| Toronto Rises in North American Tourism Rankings - International travellers spur tourism growth2010 was a record year for tourism in Toronto as the number of hotel room nights sold reached over 8.93 million. Toronto moved up to sixth place in hotel occupancy among top North American cities from 10th a year ago. Tourism Toronto’s newly released tourism estimates for 2010 show a significant rebound from the prior year and important growth in key international markets. Read the full release here.See the press coverage. |
| Celebrate Ontario Funding Recipients AnnouncedMinister of Tourism and Culture Michael Chan has announced the 2011/12 list of recipients for Celebrate Ontario grants. This funding is to enhance festival/event programming and services to attract new audiences and increase visitor spending. The list of festivals and events including dates in Ontario and the GTA is available here. |
| Competition Bureau challenges credit card anti-competitive rulesThe Competition Bureau announced this week that it has filed an application to strike down restrictive and anti-competitive rules that Visa and MasterCard impose on merchants who accept their credit cards. The Commissioner of Competition alleges that these rules have effectively eliminated competition between Visa and MasterCard for merchants' acceptance of their credit cards, resulting in increased costs to businesses and, ultimately, consumers. Canada has among the highest credit card fees in the world and merchants in Canada pay an estimated $5 billion annually in hidden credit card fees. More information can be found on the Competition Bureau website |
| Award winning Relax Recharge Renew program in full-swing for 2011Tourism Toronto’s Relax, Recharge, Renew ("RRR") program won this year’s prestigious globally-recognized IMEX "Commitment to the Community". The GTHA fully supports this worthwhile initiative that provides a weekend getaway to local families of children with special needs while the child is cared for at a qualified respite centre. Thanks to the tremendous support of the tourism industry and our GTHA members, last year’s program was a huge success. We are inviting our members to participate by donating two certificates for a two-night stay for two for 2011. To find out more about the program, please visit the Tourism Toronto website here or contact Cathy Riches at (416) 987-9077 or by email |
| New Alcohol Rules for OntarioAttorney General Chris Bentley has announced changes to Ontario’s alcohol laws as of June 1, 2011, that will eliminate unnecessary barriers for special events, festivals and licensed establishments. For the full list of changes please click here. |
| Beer & Liquor Sales UpHighlights of the StatsCan report released today:
• Imported beer remained the alcoholic drink of choice
• Imported wine sales are on the rise (+3.8%)
• Red wine accounted for 62% of the total wine sold (75% of all red wines sold were imported, compared with 61% of white wines).
• Strong vodka sales took nearly 23% of market share, much of this is attributed to imported brands. For detailed information click here. |
| Air Canada adjusts growth plans Air Canada is adjusting its previously announced growth plans for 2011 due to sustained high fuel costs. Earlier in 2011 the airline had said system wide capacity growth would be in the 5.5% to 6.5% range versus 2010. Air Canada now expects 2011 system wide capacity growth of 4.5% to 5.5% versus 2010. During the first quarter of 2011, Air Canada's expectations for its system wide capacity growth are revised to 7.5% to 8.0% versus 2010, a slight decrease from the 7.5% to 8.5% range projected in its February 10, 2011 news release. Air Canada continues to expect to increase its full year 2011 domestic capacity by up to 1.5% from the full year 2010 levels. The full story is available here. |
| Tax Payments to Ministry of Revenue During Postal DisruptionTo make tax payments during the postal disruption, the Ministry of Revenue is offering the following options:
• submit electronically for most Ontario taxes using the ministry's ONT-TAXS online service, by Internet Banking Services (IBS) or tax banking at your local financial institution;
• hand-deliver (by cheque) to select ServiceOntario locations or any Ministry of Revenue Tax Office; or
• courier to the Ministry of Revenue, 33 King Street West, PO Box 620, Oshawa ON L1H 8E9.
For more information on how the postal service disruption impacts your tax responsibilities, please call the Ministry of Revenue at 1 866 ONT-TAXS (1 866 668-8297) or visit the website at:
http://www.mgs.gov.on.ca/en/Spotlight/STDPROD_086438.html. |
| Ontario Celebrates 2011 Tourism Week!Tourism Week is being held June 6-12, 2011. To celebrate, the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation is holding a series of events across the province to generate consumer interest in travelling in Ontario this summer. For details, visit here. |
| Federal Cabinet ShuffleMay 18, 2011 - Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced changes to his cabinet.
A complete list of all Federal Ministers can be found here. A complete list of all Minister Biographies can be found here.
Of interest in the shuffle;
· John Baird moves from House Leader to become Minister of Foreign Affairs
· Tony Clements, former Industry Minister becomes the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
· Christian Paradis, previously the Minister of Natural Resources is now the Minister of Industry
· Jim Flaherty remains Minister of Finance
· Jason Kenney becomes the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
· Maxime Bernier returns to cabinet as the Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism
Several Toronto area MPs were appointed to the cabinet including, MP Joe Oliver who has been appointed Minister of Natural Resources, Brampton MP Bal Gosal was appointed as Minister of State for Sport, and Vaughan MP Julian Fantino, previously Minister of State for Seniors, becomes the Junior Defence Minister. See the attached list for other GTA Members of Cabinet.
The GTHA looks forward to continuing to work with Prime Minister Harper’s cabinet and the new appointed Ministers. |
| STR Reports Canada Hotel Pipeline for March 2010 This represents a 2.5-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the pipeline compared to February 2010 and a 16.5-percent decrease in the number of rooms in the pipeline compared to March 2009. Among the provinces, Ontario reported the most rooms in the total active pipeline, ending the month with 10,105 rooms, followed by Alberta (4,179 rooms) and British Columbia (2,933 rooms). |
| Minister Chan releases information on the OTMPC ReviewOn October 13th, Minister Chan released a communication to the tourism industry partners on the review of the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC). Read English and French versions. Visit the OTMPC Website at www.tourismpartners.com to read the entire review. |
| McGuinty Cabinet ShufflePremier Dalton McGuinty today announced the following changes to the portfolios of his Cabinet Ministers:
Jim Bradley will assume the Community Safety and Correctional Services portfolio while Rick Bartolucci becomes Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Sophia Aggelonitis will become Minister of Revenue and Minister Responsible for Seniors, and John Gerretsen will replace Ms. Aggelonitis at Consumer Services. John Wilkinson will take over the Environment portfolio. Bob Chiarelli joins Cabinet as Minister of Infrastructure, while Brad Duguid remains Minister of Energy.
Newcomer to Cabinet, Glen Murray will take over the Research and Innovation portfolio. |
| Toronto in Top 28 CitiesToronto ranked well of the 28 top North American cities.
• 14th highest occupancy rate (21st in 2009) and the 2nd highest growth rate
• 9th highest ADR (9th in 2009) and the 4th highest growth rate
• 10th highest RevPAR (13th in 2009) and the number 1 highest growth rate overall.
For the seven months of January – July 2010
• 11th highest occupancy rate (14th in 2009) and the 3rd highest growth rate
• 7th highest ADR (8th in 2009) and the 4th highest growth rate
• 8th highest RevPAR (9th in 2009) and the 2nd highest growth rate.
*Information provided by Tourism Toronto, sourced from Smith Travel Research |
| Convention Development Fund Open to Ontario Cities for ApplicationsOntario cities can now apply for support from the Convention Development Fund to help attract increased convention business and visitor spending. This year, $2.75 million will be available through the Convention Development Fund. Applications are due by November 1, 2010. Read the full press release here. |
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