Backgrounder

Ontario’s tourism businesses and operators offer products, services and vacation experiences that are second to none.

A new quality improvement program designed specifically for the tourism industry ensures that facilities and establishments across Ontario can strive for the highest standards of organizational excellence and enhance their reputation among travelers around the world.

The Ontario Tourism Excellence Program provides Ontario tourism facilities with a proven approach to strengthen their business, reach their business goals and achieve recognition for business excellence achievement.

Program Overview

The Ontario government has partnered with the National Quality Institute (NQI), industry stakeholders and the Ontario Tourism Education Corporation (OTEC) to develop the Ontario Tourism Excellence Program. Building on the internationally recognized Canadian Framework for Excellence, this voluntary program provides a comprehensive set of criteria for management practices and principles that re-enforce and sustain excellence. The criteria are based on years of accumulated knowledge and experience, and reflect the unique circumstances of tourism and hospitality organizations.

Foundational principles of the program

The following principles permeate the Tourism Excellence Criteria. Such principles are reinforced in successful organizations.

Leadership through involvement -Excellence can only be achieved in a business by the active involvement of its ownership and management in establishing unity of purpose and to reinforce, communicate and support changes necessary for improvement.

Primary focus on customers and the market place - In order to achieve its goals, the primary aim of everyone in the business should be to understand and strive to meet customer needs.

Cooperation and teamwork - Teamwork is nurtured and recognized throughout the business as a cornerstone for the development of win-win relationships.

Prevention-based process management - A business is a network of interdependent value-adding processes, and improvement is achieved through understanding and (if necessary) changing these processes to improve the system, or service chain. To facilitate long-term improvement, there is at all levels determination to eliminate the causes of errors, roadblocks and waste.

Factual approach to decision making - Decisions are based upon sound information and data and the understanding of the cause-and-effect mechanisms at work, not simply on the basis of authority or anecdotal data.

Continuous learning and people involvement - At all levels, individuals are given the opportunity to develop their potential, use their creativity, and make a positive contribution to the business's pursuit of excellence.

Focus on continuous improvement through creative thinking and innovation - Creative thinking and innovation is a cornerstone for continuous improvement. No matter how much improvement has been accomplished, there are always fresh ways of doing even better.

Fulfil obligations to all stakeholders and society - A business is part of society, with important responsibilities to both its own stakeholders and the wider community.

Program participants will proceed through three levels of implementation and recognition:

Level One - Commitment

This level reinforces the need to have a clear aim in mind to move your business forward and the importance of being customer-driven and having improvement goals incorporated into any business plans. Also staff involvement issues and training requirements plus having capable suppliers and partners involved with the business to help sustain a focus on excellence.

Level Two - Implementation

Builds on the good things you have achieved through working at Level One. Among other factors Level Two reinforces the need for keeping measures on quality, such as customer satisfaction, staff satisfaction issues and the control of key work processes across the business. Using Level Two, building on Level One, also helps you to maintain focused thinking across your business around improvement of processes, notably those that directly impact your customer; you will find that using the Tourism Excellence Criteria as your Framework for moving the business ahead is a great way to keep the focus on quality right across the business on an ongoing basis.

Level Three - Results

The good things established and achieved from using the Tourism Excellence Criteria at the other levels bring positive results for the business. Level Three has a key focus on results, for example in customer satisfaction and loyalty, he performance of procedures and processes in the business to improve and sustain quality, and overall business results in revenues, costs and growth.

Organizations that attain Level 3 certification may apply for national recognition through the Canada Awards for Excellence.