $191 million in wages

• $171 million in Federal, Provincial and Municipal taxes

U.S. Visitors are the most important

• Tourism is an “Export Business” in Sunset Country

• Heavy reliance on our American neighbours – 79% of all tourism expenditures in Sunset Country are by Americans

• Seasonal Visitation – 87% of total overnight visits occur between April and September

Capital Expenditure Impacts

• Resource-based tourism (RBT) businesses themselves have a major economic impact

• Capital expenditures of $18 Million in the region

• This created an additional 490 full-year jobs

• Average of $156 Million is spent annually in Sunset Country by RBT businesses on operating expenses (71% of total)

• $4 million in property taxes

• RBT businesses directly employs 3,785 persons

Municipalities and Tourism

• Tourism is a key generator of economic activity in your town or city

• In some smaller communities, tourism is the number 1 industry while it is 2^nd or at worst 3^rd, in most others

• People who live in your community depend on tourism for their livelihood – 82% of RBT businesses are owned by Canadians (17% by Americans)

• Important seasonal work for returning students as well as year-round residents

• RBT businesses stimulate economic activity in your community through direct, indirect and induced impacts

Some Important Issues

• Tourism Industry has suffered somewhat over past 2 decades

• 9/11 attacks – security issues are still a major issue with border crossing

• 2015/2016 – Tourism just now recovering now from housing/financial crisis in 2008

• Border enforcement policies still a problem

• Government policy decisions that affect RBT are still a problem – e.g. Spring Bear Hunt

• Gas Prices

What Can You Do To Help

• Continue supporting the industry through contributions to tourism marketing organizations (Local and Regional)

• Get involved with issues that negatively impact RBT – e.g. the Border issue – NOMA has helped on this issue already

• Advocate/implement local policies which can help tourism grow in your communities

• Recognize Tourism for what it is – an important part of your community’s economic base

So there you have it, statistics and all to prove what everybody in tourism already knows – that the tourism industry is a major sector in the region and one that needs better and more consistent policy decisions if it is going to continue to be important. Currently, tourism seems to be the “black sheep” in our economic family with many decisions made by Provincial and Federal Governments doing more harm than good.

There’s a time to listen and that time is now!

NOTO is working hard to change some of the new rules related to the reinstated Ontario Spring Bear Hunt

By Laurie Marcil | Executive Director, NOTO

Over the summer months NOTO has been very active on the industry’s behalf on a number of issues including Bear hunt allocations and new regulations, forestry, border crossing concerns, septic system approvals, TSSA concerns, wildlife management strategies and so much more. We continue to pressure Government to listen to the concerns of tourism businesses on a daily basis.

NOTO is currently reviewing the Resource Based Tourism Policy with the help of a number of our members and friends in Government with the goal of making the policy stronger for industry. We recently sent out a Resource Based Tourism Questionnaire by email to over 1,000 tourism businesses across Ontario to learn more about the challenges they face. We would encourage each tourism business to take 10 minutes to complete the survey before September 30^th.

Your input will help to strengthen our argument for the need of a more effective Resource Based Tourism Policy. We are an industry that brings significant economic return to the Province of Ontario and should be treated as an industry rather than a group of unorganized small business owners.

Here is a quick link to the survey to save you some time.

Plans are well underway for the Northern Ontario Tourism Summit which will be held in Sudbury, ON from November 14^th to the 16^th at the Holiday inn. We encourage everyone to attend. We have a fantastic line up of keynote speakers, interactive workshops, a ton of networking opportunities and some great fun planned. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn, share and laugh with old and new friends. For more details visit the summit website today.

There is one seat open for nominations in the Northwest this year for the NOTO Board of Directors. Any NOTO member who is interested in putting their name forward can find the nomination form here.

As always I encourage any tourism operators to contact us if they have any concerns, comments, or questions about any issue that they are dealing with. We are here to support the industry and we appreciate hearing about what is happening on the ground so we can make sure our activities help.