Author Sara Dekker
Posts by Sara Dekker
What’s ahead for Northern Ontario’s 2023/2024 tourist season and a look back at the Staycation Tax Credit
Destination Northern Ontario provides an update on the tourism industry in Northern Ontario. Tourism is one of the major economic drivers in Northern Ontario with receipts ranking higher per capita than those of other regions in the province and many other provinces in the country. In fact, tourism is the largest employer of young workers…
Keep readingDestination Northern Ontario Product Development Initiative Recognized
Destination Northern Ontario was selected as the recipient of the 2022 Economic Developers Council Of Ontario (EDCO) Awards of Excellence, Tourist Attraction & Tourism Product Development Urban Award category during the EDCO President’s Dinner and Awards Ceremony in Toronto, Ontario. This award was for the “Northern Ontario Cycling Route/Trail Expansion Initiative”. This project builds upon the…
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U.S. TOURISTS ARE COMING BACK DUE TO THE OPEN BORDER
Northern Ontario Border Working Group In response to the closing of the border for tourists due to COVID-19 over two years ago, Destination Northern Ontario (DNO) took the lead and together with Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario (NOTO) and the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO), formed the Northern Ontario Border Working Group (NOBWG). The…
Keep readingDestination Northern Ontario and partners take home six Tourism Resiliency Awards in Huntsville
On October 26, 2022, the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) hosted the annual Ontario Tourism Resiliency Awards at Deerhurst Resort, in Huntsville Ontario. As part of the TIAO Tourism Summit, the Ontario Tourism Resilience Awards were held to celebrate Sustainability, Innovation and Collaboration in the tourism sector. Northern Ontario showed up in multiple award…
Keep readingDestination Northern Ontario is calling for participants to access the Fast Track to Success Cooperative Marketing Program!
What is it?Successful Fast Track to Success (FTS) participants have the opportunity to work with Destination Northern Ontario to leverage their marketing investments, dollar for dollar. How do I know if I qualify? Applicants will be required to meet the following criteria to apply to theco-op marketing program: Completion of the Fast Track to Success…
Keep readingLock Tours and Charters Have Returned to Sault Ste. Marie
For the first time in over ten years, people will be able to depart from the Canadian side of the St. Mary’s River at Roberta Bodnar Park in Sault Ste. Marie for a lock tour. There are scheduled daily tours through the locks and along the waterfront, as well as opportunities for private charters for…
Keep readingEmployment trends in the tourism sector: Where are the gaps?
There are now and have been for the last several years employment gaps in the tourism industry. These gaps have been increased since the onset of the pandemic. Traditional positions like housekeepers, cooks, food and beverage servers, dockhands maintenance and general management are all essential to supporting a vibrant tourism sector. What is Tourism SkillsNet…
Keep readingStaycation Tax Credit perfect excuse to explore Northern Ontario
With most of the province’s residents within the 401 corridors, Northern Ontario remains a mystery to a large number of people. Being within driving distance as well as a Staycation Tax Credit available this year, the summer of 2022 is a perfect time for residents all over Ontario to explore all that Northern Ontario has to…
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A Look at Investing in Northern Ontario’s Tourism Businesses
With Ontario seeing a proverbial ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ to the pandemic lockdowns that have come to define the first years of the 2020s, people are turning attention to new opportunities and looking towards potentially savvy investments. This is particularly true of the tourism sector, as we see the effects of the…
Keep readingLake Superior Tourism Cycling Feasibility Study Underway – Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay
Since 2016, Destination Northern Ontario (DNO) has taken an expanding regional approach in developing the cycling product in Northern Ontario. DNO recently partnered with Waterfront Regeneration Trust (WRT), the provincially recognized cycling trail developing organization, to develop the 380 km Lake Huron North Channel Cycling Route. This cycling route goes from Sault Ste. Marie through…
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