This message was sent to ##Email##
To advertise in this publication please click here
|
|
|
.ASSOCIATION NEWS
Update on the Federal and Provincial Budget
OMCA
On March 31st the Ontario government announced the recipients of the Ontario Tourism Relief Fund. The association’s advocacy to include the Motor Coach business model in this funding and align with BC’s supports for Motor Coach businesses were successful and many of our operators were successful in receiving some much-needed relief. Unfortunately, this funding program excluded some tour operators. In response to this disappointing outcome for this vital industry sector, the association has launched a survey for Ontario-based tour operators. This data will help us pivot our advocacy ask for specific support for tour operators. If you are an OMCA member and haven’t received the survey via email, please let us know.
On April 6, 2022, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) announced a total investment of $68.5 million through the Tourism Relief Fund for Indigenous Tourism Ontario (ITO) and 11 RTOs. RTOs across southern Ontario will distribute the funding through non-repayable contributions of up to $100,000 to southern Ontario tourism businesses and organizations to innovate and invest in new and enhanced tourism experiences. The fund will be open to incorporated businesses, not-for-profit incorporated organizations, municipalities, and Indigenous-owned businesses, communities, and organizations.
On April 7th, the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled Budget 2022 in the House of Commons. The link to the document is available here. The budget clearly moved the government's focus away from business support and focused on broader economic issues.
The budget builds on the $1 billion in support previously announced and focuses on new spending on Indigenous Tourism Development. An estimated $750 million of these previously announced funds are expected to be used to support the sector in 2022-23. Destination Canada is also expected to spend more than $48 million on marketing campaigns in the United States, to draw in more visitors and increase economic activity.
The association will work with the Minister of Tourism and Minister of Transportation to help influence the development of a new post-pandemic Federal Tourism Growth Strategy, which is to plot a course for growth, investment, and stability. It is vital that the motor coach sector is represented in this new strategy.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out should you have any questions.
Vince Accardi, CAE
|
|
|
Promoted By
Cape May MAC
|
|
|
|
Promoted By
Your Company
|
|
|
|
.INDUSTRY NEWS
With lifted COVID-19 restrictions, bus ridership in northeastern Ontario trends up
CBC News
The COVID-19 pandemic initially led to a noticeable decline in public transit ridership in northeastern Ontario. Now, some cities within the region say they've started to see those numbers bounce back.
Brendan Adair, the director of transit services for the City of Greater Sudbury said ridership was down more than 50 per cent in April 2020 when the pandemic first hit Canada.
|
|
Quebec grants $22.6 million to Prevost for bus electrification
CTV News
The Quebec government is granting $22.6 million to bus manufacturer Prévost to accelerate the electrification of its vehicles.
Premier François Legault made the announcement at the manufacturer's plant in Sainte-Claire, Beauce-Appalaches, Thursday afternoon.
|
|
Ottawa commits $68.5 million to boost tourism in southern Ontario
London Free Press
The federal government is offering a $68.5-million lifeline for southern Ontario businesses and municipalities that have taken a hit from a decline in tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding that will flow through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) will go to Indigenous Tourism Ontario and 11 regional organizations.
|
|
World's largest-reaching bus company hits the highway in Canada
CBC News
FlixBus, a German company that says it's the world's largest-reaching bus provider, launched its Canadian operation this week in Toronto.
"It's a dream bus market for us," said Pierre Gourdain, managing director of FlixBus North America, about rolling into Toronto with three flashy green coaches to start routes in Ontario.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
The Ottawa VIP Program offers tour operators $50 per room night at a qualifying hotel, when accompanied by a paid admission to an eligible attraction. There are no minimum room night requirements. Hotels and attractions must be paid by the tour operator and proof of payment is required for the funding. Travel must be completed by October 15, 2022.
|
|
THE NEXT DOMINO TO FALL: Should conditions for unvaxxed be axed?
Travel Industry Today
Canada’s travel industry finally got what it wanted — the lifting of requirements for vaccinated travellers to this country to test for COVID-19 before arrival. And let’s be clear, with copious evidence over two years into the pandemic suggesting that the measure did little to prevent the spread of the virus, never mind firewall it altogether, the time had come. But notably, that data was based on vaccinated travellers.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
After conservation efforts reintroduced Saskatchewan bison to their traditional lands in 2019, they helped archaeologists uncover 1,000-year-old petroglyphs and the tool used to carve them.
This historic find uncovers a new chapter in the story of the Northern Plains Indigenous People who have gathered on this land for over 6,000 years.
|
|
Mulroney highlights infrastructure investment, protection
Truck News
Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney highlighted provincial infrastructure investments in an April 7 speech that also committed to the Safe, Productive and Infrastructure-Friendly (SPIF) vehicle configurations that help keep highways from crumbling.
|
|
|
|
Southwestern Ontario getting $7 million in relief support for tourism sector
CTV News
The federal government has announced $7 million in relief support for the southwestern Ontario tourism sector. Minister Helena Jaczek, who is responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced a total investment of $68.5 million through the Tourism Relief Fund for Indigenous Tourism Ontario and 11 Regional Tourism Organizations (RTOs) across southern Ontario.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Discover Canada’s majestic and diverse natural world at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. Experience world-class galleries featuring giant dinosaurs, iconic Canadian mammals, dazzling gems and minerals, live insects, Pacific tide pool creatures, a whale skeleton, and more! A special exhibition of live owls is included with admission.
|
|
Niagara tourism sector receives $8.5 million in federal funding
Welland Tribune
A Niagara tourism organization is receiving $8.5 million in federal funding aimed at helping businesses safely welcome back visitors, recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for growth.
On Wednesday, Helena Jaczek, minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced a $68.5-million investment to support Indigenous Tourism Ontario and 11 regional tourism organizations in southern Ontario.
|
|
Speed limit rising to 110 km/h on some parts of Highway 401
Driving.ca
Six sections of the province’s 400-series highways, including two in this region, will have their speed limits permanently bumped to 110 kilometres per hour beginning April 22. A 40-kilometre stretch of Highway 401 between Tilbury and Windsor will have its speed limit increased from 100 km/h. On Highway 402 between London and Sarnia — one of the stretches used as a pilot project — that increase becomes permanent.
|
|
Great Northern Ontario Roadshow making stop in Gravenhurst
OrilliaMatters
The Great Northern Ontario Roadshow, presented by Science North, is coming to Gravenhurst on Saturday, April 9.
With delicious food, amazing music and an exciting dash of science, get ready to discover a world of adventure that’s close to home.
|
|
|
|
|
7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
|
