The regional tourism organization for Algonquin Park, the Almaguin Highlands, Loring-Restoule, Muskoka, Parry Sound and South Algonquin will host its annual Regional Tourism Summit on June 24, 2021, starting at 9:30am.
Taking place virtually this year, RTO12/Explorers’ Edge is pleased to announce that Chris Bloore, President & CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, will be the special guest speaker.
“As we start to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, we are pleased to present the RTO Board’s vision for the recovery and rebuild of our industry, including our new region-centric, regenerative destination development approach,” said James Murphy, executive director of RTO12.
RTO12/Explorers’ Edge senior staff will highlight the year-in-review, the strategy for moving forward, the organization’s new travel agency designation, and the organization’s intentions for revenue generation in order to ensure the sustainability of the industry moving forward.
“There have been many learnings over the past year and the Board recognizes the need to introduce additional performance indicators besides spend and visitation, in order to ensure tourism continues to be an economic driver in the region,” added Murphy. “We look forward to developing new programs and measurements pertaining to the social, cultural and ecological impact of the regional industry also, in alignment with the major shifts that are happening globally across all sectors.”
New this year, the first 100 registrants will receive a $25 voucher for take-out to use at a participating regional restaurant for either lunch or dinner on June 24.
The Agenda for the 2021 Regional Tourism Summit is as follows:
9:20am: Zoom Meeting Opens
9:30am: Welcome, Chair of the RTO12 Board of Directors, Michael Simonett
9:45am: The Year in Review (James Murphy)
10:15am: Explorers’ Edge Tik Tok Team (Humber College B. Comm Thesis Students/James Murphy)
10:30am: RTO12’s Organizational Shift: The Region-Centric Regenerative Approach (Kate Monk)
11:00am: Special Guest Speaker, Chris Bloore, President & CEO, TIAO (includes Q & A)
11:30: Morning Session Ends / Break for RTO12 AGM and lunch
12:00pm: Revenue Generation moving forward (James Murphy)
12:30pm: New website presentation, Marketing Plan Fiscal 2021-2022 (Kate Monk/Peter Coish)
1:00pm: Closing remarks (James Murphy)
James Murphy says the event is open to people outside the immediate regional tourism industry as well.
“As part of our regenerative approach to sustaining our industry and our organization, we will work towards developing more community stakeholder involvement and strategic partnerships with entities that don’t necessarily or traditionally operate in the tourism silo,” said Murphy. “If you’re interested in community building, sustainability, social enterprise innovation or impact investing, this summit may also be of interest to you.”
To register for the RTO12 Regional Tourism Summit on June 24, 2021 CLICK HERE. A Zoom link to attend will be forwarded on June 22.
