Long-time NOTO (Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario) executive director Doug Reynolds is stepping down.
In an effort to become “leaner and more efficient,” Reynolds will help the board develop a transition plan.
“It is no secret that the tourism industry in Northern Ontario has faced some tough times over the past few years, so it will come as no surprise that NOTO has been facing similar challenges,” he said in a press release. “If NOTO is to survive and remain effective, it is clear that it will have to become leaner and more efficient, at least over the short to medium term. This determination, reached by the NOTO board, is one with which I fully agree.”
Although the organization is not facing a financial crisis, it will be restructured around a different model and approach.
“Though far from strong, NOTO is in better overall financial condition than it has been in the recent past. That is why this is precisely the right time to act – while the organization has the means to take real action,” Reynolds said.
The Northern Ontario Tourist Outfitters Association was founded by a group of tourism operators in 1929 to create an organized voice for the resource-based tourism industry in Northern Ontario.
In 2000, it adopted the additional operating name of Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario to better reflect that the organization is provincial in nature. Although most of the nature and outdoor tourism industry is located in Northern Ontario, many issues affect the entire industry, and many operators in southern Ontario felt they had no organized voice, and needed one.