Sustainable shopping, collaborative opportunities, celebrating YOU, trainings, and tourism trends to keep your eye on. Take a look below for all the amazing opportunities our partners (and us) are working on!

Yesterday, October 19, 11am-3pm, individuals could shop smarter and lighten their footprint on Light Street in Woodstock for Waste Reduction Week!

You could visit three local businesses helping them help the planet. There were samples, draws, and a free class.

The businesses involved were:

Jarful Refillery

Plant Inspired Kitchen

The Soulful Spoon

Celebrate the season with the Fall Fun Trail from 10am-3pm on October 22nd.

The Fall Fun Trail is designed to invite you to explore with family and friends with Fall-themed activities, shopping, plus a tasting and demo all in one.

Park in Downtown Tillsonburg and take an autumn stroll between participating locations:

Tillsonburg Town Centre

Trinkets Gift Shoppe

Two Girls and a Cheese Shop

Tillsonburg Branch of the Oxford County Library

• Award Recipient: Red Dragon Dairy
• Red Dragon Dairy received the Agricultural Award from the Ingersoll District Chamber of Commerce for superlative service and special contributions to the community. Congratulations to the Red Dragon Dairy team on this award!
• A New Chapter for The Olde Bakery Cafe
• Congratulations to Sue and thank you for all the years of love you put into the cafe. This spot will continue to be the place for celebrations, coffee dates and community events with Adam, Nicole and Jessica, along with their parents Richard and Gloria. Congratulations to the Quesnel Family on this new adventure!
• Rainbow Registered - Woodstock Art Gallery
• Congratulations to the Woodstock Art Gallery team on their accreditation as a LGBT+ friendly organizations. Congratulations to the Woodstock Art Gallery team for meeting the stringent set of standards to ensure LGBT+ customers feel safe, welcomed, and accepted.
• Udderly Ridiculous Nominated for 8 Ontario Tourism Resiliency Awards!
• Congratulations to Udderly Ridiculous for being finalists in the TIAO 2022 Ontario Tourism Resiliency Awards! They are finalists in 3 Sustainability categories, 4 Innovation categories and 1 Collaboration category! Congratulations to Cheryl and the Udderly Ridiculous team!
• Woodstock Chamber of Commerce Awards - VOTE NOW
• The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce awards of Excellence voting is now open! Browse the nominees and cast your vote for the winners here. You might even recognize a few of the businesses who have been nominated!

Help us talk about you - holiday content wanted!

Holiday season is right around the corner and we’re preparing content to inspire holiday shopping and activities throughout Oxford.

Preparing for this busy time by making your lists and checking them twice? Add ‘Send Content to Tourism Oxford’ to your list to be included in one of our Gift Guides. This year we are focusing on the following themes:

• Stocking Stuffers
• Eco-friendly/Giving Back/Sustainable Gifts
• For the BBQ Lover
• Kids and Kids at Heart
• Decked out for the Holidays (places that are going over and above with decorations, holiday events, etc.)

Please submit to Karlee Slattery at kslattery@oxfordcounty.ca

Hosting a holiday event - parade, art show, theatre - or related event? Please send information to Emily van Straten at evanstraten@oxfordcounty.ca

Oxford County submitted a successful application for SWOTC-TRF funding. Oxford County’s successful grant application was to create/enhance tourism product and experiences through development, training and collaborations focusing on culinary, inclusive, sustainable, cycling and seasonal dispersion.

Oxford County gratefully acknowledges the Government of Canada's support through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) for tourism businesses in Oxford County.

In addition to Oxford County’s successful SWOTC-TRF application, 9 other Oxford County organizations received funding. Congratulations to the successful applicants:

• Norwich and District Historical Society
• Makkink’s Flower Farm
• Town of Ingersoll
• Golspie Dairy
• Ottercreek Woodworks
• Ingersoll Creative Arts Centre
• Bre’s Fresh Market
• Aggie Armstrong Fine Arts
• Thames River Melons
• Downtown Ingersoll BIA

Read the news release from Ontario's Southwest.

Please see the backgrounder for information on all projects receiving support. 

New Ontario Tourism Health Check Report

Destination Ontario’s Insights team has released the most recent Ontario Tourism Health Check report which highlights key recovery indicators such as accommodation occupancy rates and border crossings.

As a reminder this report tells the tourism recovery story by curating relevant tourism data into a form that visualizes the information for industry stakeholders.

Ontario's Southwest is looking for YOUR videos!

Ontario’s Southwest is looking for videos from tourism operators within Oxford County that can be used in the development of Instagram Reels or TikToks. If you have videos to share, please click here to submit them. Contact megan@swotc.ca if you have any questions.

Tips to creating excellent footage using your cell phone:

• Please take the video footage holding your phone vertically (like a hot dog).
• Move slowly when you are filming so that the video doesn’t look bumpy. Videos can always be sped up if needed during editing.
• Panning – Keep the phone close to your body and move slowly. Vertical Panning – start low to the ground and then go up.
• Consider Dead Space – leave room for text to be added on the video.
• Don’t worry if the videos aren’t perfect! Ontario’s Southwest is looking for short clips and will edit as needed.

Training Opportunities

Tourism Oxford is excited to partner with Ontario's Southwest to offer the following training opportunities.

November 1st - Why Invest in Sustainable Tourism - 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Improve your knowledge on sustainability as a topic and build an understanding of the assessment criteria specific to the tourism industry and what is measured within the environmental, social and cultural, and economic aspects of your business.

November 1st from 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

November 7th - Shoulder Season Growth - 10:30 am - 2:30 pm

Help us make Oxford County a year-round destination - we have the potential! Join Valerie Keast with the Culinary Tourism Alliance to learn more about consumer needs and unique ways to grow your business.

November 15th - EcoFund - 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

A great session for accommodations and those requiring admission pricing. Outline how GreenStep’s EcoFund Verified program can help businesses get ahead of rising energy costs, save hundreds of thousands of dollars on energy and carbon taxes, and increase the value of your business; all while meeting the growing consumer demand for responsible business.  

This year the FEO Awards Program is FREE to enter if you are a FEO Member in good standing from September 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022.

Also this year we are opening up the Awards Program to Non-Members for a one time opportunity. There is a $100+hst fee for each Award Category you would like to enter.

Award Categories: The Top 100 Award, Sponsor of the Year, Best Promotional Campaign, Best New Festival or Event, Best Greening of a Festival or Event, Best Social Media Campaign, Best Volunteer Program, the FEO Impact Award, the FEO Innovation Award and more!

Apply Here

Tourism Oxford | 519-539-9800 x3355 | tourism@oxfordcounty.ca |

Consumer website: www.tourismoxford.ca

Industry website: www.oxfordcounty.ca/tourismpartners