Introducing RTO7's T3 Program

We are pleased to announce that Regional Tourism Organization 7, in collaboration with the Centre for Business and Economic Development and the Orillia and Area Community Development Corporation, have embarked on a new initiative we are temporarily calling the Travel & Tourism Training Program (T3).

Over the next two years, T3 aims to develop and deliver a comprehensive professional development program designed to meet the needs of tourism businesses within Bruce, Grey and Simcoe Counties. T3 will ultimately provide a portal for tourism enterprise owners, operators and managers to access training; the goal being to better equip our local tourism enterprises as they address human resource issues; adapt to new and shifting markets and tourist behaviours; adopt emerging technologies; and improve business management approaches. Outcomes will lead to resilient and efficient enterprises supporting the destination’s vitality and tourism growth in BruceGreySimcoe.

The Program will be carried out in three phases. The outcome of Phase One is the creation of a Professional Development Strategy that will guide future phases of the project as well as identify training gaps. Phase Two will turn to development of curriculum gaps, and Phase Three will be its implementation.

Our Project Coordinator is Sue Ainley.  Sue has over 25 years' experience managing community economic development projects locally and internationally. She served as a Community Economic Development Officer with Nottawasaga Futures for several years where she began working with local tourism businesses.  In 2012, Sue completed a PhD at the University of Waterloo; her dissertation focused on rural tourism entrepreneurship and family business development.

To assist Sue, Brain Trust Marketing & Communications and The Tourism Café have been engaged to complete Phase One. In the coming weeks, Richard Innes of Brain Trust will be connecting with stakeholders to better understand their professional development needs. The team will also be conducting an industry survey in June to obtain similar input from a larger number of stakeholders.

Watch for further updates on T3 over the summer. Your input is important so the training strategy reflects your requirements. When asked, we encourage you to provide your input either through the interview process or the industry survey.

We look forward to the positive outcomes this exciting initiative will bring.

If you have any questions feel free to connect with Sue Ainley (705) 441-3370 or Alex Hogan (705) 441-2931.

Views, thoughts and opinions expressed in the blog comments section belong solely to the comments' authors and are not necessarily those of Regional Tourism Organization 7 (RTO7), its Board of Directors or its staff.

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