THE OPPORTUNITY

The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO) engaged BC Hughes to deliver the Elevating Ontario Experiences (EOE) Project. This was a series of workshops designed to help tourism operators across the province to identify and unlock growth opportunities, with a focus on winter and shoulder-season development.

THE PROCESS

BC Hughes delivered 2-hour online workshops across multiple Ontario regions, each customized to reflect local tourism strengths and opportunities. Sessions combined industry insights, real-world inspiration, and peer-to-peer collaboration to help participants identify new or enhanced experience concepts.

Following the workshops, each participating business received a dedicated 30-minute virtual coaching session to further explore, refine, and advance their ideas. Participants were equipped with practical tools, strategies, and clear next steps to support implementation.

THE OUTCOME

Over three phases of the Elevating Ontario Experiences Project, the program engaged tourism operators across the province. Phase 1 (2021) invited 36 operators, Phase 2 (2022–23) expanded to all 13 regions with 150 invitations, and Phase 3 (2025) targeted 68 tourism operators.

Workshop participants learned how to create new and engaging winter and shoulder-season visitor experiences, leaving with actionable ideas, experiential tourism knowledge, and the confidence to implement them. Attendees valued the opportunity to collaborate with peers and receive one-on-one coaching from BC Hughes.

Overall, the training was highly successful and well received. New and exciting winter and shoulder season experiences were launched to market, and 100s of businesses were inspired to think differently about their experiences, and the potential for new ones.

I came away motivated and encouraged that I was on the right track. – TIAO Elevating Ontario Experiences program participating operator

… coaching session after was very valuable. I thought the break out rooms were valuable too.  Not too much networking could be done in that short period but very helpful non the less to connect with a smaller group and mostly the team from BC Hughes.  As a small biz it’s sometimes hard to stay positive and focused on your goals and sessions like this really do help to keep you motivated! – TIAO Elevating Ontario Experiences program participating operator

I am always looking for fresh ideas. This workshop was well done, and I greatly appreciated it. – TIAO Elevating Ontario Experiences program participating operator