If urban sophistication and international regard are important to your meetings success, look to Ontario’s globally recognized centers such as Toronto, Ottawa and Windsor. For a different pace, contrasting natural wonders and outdoor amenities abound in provincial destinations like Muskoka, Niagara Falls and Thunder Bay. Whatever the choice, Ontario is fully equipped and ready for any size group and any type of business-focused agenda.
Toronto
As one of Canada’s major cities, Toronto is well prepared to host domestic and international business groups. Its downtown core has two major convention facilities: the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Direct Energy Centre, with over 1 million square feet of exhibition space, 23 meeting rooms and a 10,000-seat arena.
Coming in June is the Allstream Centre—A Conference & Convention Centre @ Exhibition Place (Explace) that will be Canada’s first conference venue with LEED Silver Certification. Allstream will feature Toronto’s largest ballroom at 45,000 square feet, as well as 32,000 square feet of meeting space in 20 breakout rooms. And it will connect via underground tunnel with the Direct Energy Centre.
Dawn Eagleton, Tourism Toronto’s regional citywide director for the U.S. association sector in Washington, D.C., says the Allstream’s opening will mean Toronto will have everything it needs to host any business group.
“Toronto is now truly a world-class city, with an entire package of facilities large and intimate, central airport access and convention services to produce highly successful events,” Eagleton says. “Many cities have one or the other, but not the whole package. Planners also realize our big international attendance draw when they choose Toronto.”
New hotel properties on the Toronto scene include the 60-story Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto. When the $500 million project is complete, it will have 261 guest rooms and suites as well as 118 residences. Hotel rooms will occupy the lower portion of the building on levels 11 to 29. Included is the 4,500-square-foot Presidential Expo Suite, which has a media room and access to a boardroom and lounge designed for meetings and social gatherings.
Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Toronto is under way in the Yorkville district. The mixed-use development features 235 hotel rooms on the first 20 floors of the 55-story building. Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is also building a 65-story hotel and condo tower downtown that will open in 2011 with 220 guest rooms. The aloft Toronto is opening this spring with 250 guest rooms, and Element Toronto Downtown is scheduled to debut in September with 220 guest rooms.
Additionally, the Holiday Inn on King Toronto recently completed a property-wide renovation and will be converted to the Hyatt Regency Toronto this month.
The local entertainment package will expand, too, when the new Woodbine Live opens on a 120-acre site in northwest Toronto later this year. Woodbine Race Track and Casino, Canada’s largest racetrack, will have over 2,000 slot machines, 450 hotel rooms and a 100,000-square-foot conference center, in addition to a commercial and residential development.
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is a perennial four-season destination that hosts over 15 million visitors annually, and it keeps embellishing its appeal for meeting groups.
Thousands of affordable guest rooms, parks and recreational trails, historical and cultural points of interest, wineries, 42 golf courses and of course, the natural wonder of the falls combine to make a compelling destination. Groups enjoy wine and cooking schools, behind the falls experiences, historical museums and varied team-building exercises in a region that continues to thrill visitors of all ages.
Excitement is building for the scheduled 2011 spring opening of Niagara Falls Convention & Civic Centre, which will offer 250,000 square feet of space, including 80,000 square feet of exhibit space, 30,000 square feet of meeting space, an 18,000-square-foot ballroom and a 1,000-seat theater.
Jeff Dixon, the facility’s director of sales and marketing, says the addition of the new center will change his city’s meeting capabilities significantly.
“The largest group we can accommodate now is about 1,000,” he says. “With the addition of the new convention center, we’ll be able to handle about 5,000 delegates. The facility is really the final piece of the puzzle that will make us full service for groups.
“We want planners to know Niagara has changed dramatically in the past 10 years,” Dixon adds. “Groups have many new experiences here, such as our many wineries, world-class golf and a large inventory of guest rooms—about 16,000 in all price categories—and soon this new center that will really make us competitive.”
Niagara Parks Commission has debuted Elements on the Falls Restaurant, located at Table Rock with the closest restaurant view of the legendary Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Guests in this $38 million venue enjoy stunning views of the upper rapids and the brink of the falls.
The commission has also created a new attraction called The Fury. It’s a six-minute, multisensory extravaganza using satellite technology that submerges participants in a “4-D,” Universal Studios-style, 360-degree theater experience. Participants feel the full impact of Mother Nature as water bubbles and sprays, snow falls all around, and the floor tilts and trembles beneath them.
Muskoka
With a location only about two hours north of Toronto, Muskoka has been a popular getaway destination for generations. Sometimes referred to as “cottage country,” it welcomes over 2 million visitors annually. Its beautiful natural scenery is accented with picturesque villages and towns, farming communities and lakeside vacation hotels and resorts that come with golf courses, country clubs, marinas and meeting facilities.
The rising Red Leaves development on the shores of Lake Rosseau is transforming this already popular area into a must-see destination. Red Leaves is opening in several stages, beginning with the first piece, The Rock, a Nick Faldo-designed golf course.
The Rosseau, Canada’s first JW Marriott resort, opened in October. It includes the Red Leaves Spa, a 13,500-square-foot wellness facility; Wallace Marina, future home of the International Wooden Boat Museum; a 700-acre nature reserve offering hiking, mountain biking and cross-country skiing; and Minette Landing, a village development of specialty shops, boutiques, galleries, cafes, bistros and a theater.
Ottawa
As Canada’s capital city, Ottawa lies at the junction of three rivers. This location makes it rich in wide-open green spaces, parks and wilderness areas. And because it borders Quebec, it maintains a truly cosmopolitan profile—a North American city with distinctly European charm.
Attendees know they are in a historically British city when they witness the changing of the guard ceremony on the lawns of Parliament Hill or meet a scarlet-clad Mountie on the job. Private visits to gothic-style Parliament Buildings or private receptions in the interior when government isn’t in session testify to the endurance of grand British traditions.
Ottawa is accustomed to hosting international delegations and diplomats, and it is home to several hundred associations, especially in the technology, biotechnology and medical research fields, as well as 100 embassies and trade missions. Yet meeting attendees appreciate the city’s intimate scale and the serene riverside surroundings.
Ottawa Convention Centre is surrounded by 5,000 hotel rooms and dozens of restaurants and clubs that contribute to a lively nightlife. Nearby museums, such as the National Arts Centre overlooking Rideau Canal and Parliament Hill in the city core, offer lots of unique venues for private events.
A redevelopment project on the Ottawa Convention Centre is under way.
“The new Ottawa Convention Centre, opening in April 2011, is great news for Canada’s capital region and for the meeting planners who work with Ottawa Tourism,” says Barbara Cross, senior sales manager at Ottawa Tourism. “The new center will be extremely flexible, from a multipurpose hall that can accommodate 6,000 delegates theater style to a top-floor ballroom with a gorgeous view of Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal, recently named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What’s more, it will be LEED-certified and adhere to sustainable practices. Planners who might not have considered Ottawa in the past will definitely want to take another look.”
The all-new facility will link to the 180-store Rideau Centre and the 495-room Westin Ottawa. The convention center’s dramatic interior will be lit by natural light and offer about 200,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, with highlights including a multipurpose hall with 82,000 square feet of contiguous space and a 21,000-square-foot ballroom.
Kingston
As Canada’s first capital, Kingston holds UNESCO World Heritage standing and is renowned for its waterfront location at the convergence of Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and the Rideau Canal. Kingston is keeper of the nation’s earliest heritage and gateway to a region of great natural wonders, the 1000 Islands.
At only two hours from both Toronto and Montreal, and about 90 minutes from Ottawa, Kingston offers historic and modern facilities in every price range, with nearly 4,000 guest rooms. It holds critical acclaim as a culinary melting pot, with 200 restaurants, bistros and cafes.
The city’s largest meeting facilities can be found at the 251-room Ambassador Hotel, which has 22,000 square feet of function space. The Four Points by Sheraton has 171 guest rooms and 14,000 square feet of meeting space.
Attendees can relish the beauty of the islands with lunch or dinner cruises aboard a replica paddle wheeler. Delegates also frequently enjoy memorable evenings featuring the precision drill and thundering artillery of the Sunset Ceremonies at Fort Henry National Historical Site. And a Confederation Tour Trolley acquaints participants with the local American Loyalist heritage.
Sault Ste. Marie
To say that Sault Ste. Marie is in the center of everything is an understatement. It’s in the heart of not only Ontario, but also the Great Lakes region, the nation of Canada and North America. It sits at the Canadian end of the International Bridge that connects it with Michigan.
Groups will find nearly 2,000 guest rooms and over 150,000 square feet of meeting space citywide. One of the city’s newest facilities is a $25 million Sports and Entertainment Complex that also accommodates conventions, trade shows and other events.
Out and about, groups enjoy Casino Sault Ste. Marie, boat cruises and golf. The Agawa Canyon Tour Train is one of the most popular visitor activities. It carries passengers through rugged northern Ontario wilderness into Agawa Canyon, where hiking, picnicking and viewing the scenic surroundings make for unforgettable experiences.
Windsor
With a location near Detroit, Windsor has raised its profile as an urban meetings destination with the recent $400 million renovation of Casino Windsor, now Caesars Windsor. As the largest casino convention center in Canada, it covers 10 acres on an international waterfront only 45 minutes from Detroit’s airport. The Coliseum at Caesars Windsor is the largest venue of its kind among the nearly 40 Harrah’s Entertainment properties. And when it’s not showtime, the theater’s 5,000 seats retract, transforming the venue into an exhibition hall with 39,500 square feet of column-free space.
According to Shelley Sechopoulos, director of hotel and convention sales at Caesars Windsor, the entertainment value-add for meetings is a big selling feature.
“What we offer groups is top entertainment by stars such as Celine Dion, Jay Leno and Chris Rock, right here on property,” she says. “Couple this with the 100,000 square feet of meeting space we have, including a 26,000-square-foot ballroom, and we offer some unexpected ‘wow’ in an unconventional destination.”
Caesars’ new “Augustus” Hotel Tower features 369 guest rooms on 22 floors, all with riverfront views. The new tower brings the resort’s inventory to 758 rooms. Renovations have also come to the casino complex, including new gaming floors on two levels and new restaurants.
The city also boasts a new 6,500-seat arena. Windsor Family Credit Union Centre opened late in 2008, with a contemporary ice rink, a community center and a senior center.
Thunder Bay
Situated on Lake Superior, scenic Thunder Bay is a gateway to northwestern Ontario and an easy access point to and from the American Midwest.
The destination offers meeting and convention facilities ranging from full-service hotels like Best Western Nor’Wester Resort Hotel, Prince Arthur Waterfront Hotel & Suites and Landmark Hotel to unique venues.
Outdoor recreation abounds and so do sporting events, with racetracks, casinos, skiing, golfing, restaurants and nightclubs available to round out any business program.
For More Info
CVB of Windsor, Essex County & Pelee Island 519.253.3616 www.visitwindsor.com
Muskoka Tourism 705.689.0660 www.discovermuskoka.ca
Niagara Falls Tourism Visitor and Convention Bureau 905.356.6061 www.niagarafallstourism.com
Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation 800.668.2746 www.ontariotravel.net/meetings
Ottawa Tourism 613.237.5150 www.ottawatourism.ca
Toronto Convention and Visitors Association 416.203.2600 www.torontotourism.com
Tourism Kingston 613.544.2725 www.kingstoncanada.com
Tourism Niagara 905.984.3626 www.tourismniagara.com
Tourism Sault Ste. Marie 705.759.5442 www.saulttourism.com
Tourism Thunder Bay 807.625.2564 www.visitthunderbay.com
