OMA Launches New Resources to Support Tourism Success

“OMA Launches New Resources to Support Tourism Success

NOTE: An earlier version of this eNews alert contained non-functional links to the Pathways to Partnership map. You can access this feature by clicking HERE or following the buttons below!

May 15, 2026 – This Museum Month, the OMA is proud to share four new resources to support museums in tourism success, developed as part of our tourism growth initiative, Pathways to the Past.

Ontario’s community and rural museums are under-used tourism assets within the province’s visitor economy. Through this project, funded by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the OMA aimed to strengthen connections between Ontario’s culture and heritage sectors and the tourism industry. Pathways to the Past addresses a gap in tourism market readiness by providing practical training, collaborative learning opportunities, and sector-specific tools.

Building on the success of our pilot training course, developed in partnership with the Ontario Tourism Education Corporation (OTEC) in fall 2025, the OMA will launch a professional training program in late 2026, focused on tourism collaboration, data literacy, and partnership development for museums.

Pathways to Partnership:
Mapping Cultural Heritage & Tourism in Ontario

This interactive map visualizes Regional Museum Networks (RMNs), Regional Tourism Organizations (RTOs), and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) to help culture and tourism partners understand how their work overlaps, connects, and supports vibrant communities across the province.

Use this map as a starting point to understand where your organization fits into your local tourism landscape and identify potential avenues for support and partnership.

Tip! How to Use the Map:

Type in your city, town or area in the search bar to explore connections in your region.
Gain clarity on who’s who in your local tourism ecosystem: you’ll see neighbouring sites, your local tourism and destination marketing organizations, and your nearest Regional Museum Association.
Identify opportunities for partnership and collaboration, using the Resources for Tourism Success available below!

Explore the Map

Pathways to the Past: Resources for Tourism Success

These three downloadable resources are intended to provide practical guidance, encourage confidence, and support thoughtful engagement across the tourism ecosystem. Each resource can be used as a reference, a conversation starter, or a planning tool in your museum. Each resource is available in English and French on the OMA Resource Hub.

Tourism Resources on the OMA Resource Hub

Navigating the Tourism Ecosystem: Ontario’s Tourism & Cultural Heritage Landscape

This resource is designed to demystify the tourism ecosystem and help museums understand who is responsible for what, how groups collaborate, and where opportunities to engage exist. Using this tool, museums can understand themselves as active tourism contributors and see how their work naturally fits within a larger system that supports visitation, community pride, and economic impact.

Navigating the Tourism Ecosystem

Telling Your Story (Crafting Your Pitch)

This resource is designed to help museum professionals turn programs, exhibitions, people, and places into clear, compelling stories that resonate beyond the museum walls and support Ontario museums as vibrant contributors to the tourism economy, placemaking, and their community. It focuses on pitching with purpose, understanding your audience, and preparing confidently for media opportunities.

Telling Your Story (Crafting Your Pitch)

Tourism Readiness: A Self-Guided Reflection

This self-guided reflection is designed to help GLAM sites reflect on how they currently engage with Ontario’s tourism ecosystem and where there may be opportunities to strengthen connections over time. Fill out the reflection to identify current strengths and actionable next steps for your site, guided by helpful industry insights and tips to build your tourism engagement.

Tourism Readiness: A Self-Guided Reflection

The OMA office is located in Tkaronto (Toronto) within the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. Tkaronto (Kanien’kéha, meaning – ‘where there are trees standing in water’), is now also home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, as well as settlers and newcomers, and is subject to the Dish with One Spoon Wampum covenant between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Three Fires Confederacy (Ojibwe, Odawa, and Pottawatomie), and other allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources in and around the Great Lakes. Tkaronto (Toronto) is also subject to Treaty 13 with Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

As a provincial association, our work and the work of members takes place in the territories (unceded and treaty) of Indigenous peoples in what is known as Ontario. As treaty peoples, we acknowledge the complex colonial legacy of museums and our responsibilities to land and community in uplifting reconciliation, decolonization and Indigenous self-determination. We remain grateful to all the Nations, ancestors and individuals who guide us along this path towards humility, sustainability, and reciprocity.

Our Mission

The Ontario Museum Association strengthens capacity among institutions and individuals active in Ontario’s museum sector, facilitates excellence and best practices, and improves the communication and collaboration of its membership. The Association advocates for the important role of Ontario’s museums to society, working with all stakeholders, related sectors and industries, and other professional organizations.