Welcome to our Tourism Information Centre page!
This page is for anyone working for Tourism Information Centres (TICs) across Northern Ontario, including Summer Students, Managers and others.
The ‘TIC Hub’ contains helpful information and specific regional resources – like hyperlinks to regional tourism websites and maps – that can help TIC staff do their job of welcoming and assisting visitors at their TIC. You can find these links at the bottom of this page.
Below are important pieces of information to keep in mind for the 2021 TIC season.
Visitor Surveys
Destination Northern Ontario has supplied TICs across Northern Ontario with iPads containing a visitor survey. The purpose of the surveys is to collect information from visitors that will help drive tourism development.
The results of the survey can be incredibly helpful to identify gaps in tourism infrastructure or identify ‘must see’ attractions that can be further developed or financially boosted.
Here are a few ways to have the visitor complete the survey:
- Read the questions aloud to the visitor, collect their responses, and complete the survey on the visitor’s behalf.
- After a friendly conversation with the visitor – where you collected the survey information just as a result of your conversation – complete the survey on the visitor’s behalf.
Important! Visitors will likely appreciate being told what the survey is for. Go ahead and tell them that we want to collect anonymous information that will help drive tourism development in the region.
TIC staff are integral to the success of the surveys and are counted on to encourage and help visitors complete the surveys. Please keep in mind COVID-19 protocols and best practices in your TIC and area.
For more information on the surveys and process, please reach out to Gillian McCullough at g.mccullough@destinationnorthernontario.ca
Role of TICs across Northern Ontario
What do TICs provide to visitors?
#1. Provide visitors with tourism information about the local area, city or town.
- Visitors are most often looking for recommendations and information around accommodations, restaurants, activities and services (like gas stations or repair shops).
TIP! Try experience one new activity in your area each week. This will help you build your destination knowledge that you can pass on to visitors.
#2. Provide visitors with tourism information about all of Northern Ontario.
- Visitors most often want to know distances within Northern Ontario. This can mean how far it takes to drive to the next city or town, or to a specific location, like a Provincial Park.
TIP! Make sure you keep resources handy (like a maps, websites or brochures) that you can refer to when a visitor is asking you about information outside of your region. You can’t memorize all that information – but you can easily look it up when you need to!
#3. Provide services to visitors like:
- Free Wifi
- Washroom facilities
- Recycling drop-off
- Food and beverages
- Gift shopping
- Fishing licences
- Camping permits
- Displays and interpretation
- Picnic area
- Currency exchange
- Ticket sales to local attractions
TIP! Make sure you are familiar with the services that your TIC offers visitors.
Regional Resources
Below are links to pages for each Northern Ontario TIC Region (Northeastern Ontario, Algoma Country, Superior Country and Sunset Country). On each of those pages you will find:
- 2021 TIC Summer Student Training video recordings
- 2021 TIC Summer Student Training slide decks
- 2021 Customer Service Training slide decks
- Lists of helpful destination resources – like webpages, publications, maps and more!
>>Click here for more resources for Sunset Country.
>>Click here for more resources for Superior Country.
>>Click here for more resources for Algoma Country.
>>Click here for more resources for Northeastern Ontario.
For more information or questions about TICs in Northern Ontario, contact Gillian McCullough at g.mccullough@destinationnorthernontario.ca.