Ottawa Tourism delivers funding for 55 organizations with support from the Government of Canada’s Tourism Relief Fund to attract visitors and support future growth
OTTAWA, October 6, 2022—Today, Ottawa Tourism announced support for 55 tourism businesses and organizations in the Ottawa and Prescott-Russell region to recover from the pandemic and prepare for future growth.
Ottawa Tourism received $5.5 million through the Government of Canada’s Tourism Relief Fund, delivered by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), to help local tourism organizations and businesses safely welcome back visitors, recover from the impacts of the pandemic, create jobs and prepare for future growth.
This includes the Bytown Museum, which received $100,000 to support a renewed museum experience, including trilingual interpretation, redesigned visuals throughout, a new virtual tour, and a large-scale mural installation. Staff have worked closely with community members from Kitigan Zibi and Pikwakanagan First Nations and will continue to collaborate on key aspects of the project.
Please see the Backgrounder for information on all projects receiving support.
Quotes
“The Government of Canada’s $78-million investment through the Tourism Relief Fund is helping communities across southern Ontario. With this funding, southern Ontario’s Regional Tourism Organizations and Indigenous Tourism Ontario are providing hundreds of local businesses and organizations with the support they need to create jobs, attract more visitors and grow local economies, now and into the future.”
- The Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
“The Canadian tourism sector continues to be one of the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We will work with businesses and organizations through these challenging times, ensuring they get support to innovate in their products and services as well as to grow and thrive, all while keeping safety as the top priority. The Tourism Relief Fund helps businesses adapt to welcome back guests safely. It also feeds into a broader strategy to help the sector recover from the pandemic and build an economy that works for everyone. The Canadian economy will not fully recover until our tourism sector recovers.”
- The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
“The tourism sector across our community has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Local tourism businesses in our capital city need help today to ensure their success tomorrow. Support from Government of Canada will fill this urgent need, ensuring that local jobs will be protected, and that Ottawa will remain vibrant and welcoming destination for tourists from around the world.”
- Yasir Naqvi, Member of Parliament, Ottawa Centre
“As the industry that was first hit, hardest hit, and will be the last to recover from the pandemic, we applaud this federal support and investment in a sector that struggled through this crisis and needs this support in order to recover. The projects that are being funded will certainly enhance Ottawa’s attractiveness as a tourism destination and we look forward to them coming to fruition.”
- Michael Crockatt, President and CEO, Ottawa Tourism
“The Bytown Museum is grateful to receive this funding to further enhance and strengthen the museum’s connection with the Indigenous communities of Ottawa and beyond, and to undertake key projects to create a welcoming and inclusive space for all.”
- Courtney Gehling, Executive Director, Bytown Museum
Associated Links
About Ottawa Tourism
Ottawa Tourism provides destination development and marketing, strategic direction, and leadership in cooperation with its members and partners, welcoming leisure travellers, business travellers, group tours, and conventions to Ottawa and Canada’s Capital Region. Its goal is to support the local tourism economy, fueled by an estimated 11 million visitors annually in recent years and with $3 billion in typical economic output for Ottawa, generating community prosperity through tourism. Ottawa Tourism’s vision is to offer the complete capital experience, tell the story of Canada, and get people talking.
About FedDev Ontario
For 13 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
About the Bytown Museum
Housed in Ottawa’s oldest stone structure, the Bytown Museum is Ottawa’s community museum, exploring the stories and values of an evolving city and its residents from its First Peoples through the early days as Bytown to present day Ottawa. The Museum is committed to engaging its visitors and community in discovery and dialogue as it aims to deepen the many connections within and between Ottawa’s diverse communities. Enjoy unique artifacts and exhibitions, an audio-guide tour available in six languages, and engaging online programming year-round.
For more information, please contact:
Jantine Van Kregten
Director of Communications, Ottawa Tourism
613-866-4955
press@ottawatourism.ca
Edward Hutchinson
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
edward.hutchinson@feddevontario.gc.ca
