Good Day,
As the snow melts, we turn our attention to warmer days ahead, hopefully full of visitors spending time and money in our communities across the region. We are certainly living in interesting times. The constant chaos and uncertainly is leading to a general feeling of unease. Our instinct when faced with these feelings is to hold and secure. Many attractions and hospitality businesses, including GlowZone 360, saw a reduction in attendance during March Break compared to 2024. And it is not like more people are heading to vacation in the US. In fact, February 2025 saw over 500,000 less border crossings into the United States than February 2024 and March is looking just as bad. I believe people are tentative about spending at the moment because the current craziness hasn’t settled in yet as “the new normal”.
You see, one of the coolest things about humans is that we adapt very quickly to the environment around us. You just have to think about the first morning in October when you bundled up in your winter jacket, toque, scarf and mittens because the temperature had dropped all the way down to +1 degree Celsius. You never thought you were going to feel warm again. You, the very same person who was so cold in October, were most likely contemplating wearing shorts on Sunday, February 23 when, at 2pm, the temperature rose all the way to +1 degree Celsius. You couldn’t believe how warm it was outside!
People are already recognizing that we are on this rollercoaster for the next four years, and that is way too long to put your entire life on hold. They are going to want to get out and enjoy life. And, with a renewed sense of Canadian unity and pride, and an unwillingness to travel to the US, this can bode well for our summer visitation. Add to that the fact that the Canadian dollar is doing so poorly against the US dollar and Americans are really worried about the talk of a recession, there is an opportunity to become the “value” destination for American visitors. There are also lots of people around the world who want to visit North America. International headlines were made when a Canadian visitor was detained for two weeks by US Border Services and there is a real concern by potential tourists about their safety if they were to visit the United States. Canada is in North America. And we will welcome these tourists with open arms.
Many tourism organizations, including the RTOs, TIAO and ORHMA, are advocating for the return of the Staycation Tax Credit for 2025. In addition, the RTOs are in talks with Destination Ontario to do a joint marketing campaign targeting other provinces and our border states. The Great Ontario Road Trip will entice both Ontarians and others to spend time exploring our great province. Talks have just begun, but since CCT has been focused on road trips for years, it is the perfect fit for us to promote you. It is our hope that Destination Canada recognizes the potential that has been caused by US political decisions and will work to promote Canada as a value destination to Americans and as the best vacation spot in North America to other countries around the world.
What does this all mean for our stakeholders in Central Counties? Well, to me it means opportunity. We are already a very popular daytrip destination for people around the GTHA. We can grow that. But where I see the biggest opportunity is getting more non-GTHA Ontarians to spend their vacation time in our regions. Toronto will always be a top destination for visitors. However, for those that don’t live in the GTA, almost all of our municipalities are considered to be part of “Toronto”. We just need to convince them that their overall vacation should only include a day-trip downtown amidst all the great things there are to see and do within OUR region!
In my opinion, this is going to mean banding together, as communities and regions, to tell a strong unified message about our collective destinations. This HAS to be the year that municipalities look past their borders to build compelling reasons for visitors to spend their time and money in our region. Visitors do not make plans based on municipal boundaries. It is time for councils to start working together. By doing so, they increase the number of assets that will drive visitation to all communities involved. There is no place for insular thinking when it comes to the visitor economy. The constituents whose livelihood benefits from more visitors in town – through employment to their favourite coffee shop not going bankrupt, for example – are going to praise the forward-thinking council and staff that worked together to tell a bigger story, to more people, more often.
I would argue that insular thinking can be problematic far outside the realm of the visitor economy. You just have to turn on the news to see first-hand the early results of insular thinking that has taken hold just south of us. Looming recession, inbound travel down, products piling up with no one to buy them. At the same time, we are seeing a Canada-wide sense of unity and overt Canadian pride on a scale that I don’t think I have seen before. This is where the opportunity lies. There are millions of Canadians who have not explored and fallen in love with our region. Let’s invite them to spend their time with us this year!
Have a great day!
Chuck
