Provincial agencies team up for tourism: marketing partnership sees $2.3 million.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: NEWS

The collaborative efforts of government agencies to form a single voice for regional tourism is the biggest success thus far of the Five-Year Tourism Marketing Strategy for Northern Ontario, say industry representatives.

Spanning 2008 to 2012, the plan recently received $2.3 million in funding from the provincial and federal governments, which are working together through the Ministry of Tourism, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, as well as federal agencies such as FedNor.

"That they've been teaming up to maintain a more integrated strategy instead of going off in a bunch of individual directions has been a really positive move," says Doug Reynolds, executive director of the Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters Association (NOTO).

"The downside of that is, one could argue, if you don't like the strategy, maybe some money that could have gone to other stuff is now going to that strategy. However, I think the general focus on Northern Ontario and how it's handled within the overall provincial strategy has been evolving in a very positive direction."

Developed in consultation with nearly 500 tourism industry members across the North, the plan has been overseen by the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC), a division of the Ministry of Tourism.

Since kicking off last year, the plan has focused on promoting the virtues of Northern Ontario to the Chicago region through a multimedia campaign starring Babe Winkelman, an outdoorsman and television personality.

Minister of Tourism Monique Smith refers to that campaign as a "great success," which she qualifies by pointing to the result of a contest the...