Regenerative Strategy & BOPs

2025 – 2026 Business and Operational Plan

This Business & Operational Plan (BOP25-26) provides a brief background on the status of the organization and the state of the regional tourism industry. It also identifies specific goals, activities, timelines, performance measures and budget that have been developed to meet the requirements of the annual Transfer Payment Agreement (TPA) with the MTC&G for the upcoming fiscal year.  BOP25-26 priorities were finalized by the Board of Directors during a Zoom meeting that was held on January 16, 2025.

This BOP continues work established in the Regenerative Tourism Strategy (see BOP21-22) that positioned EE as a destination development organization within the Canadian tourism industry.  Just as the previous BOP24-25 served as the roadmap for the foundational work of many key regenerative initiatives, including the innovative niche online travel agency, as a natural progression, Fiscal 2025-2026 will serve as the roadmap for the operationalization of these projects. Though this year is not a “reset”, per se, it does mark the beginning of EE launching some of the most significant programs in the organization’s history.

Given the significant challenges consumers continue to face apropos negative macro-economic factors (inflation, high cost of living, housing scarcity/affordability), and given global economic and geopolitical upheaval (now exacerbated by the recent U.S. election), a fitting overall theme for the upcoming year from EE’s perspective is “Anticipated Uncertainty.” Undeniably, there are a lot of unknowns in the industry as consumers retrench, as borders tighten and as digital platforms (the most popular media for content marketing) alienate audiences. Fortunately, because EE has built its castle on regenerative development (and the building of business ecosystems) and not on the unpredictable sands of external influences, the organization anticipates one of its most innovative and impacting years yet in terms of outcomes. The ability to be strategic and agile to adapt to changing circumstances is part of EE’s DNA, and it’s hoped that this will serve the industry well.

Key areas for BOP25-26 consideration are:

  • Operationalize and piloting the niche Online Travel Agency (OTA).
  • Increased revenue generation for multiple streams, and OTA purchase conversions in particular, resulting in greater sustainability for the organization, tourism stakeholders, and communities.
  • Differentiated marketing to distinguish the region, tourism stakeholders, and EE programs in the marketplace
  • Attracting transportation partners to increase accessibility of the region.
  • Creating the pipeline for developing local human capital and initiating innovative training projects as part of the greater “Catalyst Housing” strategy.
  • Firing up the Co-Creation Lab to build strong networks of partners working together for mutually beneficial outcomes.

Additionally, the Board and CEO will establish a new Budget & Finance Committee that will assist with financial oversight, strategic planning and resource allocation, mainly because the OTA and revenue generation initiatives will require additional and novel considerations.

Finally, in a year of anticipated uncertainty, EE will rely on building “affinity” in all areas of operations, in order to create consumer and corporate ecosystems that will allow the stakeholders, communities and the organization to thrive for many years to come.

Explorers’ Edge Business and Operational Plan 2025 – 2026

2024 – 2025 Business and Operational Plan

This Business and Operational Plan (BOP24-25) provides a brief background on the status of the organization and the state of the regional tourism industry. It also identifies specific goals, activities, timelines, performance measures and budget that have been developed to meet the requirements of the annual Transfer Payment Agreement (TPA) with the MTCS for the upcoming fiscal year. BOP24-25 priorities were finalized by the Board of Directors during an in-person meeting that was held on January 16, 2024 in Gravenhurst, Ontario.

This BOP continues work established in the Regenerative Tourism Strategy (see BOP21-22) that positioned EE as a destination development organization within the Canadian tourism industry. It also provides updates on “Year-1” of the “Transformation in 3 Years Blueprint”, an internal guide for successful completion of longer-term projects that the company focuses on, but which may not fit entirely within the annual reporting structure of the TPA. Annual BOPs for each fiscal year contained within this three-year time frame (2023-2026) will build upon the previous year’s work. “T3Y” encompasses the umbrella goals of internal and industry “transformation over three years,” and is intended to guide the EE team in its daily work.

Key areas for BOP24-25 consideration are: the launch of the branded “regenerative travel agency” and the “higher yield” strategy; the launch of a new competitive marketing strategy that will also eliminate duplication in the crowded domestic market (which also involves onboarding a new marketing agency of record); the development and launch of a community and stakeholder communications plan pertinent to the company’s work-integrated training project (known as “Catalyst Housing”); and the development of training programs also pertinent to the latter. The Foundational Framework (developed in 2023) for the Catalyst Housing Project will be entrenched into measurable objectives, and the Workforce Infrastructure Strategy of “Train, House, Incentivize, Partner” will be the guiding principles for workforce development in general.

Additionally, the CEO and the Board’s Governance Chair will undertake a review of current governance to
determine how it can be strengthened and/or enhanced to support the longer-term projects and expected outcomes of the RTO’s yearly plan.

As part of its “community-centric approach,” in the last fiscal year, EE introduced the “Explorers’ Edge CoCreation Lab” (CCL), a dynamic entity that allows us to engage community members and to solicit insights from external technical experts to assist with the development of programs. The CCL will help to ensure long term success of and buy-in for multiple projects, while acting as a function of a broader communications effort. The first session was launched at the Fall 2023 Regional Tourism Summit, in the form of a hosted event called “The Women in Tourism Luncheon.” An outcome of this session was the development of the EE Women in Tourism Social Clubs – scheduled gatherings in Muskoka and Parry Sound to support women in the industry and to encourage more to consider a career in the sector.

Explorers’ Edge Business and Operational Plan 2024 – 2025

2023 – 2024 Business and Operational Plan

This Business & Operational Plan (BOP23-24) outlines EE’s annual work; provides a status of the organization and the regional industry; and identifies specifies goals, activities, timelines, performance measures and budgets for the upcoming year. It was finalized by EE’s Directors during a regular meeting of the Board that was held online on January 25, 2023.

This BOP continues work established in the Regenerative Tourism Strategy (see BOP21-22), which positioned EE as a destination development organization within the Canadian tourism industry. It also marks a post-pandemic return to establishing longer-term objectives. In the form of an internal process rather than a set strategy, and referred to internally as the “T3Y Blueprint”, this approach will guide the expanding EE team as they develop the organization and its programs over the period from 2023-2026. Annual BOPs for each fiscal year contained within that time frame will build upon the previous year’s work. “T3Y” encompasses the umbrella goals of internal and industry “transformation over three years,” and is intended to guide the EE team in its daily work.

Key areas for BOP23-24 include: social enterprise business model development for the new ‘regenerative travel agency’ and the catalyst housing project; launch of the Regional Data Hub online; continuing development of work-integrated training, micro-credentials and tech innovation; development of transportation projects (as per the 2018 Product Development Framework); and revisiting the consumer marketing plan in lieu of Porter Airlines ending service at the Muskoka Airport, due to their own logistics issues. (Learnings from the successful air service project are invaluable for future private/public/non-profit partnerships, the latter of which will likely be required for EE’s more ambitious initiatives.) Significant work will be done to update HR practices, in lieu of labour market shifts coming out of the pandemic.

Workforce development will continue to be the priority for the foreseeable future, and the organization’s own staff expansion will be important to ensure projects are completed.

As part of its “community-centric approach”, EE recently introduced the “Explorers’ Edge Co-Creation Lab” (CCL), a dynamic entity that will allow us to engage community members and to solicit the insights of technical experts from outside the industry to build programs. The CCL will help to ensure long term success of and buy-in for multiple projects, while acting as a function of a broader communications effort.

In 2023-2024, EE will continue toward its vision for a resilient and thriving regional tourism economy by keeping regenerative principles at the forefront of all its endeavours. With renewed verve and vigor for our work in post-pandemic world, we will focus all our efforts on the transformation of people and place.

Explorers’ Edge Business and Operational Plan 2023 – 2024Download

Historic Business and Operational Plans