Guelph Tourism Community Collaboration
The City of Guelph’s Tourism and Destination Development Division had been the only Destination Marketing and Management Organization (DMMO) in the city for over twenty years until the implementation of the Municipal Accommodation Tax in which provincial legislation required the creation of a not-for-profit external agency with a primary role of destination marketing.
The new structure for Guelph Tourism is one of innovation and collaboration between the Guelph Chamber of Commerce and the City of Guelph to address limitations in legislation that make marketing and investments in local businesses challenging. Through a Financial Accountability Agreement and a commitment to shared roles and responsibilities within the defined Destination Development Cycle (see attachment), Tourism and Destination Development now owns and leads the work portfolios that support Destination Development and Destination Management while the Guelph Chamber of Commerce’s Destination Marketing Guelph division leads the Destination Marketing portfolio. With the limited accommodation offerings in Guelph, and thus resources, by prioritizing work plans through these three work portfolios, Guelph Tourism as the collective is better able to meet the community’s needs without duplicating efforts.
This structure allows for a strong tourism voice within the municipality to advance important strategic projects like wayfinding, placemaking, and capital projects that are critical to growing the visitor economy and are the core activities in Destination Development and Management, while alleviating the policy and budgeting pressures often faced by municipalities in areas of marketing and promotion of individual businesses. These investments and activities are all done collaboratively between the two organizations, operating together to create Guelph Tourism.
This relationship was formalized through the implementation of the Municipal Accommodation Tax Administration Policy (attached) that outlines the strategic priorities prioritized by the municipality in order to build Guelph as a must-see destination, an identified goal in the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy (2022-2026). Through this policy, Guelph Tourism now offers a series of funding portfolios that re-invests the dollars collected through the Municipal Accommodation Tax back into businesses and not-for-profit tourism operators through one central intake for seamless customer service. By establishing these opportunities, the City of Guelph and Destination Marketing Guelph are perceived as equal partners in community development projects and diversifying the Guelph economy.
In the first eighteen months of this formalized collaboration, Destination Marketing Guelph was established and led the brand re-development process and launch of new visitor-facing marketing assets, coordinating initial earned and paid media campaigns with Guelph’s first ever press familiarization tour. Both organizations now use the “Guelph: Gather Here” brand to connect with potential and current visitors. Tourism and Destination Development staff have prioritized policy development and the implementation of new or enhanced opportunities in visitor information services, group servicing, and training for tourism operators to create buy-in across interest holders and elevate tourism in the community and beyond. Over the next several years, Guelph Tourism will collaboratively work towards wayfinding, placemaking, and event and conferencing strategies to continue to build on the momentum of this foundational work and further reinforce the value of this collaborative partnership.
