As the RTO3 Hamilton Halton Brant region continues its post-pandemic tourism recovery amid evolving economic conditions and changing visitor preferences, Hamilton Halton Brant Regional Tourism Association’s (HHBRTA’s) 2025-26 Business Plan reflects our commitment to building a resilient and sustainable tourism ecosystem. Building on key accomplishments from 2024-2025, we are positioning our organization to address both immediate industry needs and long-term destination development priorities.
2024-25 Key Accomplishments
● Advancing Our Transformative Regional Strategy: The first full year of implementing RTO3’s Strategic Plan for Regional Tourism Development 2024-26 demonstrated exceptional progress, with all 23 action items tracking on or ahead of schedule through strategic resourcing and organizational alignment. Building on this momentum, RTO3’s 2025-26 business plan fully integrates these initiatives across the four key focus areas, ensuring continued advancement of this transformative agenda while maximizing operational efficiency and strategic impact.
● Collaborative Leadership in Destination Development: The formation of the Hamilton Halton Brant Destination Leadership Alliance (HHBDLA) in 2024 marked a significant milestone in regional tourism collaboration. This innovative partnership brings together senior leaders from municipal tourism offices, Indigenous tourism representatives, economic development offices, and DMOs to drive coordinated action on shared priorities. In its inaugural year, the Alliance has established a robust framework for destination sustainability, product development, and strategic marketing while ensuring alignment with Ministry priorities and global best practices. Through its collaborative approach, the HHBDLA has created new efficiencies in regional data collection and decision-making, setting a strong foundation for evidence-based tourism development across Hamilton, Halton, and Brant.
● Leading in Destination Sustainability: In 2024-25, RTO3 achieved Bronze Sustainable Tourism Certification for Destination through GreenStep, marking a significant advancement in regional sustainability leadership. This certification followed the establishment of the Destination Sustainability Stakeholder Committee and completion of a comprehensive Destination Sustainability Action Plan in spring 2024. The organization strengthened its commitment by creating a new Destination Sustainability Officer position, supported by FedDev Tourism Growth Program funding through 2025-26. Through collaboration with the HHBDLA, RTO3 has begun implementing strategic actions from the Sustainability Plan, engaging DMOs and Economic Development leaders across Hamilton Halton Brant in coordinated sustainability initiatives. This work positions the region as a leader in sustainable tourism development while aligning with global best practices in destination management.
Our 2025-26 business planning benefits from enhanced tourism intelligence through the pan-RTO Research Consortium and Canada Tourism Data Collective, resources we began accessing in 2024-25. These data sources provide timely insights that guide our strategies and measure our impact, ensuring alignment with both the forthcoming Provincial Tourism Strategy (currently under development by TIAO) and the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy.
Our work in 2025-26 reflects HHBRTA’s commitment to comprehensive destination development, implemented through strong collaboration with our sub-regional Destination Management Organizations via the HHBDLA. This integrated approach aligns with our Strategic Plan, Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Gaming (MTCG) priorities, and global best practices in destination management.
Our 2025-26 priorities reflect significant investments in several interconnected areas that will enhance our destination’s competitiveness and sustainability:
- Product Development: We are advancing both ongoing initiatives and creating a comprehensive Regional Product Development Framework to guide future experience development across the region.
- Marketing Transformation: Implementation of our new Consumer Marketing Strategy includes transitioning to an in-house delivery model, optimizing resource allocation and reducing reliance on external agencies.
- International Market Growth: Development of an International Travel Trade Framework will provide strategic direction for expanding our international visitor base, offering a structured approach for both product development and market expansion to address our current gaps in international visitation and spending.
- Industry Capacity Building: Launch of a comprehensive year-long Sustainable Tourism Learning Series will support operators and businesses in adopting sustainable practices, strengthening our destination’s commitment to responsible tourism development.
While operating within unchanged funding levels despite expanding regional needs and growing expectations for destination development leadership, we are maximizing impact through operational efficiencies, strategic partnerships, and careful resource allocation across all program pillars. Our commitment to destination sustainability has evolved from aspiration to action, with concrete steps toward GreenStep Destination certification and implementation of our Destination Sustainability Action Plan.
The 2025-26 Business Plan demonstrates HHBRTA’s continued leadership in advancing regional tourism development through strategic collaboration, sustainable practices, and innovative approaches to destination management. Our work actively supports Ministry priorities while implementing relevant recommendations from the Auditor General’s December 2023 Value for Money Report, ensuring both accountability and measurable impact in building a tourism ecosystem that supports the flourishing of our economy, society, and environment.
Review the Full 2025-26 Plan here.
