Northern tourism groups against financial merge

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The Ministry of Tourism has control over one thing, the tax dollars it uses to fund Tourism Marketing - yes, they could "threaten" to not continue the service agreement Sunset Country and NOSTA has with them, but that is all they can do. We are not controlled by Government in any other way. They cannot change our marketing strategies or influence them to any significant degree - all they can do is wave money in our faces and put conditions on it if we want a piece of the action.

While giving up access to provincial monies is not an ideal situation for an organization like Sunset Country, we would gladly do so if it means retaining our independence, our Destination region brand and our marketing strategies - which have been proven to be effective when it comes to generating interest by consumers in travelling to NW Ontario.

They cannot force us to amalgamate or to do anything in fact as we are an independent, member-driven not-for-profit marketing organization. We act on behalf of our membership base first and foremost, and the Government of Ontario has no say in anything we do - outside of the service agreement which is negotiated annually.

This is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog - remember that the people in Government who come up with these grand visions and plans have not spent a day on the front lines or have in fact, have never even implemented a tourism marketing project - so they have no knowledge or experience in what they are talking about. They are bureaucrats who sit in leather chairs in Downtown Toronto offices and they are under the illusion they actually can influence what happens in Northwestern Ontario. They are almost universally reviled by tourism industry operators out here and with good reason.

So no, they have no control or ability to change anything other than what they do with the money which they take from the tourist businesses out here and never give back.

We generate most of our revenues ourselves so we don't depend on Provincial funding to operate - we can still (and will) continue to operate our our own terms and on our own agenda. Results are what really matter - and in marketing results come down to how many people you make contact with and how many ask for more information about travelling to NW Ontario. On an annual basis, Sunset Country generates more than 5 times the amount of inquiries about travel to the region than Ontario does. So the merger alluded to in this story will NEVER happen!

May I suggest more effort and research should go in to these stories before they are published.

Gerry Cariou
Executive Director
Sunset Country Travel Association