Agriculture

• What You Need to Know About Uses Permitted in Prime Agricultural Areas (Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA))

 Creating Packages

• Package Development Materials (SWOTC)

• Digital Main Street (training)

• How to Promote Your Event (Tourism Oxford)
• Keep it fun keep it safe presentation
• Special Event Checklist
• Emergency Plan Template

General Resources

• Developing Winter and Shoulder Season Tourism 
• Elevating Canadian Experiences (powered by Tourism Industry Association of Canada)

Hospitality 

• Typsy (hospitality courses and certificates - 10 day free trial)

• Creating a basic website (The Small Business Centre)
• Welcoming visitors online (Tourism Oxford)
• Welcoming visitors on arrival (Tourism Oxford)
• Tourism Oxford Partnership Eligibility Form (contains Tourism Oxford readiness criteria)
• Culinary
  • Food Storytelling & Selling Presentation
  • Readiness Checklist

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

View the report here. 

• 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)
• Travel Price Index (TPI) in September 2023 decreased by 0.3% compared with September 2022 levels, following a 0.4% decrease in August
• TPI category values in September 2023 for accommodation, recreation and restaurant are relatively stable with around 5% MoM change compared to pre-pandemic levels (2019).

• Border crossings from all key markets in August 2023 surpassed 2022 levels but have not reached pre-pandemic levels (2019)

• Zero Waste Event Planning Guide
• Sustainable Tourism 2030

• Community Employment Services; offers free wrap-around support, digital attraction, and retention of your existing workforce
  • Learn more via their Uniquely Designed Programming PDF, or
  • Check out their YouTube Channel for mini videos on hiring, labour market information, accessing funding and more
• Reimagine to Succeed: Hire and Retain People with Disabilities and Build Inclusive Workplaces (OTEC)
• Workforce Development, Tourism Ideas & More (SWOTC)

• Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC)

• Certified Bike Friendly (Ontario by Bike)

•  Feast On Certification (Culinary Tourism Alliance)

Rainbow Registered LGBT+ Friendly

• Rainbow Registered LGBT+ Friendly Accreditation Program (CGLCC)

• Safe Travel Stamp (Tourism Industry Association of Ontario) 

•  Signature Experiences Program (Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation)

• Single-Use Plastic Free Certification (GreenStep)
• Zero Waste Spaces (Future Oxford)

•  Southwest Ontario Tourism Corp. (SWOTC)
  • Get your free listing on OntariosSouthwest.com
• Destination Ontario
  • Get your free listing on OntarioTravel.net
• Tourism Industry Association of Ontario
  • Membership
• Please also remember to reach out to your sector specific associations like the Culinary Tourism Alliance and Festival & Events Ontario

• Town of Ingersoll
• Town of Tillsonburg
• City of Woodstock
• Rural Oxford Economic Development Corp. (ROEDC)
• South Central Ontario Region Economic Development Corporation (SCOR EDC)

• Ingersoll
• Norwich
• Tavistock
• Tillsonburg
• Woodstock

• Transition to Less Waste (assistance & resources for waste free events)
• Future Oxford
• Sustainable Tourism 2030

• Community Futures Oxford
• Woodstock & Area Small Business Support Centre

• SWOTC Research (consumer sentiment, market segments...)

Ontario Government Tourism Research

• Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model- TRIEM (A tool to estimate economic impact of tourism activities)

Canadian Government Tourism Research

• Explorer Quotient (Research on traveller types prepared by Destination Canada).

Culinary

• Food Tourism 101, (Culinary Tourism Alliance)
• Food Habits of Canadians (segments Canadians based on food preferences)

Skift

• Skift (travel industry trends)