Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8) is seeking knowledgeable and experienced tourism industry professionals in the Kawarthas Northumberland region to provide business mentorship that will contribute to the region’s economic growth.
The organization, which is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, has announced a refreshed delivery of the Acceler8 tourism business mentorship program.
Held in partnership with regional destination marketing/management organizations, as well as local economic development offices in Northumberland County, City of Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough County, and the City of Peterborough, the program offers a personalized approach to assist tourism sector businesses in identifying and solving specific business challenges.
For 2025, Acceler8 has been refreshed to help local businesses navigate changing economic and market conditions. Through a facilitated and structured coaching process, mentors will be matched with business owners based on their skillset to lend invaluable guidance and support them in tackling challenges, improving efficiency, and reaching their goals.
As a new facet of this year’s program, participating mentors will be acknowledged financially.
“We are recognizing and acknowledging the time and commitment that the mentors are making to the Acceler8 program,” says Acceler8 program manager Joe Rees. “As part of the refresh, we are providing an honorarium for their time and expertise. We’re all about promoting that people across industries should be getting paid for their work.”
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RTO8 is seeking mentor applications from those with experience and expertise as accommodation, retail, attraction, experience, or food and beverage providers within Kawartha Lakes, the City of Peterborough, Peterborough County, or Northumberland County.
“Tourism is recognized as a very significant economic driver, and regionally we have to acknowledge that we share the same visitors across the region,” Rees says. “We embrace a huge geographic area — some of it is GTA adjacent, a lot of it is rural, some of it is cottage country — so we’ve got a myriad of opportunities and a myriad of existing experiences, resources, and accommodation providers.”
“It’s important to get some perspective from somebody who’s dealing with the same things as business owners because tourism is regional. There are different municipalities, different rules and regulations and bylaws, and in some cases a different type of visitor. It’s invaluable to have somebody who’s dealing with exactly the same thing you’re dealing with.”
Whether mentors are current or retired business owners or specialists in a key business discipline, they will join the lineup of tourism support professionals who have years of expertise in offering guidance to Acceler8 participants. Acceler8 mentorships are highly flexible and can be adjusted to fit a mentor’s schedule and availability for as little as two to three hours in a month.
“We want to have a strong number of mentors with a good cross section of skillsets so we can promote the program and deal with some of these business issues and challenges as they come up,” Rees says.
“An experienced person could be somebody who’s just been through the fire for the very first time, has successfully created an experience and navigated the challenges and pitfalls, and is ready to give back to someone else.”
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Mentors will have the opportunity to share their expertise, leadership, and coaching skills and connect with other experienced professionals, all while making a meaningful impact on local tourism businesses and contributing to the region’s economic growth.
Given the partnership opportunities across tourism businesses, Rees notes that offering support across the region is always beneficial as “a high tide floats all boats.”
“If there’s a visitor coming to a successful experience down the road, they might come to your place to eat and they might stay in the accommodation next door,” he explains. “Every person who’s being mentored and every person who is a mentor have their own networks, which can lead to exponential growth in finding new suppliers and partnerships.”
Given the current economic climate and the prediction that Canadians will be spending more time vacationing in Canada as a result, Rees is hopeful that Acceler8, with the guidance of knowledgeable mentors, will help regional tourism businesses thrive this summer.
“Summer’s coming up fast, and we want to contribute to as many new and exciting opportunities for people to visit as possible across the region,” he says. “We talked for years about staycations and we’re back there again, so we’re looking forward to a busy year.”
For more information on Acceler8 and to apply to become a mentor, visit www.rto8.com/acceler8/.
This branded editorial was created in partnership with Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8). If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.
