TORONTO - Ontario needs to take a new approach to tourism that either sexes up its image to lure American travellers or woos more domestic visitors if it's to weather the "perfect storm'' that's battering the industry, an expert says.
Any effort to draw tourists will need more than just a catchy advertising campaign, said Ryerson University professor Gabor Forgacs, who adds it will take major investments from the province.
"We tend to believe that Ontario is a lot better than it actually is. We are passionately biased, of course, because we love this place,'' said Forgacs, who specializes in the hotel industry.
"But if somebody has the option to choose where to travel, especially if it's a U.S. traveller, they have increasingly better-looking options for a number of reasons.''
A skyrocketing Canadian dollar, climbing gas prices and confusing passport regulations mean Ontario's tourism industry is being battered by "the perfect storm,'' the province's minister of tourism said.
"It's a combination of things, this perfect storm,'' said Jim Bradley.
Those factors make it hard to be an optimist in the industry, said Sid Girling, spokesman for the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association, who noted American tourism has dropped 34 per cent since 2000.
"It started with 9-11 and the tightening of the border. Then we proceeded along to SARS _ we had SARS twice _ then we had West Nile,'' said Girling, a former industry consultant.
"Then we had the NHL lockout, as well as the rising loonie, in addition to the August 2003 energy brownout. Now we have ballooning gasoline prices.''
Both Bradley and Girling blame the new American homeland security Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative for confusing travellers when it comes to what documents they need to cross back into the U.S.
Only 28 per cent of Americans currently hold a passport, said Girling, and most day-trippers are intimidated by the cost and time required to get one.
Convincing Americans that it's worthwhile to make the trip to Ontario, that it's, in essence, a sexy destination, won't be easy given that the province's cultural institutions, waterfront developments and infrastructure are "impoverished,'' said Forgacs.
"It's very hard to come up with a convincing list. What is it they have to come here and experience?'' he said. "They don't have the resources to put on a better exhibit, find better artifacts or get better star power. That's the bottom line.''
Short of making those investments, the province must turn its attention toward the domestic travel market, said Forgacs.
"If we can't stop the slide, the we have to go after the domestic, the Canadian market, more aggressively, because that's our best bet,'' he said. "This is the only option we've got.''
Bradley said chasing the domestic market is precisely what the government is attempting with its "Yours to Discover'' ad campaign.
"We heard from a lot of people saying, 'Look, don't forget the domestic market; it's 75 per cent of our market,''' said Bradley, who added international tourism could help shore up the struggling industry.
Ministry of Tourism statistics show international travel to Ontario is up 8.1 per cent this year, but Forgacs says the gain doesn't come close to filling the void.
"If you look at the actual numbers, they are a fraction of what the U.S. had,'' he said. "What we lost in U.S. travellers, we don't stand a chance to make it up in the foreseeable future from other destinations.''
The ministry forecasts yearly visits by U.S. tourists to fall to just under 16 million in 2011, down from 30 million in 1999, partially because of the regulations.
