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| RTO3 Annual General Meeting Recap |
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On June 24th, we welcomed industry partners to the Holiday Inn Express Hamilton – Upper James for our 2026 Annual General Meeting, another great opportunity to connect with our tourism community and celebrate the collaboration that continues to strengthen Hamilton Halton Brant.
Thank you to everyone who joined us - your continued engagement and investment in our region's tourism industry is what drives us forward.
We also said thank you to our outgoing Board members, Rebecca Edgar (Visit Oakville) and Jaquie Jamieson (Six Nations Tourism), for their dedication and expertise in helping shape the tourism industry we know today.
We are happy to have the continued support and experience of our Past Board Chair Kelly Harris (Greater Toronto Hotel Association) for an additional year as Hildegard Snelgrove (Tourism Hamilton) will be on maternity leave in the coming months.
We're pleased to welcome three new Directors to the Board:
Their fresh perspectives and diverse backgrounds will be invaluable as we continue working together towards being a premier, year-round tourism destination.
At this year's AGM, we were also proud to share our 25/26 Stakeholder Report, highlighting the results and regional impact of our projects from the past fiscal year, along with a look ahead for 26/27. Use the button below to read the report and look back at what we've accomplished together, and what's still to come.
Stay in the loop for more industry updates and follow along on Instagram and Linkedin for additional bite-sized news throughout the year. |
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| Travel Trade Insider Forum Recap |
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On July 6th, we welcomed tourism businesses, stakeholders, and destination partners to the David Braley and Nancy Gordon Rock Garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens for our first-ever Travel Trade Insider Forum, a full day dedicated to unlocking new domestic and international market opportunities for our region. Thank you to Royal Botanical Gardens for co-sponsoring the event and generously hosting us in such a stunning setting. Their hospitality and technical support helped make the day the success that it was.
We're especially grateful to our incredible lineup of speakers, who shared their expertise across a full day of knowledgeable and insightful presentations:
Most importantly, thank you to every attendee who joined us for a day of learning, connection, and conversation about growing our region's visitor economy through travel trade.
The RTO3 Travel Trade Growth Strategy and Industry Playbook is now available on our website. We will also be uploading the speaker presentation materials from the day on our industry website as a reference toolkit for operators looking to learn more about the industry, creating export-ready tourism products, and deepening their business through travel trade. |
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| A Fresh Look for the New Season |
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You may have noticed a new look in your inbox! We have refreshed the design of our monthly consumer e-newsletter to bring a more visual, magazine-style layout that better showcases the experiences, events, and stories that make Hamilton Halton Brant the ideal getaway destination all year long.
With over 65,000 subscribers reached each month, our consumer newsletter remains one of the most effective ways to put your business, event, or experience in front of engaged travellers actively planning their next trip.
Share your upcoming events, new experiences, or business updates regularly with our Marketing & Communications team and we'll help amplify them across our consumer website, newsletter and social channels. |
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| Experience Six Nations This Summer |
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Congratulations to Six Nations Tourism on being featured in the June 2026 issue of The Canada Magazine. As the Destination Marketing Organization for the most populous First Nations community in Canada, Six Nations Tourism have spent three decades welcoming visitors to experience culture, history, and the Grand River firsthand through hands-on tours, traditional games, and paddling experiences rooted in their stewardship of Turtle Island.
Summer is a great time to explore what they have to offer, including their Nation-to-Nation Cultural Exchange gathering with Wikwemikong Tourism, taking place August 14th and 15th, featuring traditional food, singing, dancing, and cultural teachings between the two peoples. |
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| Expanding Regional Insights with New Data |
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Accessing, sharing, and applying timely, regionally relevant research is a business priority for RTO3 in 2026–27, supporting evidence-based planning and decision-making across the region. The 2025 Visitor Report, drawn from the Environics Analytics VisitorView tourism intelligence platform, profiles overnight visitation to the Hamilton Halton Brant region — benchmarking regional performance against Ontario and other tourism regions, examining visitation at the sub-regional level, and tracking seasonal patterns and four-year trends. Additional regional research and insights will be released in the coming months.
The new report points to a strong domestic year in 2025. The region welcomed 4.3 million Canadian overnight visitors, up 23.5 percent from 2024. The U.S. overnight market was softer amid the year's economic and cross-border pressures, though the region held its position among Ontario's leading destinations for American visitors. Find more highlights and download the full report at the link below. |
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| Destination Insights and Research |
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| Tourism Outpaces Broader Canadian Economy on Jobs and Business Growth in Q1 2026
The Canada's Tourism Data Collective’s Q1 2026 Canadian Tourism Performance Indicators are now available and reveal that tourism is outpacing the broader Canadian economy on both job and business growth, and hotel occupancy is running ahead of pre-pandemic levels going into summer. Recovery remains uneven across sub-sectors, and resident sentiment has softened year over year. Read our summary of the Q1 2026 data here. |
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| Domestic Travel Remains the Leading Choice for Canadians as Summer Travel Intent Holds Stead
Leger’s June 2026 Canadian Travel Intentions & Emerging Trends report indicates that 56 percent of Canadians plan a summer leisure trip, unchanged from 2025, and 77 percent of those travelling intend to stay within Canada. Cost and inflation, gas prices, and personal finances are the leading factors shaping plans, prompting shorter, closer-to-home trips and reduced travel spending. U.S. travel intent has partially recovered but remains well below 2024 levels. |
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| | Ontario Travel & Tourism Monthly June 2026
The June OTTM welcomes the United Kingdom as a new market to the survey. For the first time, AI tools have overtaken official tourism websites as a source of travel information. Travel intent toward Ontario remains stable overall, with Quebec travellers' interest continuing its upward trend since late 2025 and September strengthening as a fall travel window, while cost holds as the leading barrier for the twelfth consecutive month. |
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Even with all the excitement across June and July, summer still has a long season ahead for travellers and vacationers looking to enjoy the weather! 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 current campaign - Your Summer Getaway - continues to provide itineraries and trip ideas to travellers that want to make the most of the perfect summer weather away from an urban centre bursting at the seams with travellers. With our regional blend of urban communities, small towns and hamlets, and activities from Michelin cuisine to scenic outdoor adventures, Hamilton Halton Brant is the ideal destination for a summer holiday.
Our fall seasonal campaign will be released soon so stay in the Loop and watch for announcements across our Instagram and Linkedin channels! |
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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 (67,000+ followers). This additional free opportunity allows us to promote your business to our engaged audiences at no cost. We encourage you to submit content to us regularly throughout the year! |
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| Amplify Through Destination Ontario Industry associations, sector partners, and tourism businesses that operate within Ontario are able to share their information, experiences and products with Destination Ontario to potentially be part of their marketing campaigns. We encourage all stakeholders to complete their content intake forms below. All submissions are carefully reviewed to showcase a diverse range of travel experiences across the province. |
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Ontario Tourism Summit October 21 & 22, Ottawa Southern Ontario Tourism Conference - RTO1 Location March 2 - 3, 2027, Windsor Southern Ontario Tourism Conference - RTO3 Location March 9, 2027, Burlington
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