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2025/26 Partnership Funding ProgramIntake 2: Shoulder Season Experiences Development, Certification Support, and Marketing Opportunities |
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Following the successful launch of our first intake, we’re pleased to announce Intake 2 with expanded partnership opportunities designed to support industry growth and capacity building across multiple strategic areas. This second intake introduces three new partnership streams that respond directly to evolving industry needs and market opportunities, while also reopening our co-op advertising: paid social media campaign and photography asset development options due to their popularity in intake 1. Applications must be submitted via our Google forms that are open until October 28, 2025; or until capacity is reached. Multiple applications are permitted and partnerships will be awarded subject to availability, program fit and equitable distribution of funds. Please direct questions regarding each opportunity to the following team members: Shoulder Season Experience Development Partnerships to Bev Scott, Manager, Business & Visitor Experiences Development, Certification Support Partnerships to Maureen Beatty, Executive Assistant, Marketing Partnerships to Aiden Eng, Manager, Marketing & Communications. |
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Shoulder Season Experience Development |
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Extend your business season through this opportunity, which supports the creation of shoulder season events or experiences specifically for November through to next April. Whether it’s developing indoor activities, seasonal events, or unique winter offerings, RTO3 matches your investment to help you attract visitors year-round. |
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Open only to tourism business entities, build your credentials with nationally recognized certifications that attract specific visitor markets. RTO3 covers 50% of first-year certification costs for three key programs: Rainbow Registered by Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce, Feast ON (local food sourcing certification by the Culinary Tourism Alliance), and Ontario By Bike (bicycle-friendly business certification). These certifications give your business credibility, connect you to new customers, and provide marketing tools to showcase your business. |
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Travel Influencer Marketing |
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Planning to work with travel influencers to showcase your business or destination? Partner with us to stretch your budget through cost-sharing, allowing your travel influencer to create more engaging and authentic content for their followers and your target audiences. |
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Co-op Advertising: Paid Social Media Campaigns |
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Partner with us on a Facebook and Instagram advertising campaign to drive traffic to your tourism business, event, or experience for up to 8 weeks of your choice. Double your marketing investment with our funding while our expert media team executes your campaign to reach new audiences – simple and effective! |
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Photography Asset Development |
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Ready to refresh your visual storytelling? Showcase your business in a whole new way through a photography session with a seasoned professional. We have contracted Damian Dudek of Dudek Photography to capture premium-quality images of your business, products, or events at a special discounted rate. |
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Whether you have a new shoulder season event or experience, aim to be certified and engage with your audience and new markets, or want to enhance or extend your marketing budget, apply for one of our partnership options and find out how we can help to achieve your business goals this year. |
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RTO3 Industry Session and
Annual General Meeting |
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| Each June, RTO3 hosts an Industry Session alongside our Annual General Meeting as an opportunity to connect with industry partners, provide updates, and celebrate last year’s achievements. The meeting features a keynote speaker and serves as the official forum to appoint new members to our Board of Directors. Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Time: 2 to 4 pm. Light refreshments will be available. Location: Holiday Inn & Suites Oakville @ Bronte, 2525 Wyecroft Road, Oakville |
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We are pleased to welcome Michael McDonald, CEO of the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC), as our Keynote Speaker at this year’s AGM who will deliver an inspiring presentation on Pathway to Sustainable Prosperity – Aligning Tourism, Conservation and Community. As a leader who has successfully navigated the dual role of land trust and tourism destination, he’ll share valuable insights on: The evolving role of BTC within the tourism ecosystem; How partnerships have amplified both conservation outcomes and visitor experiences; The challenges and opportunities that arise from balancing ecological protection with public access; Practical advice for DMOs and municipal leaders seeking to grow nature-based tourism that enhances local prosperity while safeguarding sensitive environments.
RSVP before June 20, 2025 to save your spot! |
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Destination Ontario ‘We Stand’ Marketing Campaign |
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Destination Ontario, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, officially launched ‘We Stand’ in May – a bold new marketing campaign that celebrates the people, communities and experiences that make Ontario one of a kind. ‘We Stand’ is a proud call to action that encourages Ontarians to travel within the province and to stand with the people, businesses and communities that bring our tourism experiences to life. The goal is to reignite curiosity in Ontario, inspire provincial pride and fuel economic growth through tourism. |
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| Stand TogetherThe campaign is rolling out across broadcast, radio, digital, social media, cinema and billboards. Ontario businesses and destinations are invited to connect to this province-wide message by sharing their Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn posts. |
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| Partner ToolkitDestination Ontario has also created a Partner Amplification Toolkit that includes sharable images and customizable social media templates to help you align with and amplify the campaign. |
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Free Marketing Opportunities with RTO3 |
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Summer Campaign Update Our summer campaign (June 15 – September 1) launched this week, centered on two key themes designed to capture current domestic travel sentiment and summer travel preferences. Your Great Canadian Summer positions Hamilton Halton Brant as the perfect close-to-home destination for day trips and staycations featuring extraordinary adventures in Ontario—from family fun and couples’ retreats to outdoor adventures, charming small towns, vibrant urban neighbourhoods, stunning landscapes, and rich cultural experiences. Explore Proudly and Visit Responsibly invites visitors to become part of our region’s story through respectful, responsible travel that protects natural spaces while supporting local cultures and businesses. This theme is supported by the launch of our new “Responsible Traveller” video Campaign activities utilize our always-on content strategy—including website content updates, email marketing, increased activity in our social media channels as well as a paid social media campaign. Alongside our core summer campaigns, co-operative social media campaigns are also running throughout the summer with DMOs and tourism operators funded through our 2025-26 Partnership Program. It’s not too late to get involved! Ensure your business listings are up-to-date on our visitor website theheartofontario.com and share what’s happening in your business with our Marketing & Communications team so we can amplify your events, experiences, and offerings through our social media channels on Facebook and Instagram and our monthly e-newsletters. Our 2025-26 Marketing Partnerships are also still available—contact us to learn more! |
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Get Listed on Our High-Traffic Consumer Website Take advantage of our consumer website traffic by creating a self-serve listing account. This free marketing opportunity allows eligible tourism-facing businesses to showcase their business, events, tours and experiences. Last year, over 330,000 unique visitors explored theheartofontario.com, generating 200,000+ partner listing views and 136,000+ direct referrals to tourism operator websites. |
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Keep Us Updated on What’s New Share your business updates, special events, and new experiences directly with our marketing team. We regularly feature operator content across our email marketing (65,000+ subscribers) and social media platforms (65,000+ followers). This additional free opportunity allows us to promote your business to our engaged audiences at no cost to you! We encourage you to submit content to us regularly throughout the year! |
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Welcoming Our New Team Members |
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| Join us in welcoming Sophia Yan as RTO3’s Content and Social Media Specialist, whose expertise contributed to our Summer campaigns with many more to come! Sophia brings a wealth of experience in consulting, marketing, and public relations from her previous work in various non-profit organizations across multiple industries. Sophia will be integral to the Marketing and Communications team and we are happy to welcome a new team member to support the tourism industry in Hamilton Halton Brant. |
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| We are also happy to welcome Daniella Iannuzzi as RTO3’s Regional Tourism Development Associate this Summer. Daniella is a 3rd year student at Brock University in the Business Administration Co-OP program and will be a vital support to the organization for Marketing and Communications as well as Product Development as we undertake new projects in the year ahead. |
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