A Guide to Thoughtful Communications for Tourism Partners in Ontario's Southwest

Team OSW created this guide to help all tourism partners think about the impact of their marketing content.

1. Who could this impact? 

   • Residents

     • Is the place residents live at risk of being harmed?

     • Will the place be impacted if many people visit the area at once?

     • Would you want people doing this to or acting this way in your hometown? 

   • Businesses 

     • Economic leakage: example when visitors aren’t visiting local businesses (McDonalds is US owned). 

     • Managing visitor flow – don't overrun a business with visitors especially when they have limited capacity due to workforce challenges.

   • Visitors 

     • Ensure all visitors feel welcome and included.

   • Nature 

     • Is appropriate behaviour demonstrated to respect flora and fauna?

   • Underrepresented groups 

     • Is what you are sharing culturally significant to a group of people? 

   • Could it be offensive from a political perspective? 

2. Can the area or attraction accommodate an increase in visitation? 

   • If yes, then ensure responsible tourism behaviour is demonstrated in communications.

   • If no, what else could be shared? Are there other areas/attractions that would benefit from an increase in visitation instead?

3. How do you know what you are sharing is accurate?  

   • Do the images provide an accurate representation (e.g., when you Google Venice the pictures that come up are different than reality)?

   • How will the content contribute to an individual’s perception of a destination, attraction, or group of individuals?  

   • Do you have research references to back it up ? 

   • What do experts say about the topic? 

   • Is the content greenwashing? 

4. Is there a potential for misunderstanding?  

   • Yes, there always is. Think about how misunderstanding can be minimized.

   • Anticipate how individuals could misunderstand the content and pre-create responses to clarify if users are not reading it correctly.

5. Are you the appropriate messenger for this information? 

   • Consider consulting with groups/communities who could be impacted by the content.

   • What if they don’t want the content being shared? Please respect their decision

   • Please ensure you compensate anyone consulted for their time.

   • Ask yourself – do you fully understand the information you are sharing?  

Resources: 

• Responsible Travel Writing for Content Creators

• 519 Media Reference Guide - a comprehensive resource designed to assist media professionals in representing people who identify as part of the 2SLGBTQI+ community. 

• Indigenous Tourism Ontario’s Land Acknowledgement Resource Guide - a resource designed to aid in the development of your Land Acknowledgements. 

• 12 Ways to Better Choose Our Words When We Write About Indigenous Peoples 

• Building Bridges with Indigenous Tourism - a guide for Destination Management/Marketing Organizations (DMOs) looking to strengthen relationships, create campaigns, and tell visual stories with Indigenous tourism partners.

• Greenwashing in Tourism: What It Is And How To Avoid It?

• Sustainability Commitments: Being Accountable and How to Avoid Greenwashing