Planning for the future for a more inclusive and eco-responsible destination

Tourisme Outaouais is a regional tourism association with more than 500 members. Its mission is to contribute to the vitality of the Outaouais region through tourism and to position its territory as a unique and essential destination in various markets. After a very hectic pandemic period with the emergence of new challenges and opportunities, updating its strategic plan proved essential. Tourisme Outaouais also wanted to think deeply about the roles of the organization in order to best support its members and meet the new expectations of its visitors. Following the project to establish an inventory of sustainable tourism in Outaouais carried out in spring 2022, the Touriscope team was once again happy to support Tourisme Outaouais in their strategic planning exercise for the period 2023-2027.

Our strategic planning support is structured around 3 key stages: the analysis of the challenges and expectations of all stakeholders (often accompanied by a portion of applied research in order to be inspired by comparisons and best practices), a period of collective reflection and a final stage dedicated to the transformation of the organization (or destination) where exchanges aim to reveal new objectives and main directions.

More specifically, the various steps identified to carry out this exercise were:

- An analysis of existing documentation;

- An initial brainstorming workshop with the Outaouais Tourism team, which made it possible to take into account the expectations of all employees and to reflect collectively on the future of the destination;

- An analysis of trends and best practices in destination management organizations;

- Interviews with local actors and members of Tourisme Outaouais;

- A member survey;

- Two days of strategic workshops with the Tourisme Outaouais management team and the board of directors during their Lac-à-l'Épaule (definition of the new strategic vision, mission and directions);

- A drafting and layout stage in order to finalize the new plan.

Thanks to this approach, Outaouais Tourism was able to define priority actions for the next 5 years, in line with current issues and future challenges. The various stages of consultation allowed everyone to be able to express themselves, to identify the major challenges, but also the opportunities to be seized. The new vision and the orientations therefore reflect the challenges to be met, but also the identity of the destination and the pride of an entire ecosystem in working in the same direction.

This new strategic plan was officially unveiled at the 42nd General Assembly of Outaouais Tourism, which took place on June 15, 2023 at the Canadian Museum of History and was welcomed with success and enthusiasm. Tourism players in the region will be able to continue to make the Outaouais region shine as an essential destination where inclusiveness, innovation and eco-responsibility will now be priorities.

A big thank you to Julie Kinnear, Executive Director of Tourisme Outaouais, and to the Board of Directors for trusting us in this human and strategic adventure.