RTO 9 Tourism Summit 2023
Download the 2023 Tourism Summit Agenda or the Speaker Bios
9:00 AM Welcome & Land Acknowledgement – Cheri Kemp-Long
9:05 AM – 9:35 AM Keynote Speaker – Paul Pepe, Manager of Tourism Thunder Bay – Presentation
9:35 AM – 10:00 AM Presentation – Louis Béland, Executive Director of the Eastern Ontario Agri-Food Network – Presentation
10:00 AM – 10:40 AM Panel Discussion – Women Entrepreneurs / Agri-Tourism – Cathy Kirkpatrick of Alphabet Creative (moderator)
- Eleanor McGrath – Springfield Farm
- Sarah Wynn – Wynn Farms
- Ashley Bradshaw – Tourism Kingston
10:40 AM – 10:55 AM Break with the Makers Market
10:55 AM – 11:35 AM Panel Discussion – Rural vs. Metropolitan Tourism – Megan Knott of Tourism Kingston (moderator)
- David MacLachlan – Destination Northern Ontario
- Tracy Snow – City of Kingston
- Maria Fortunato – RTO 3 Hamilton Halton Brant
11:35 AM – 12:00 PM Trivia – Presented by Tyffanie Morgan, the Queen Mum of Kingston.
12:00 PM – 1:15 PM Lunch
1:15 PM – 1:45 PM Address & Fireside Chat – Neil Lumsden, Minister of Tourism, Culture & Sport
1:45 PM – 2:15 PM Panel Discussion – Sustainable Tourism – Brett Christopher of the Thousand Islands Playhouse (moderator)
- Greg Elmhirst – Elmhirst’s Resort
- Carol Greenwood – Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO)
- Geoff Hendry – Sustainable Kingston
2:15 PM – 2:45 PM Presentation – Gabrielle Mueller, Culinary Tourism Alliance (CTA) – Presentation
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM Wrap up & Closing Remarks
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM Makers Market & end of day
