Journey to Impact | #Meet4impact

Journey to Impact

The principles of sustainable development are key to ensuring a flourishing future for the tourism industry now and in the future. Hence, it is essential to innovate and integrate sustainable and responsible practices into the strategy of tourism companies and thus contribute to territorial development focused on social inclusion and sustainability.

Thanks to the Journey to Impact, participating businesses will acquire the knowledge and tools that will help them adapt their offer of services by integrating sustainable practices, and also contribute to the transformation of the tourism industry as a whole, acting as stakeholders for the Plan d’Action pour un Tourisme Responsable et Durable 2020-2025 of the Tourism Ministry.

The Journey to Impact means to:

Provide functional knowledge on the issues of sustainable development and social responsibility in tourism and catalyzing a commitment to business models generating a positive social impact.
Strengthen the capacities of tourism organizations to develop more sustainable and responsible business practices adapted to their needs and those of visitors, in alignment with local, regional and federal strategies.
Stimulate organizations to set up innovative and sustainable tourism solutions that are more inclusive of their community.

Participants of the Journey to Impact will become members of an ecosystem with an aim to launch the recovery in a sustainable manner, that will generate positive value and will meet the aspirations of montrealers as well as tourists.

Thanks to a partnership with the City of Montreal and the Palais des congrès de Montreal, #MEET4IMPACT is able to offer the Journey to Impact for free to a cohort of 15 tourism organisations located on the island of Montreal.

The Journey

Part 1 - KNOWLEDGE BUILDING & EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES

Part 2 - CAPACITY BUILDING TO ACT

Part 3 - TAKING ACTION TOWARDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE MODEL

Finally, we'll put our learnings to action. Organizations will be able to put into practice the skills acquired by developing their action plan and incorporating the principles of sustainable development using a dashboard and advised by our mentors. They will also be encouraged to implement at least one measure as of the next tourist season.

Taking action towards a more sustainable model

Knowledge building & exploration of opportunities

Through a series of group workshops, we will cover the concepts of sustainable development, the United Nations’ Sustainable Developments Goals and the trends from all over the world in sustainable and responsible tourism. We will explore the strategic orientations of governments, as well as themes such as circular economy and eco responsibility. We will also explore the concepts of social impact. This module is meant to create a universal base of knowledge, to inspire through case studies and establish sectorial references.

Our mentors will then accompany the participants in a mini-diagnosis to identify the issues on which the actions of the company can have an impact. Following a group meeting and an individual meeting, companies will have identified the opportunities available to them to effect beneficial change.

Capacity building to act

Expected results

At the end of the course, it is expected that participating companies will be able to:

Identify the main challenges of sustainable development and social responsibility specific to the tourism sector
Better understand the positive and negative impacts of their tourism activity
Identify the growth opportunities generated by more sustainable tourism
Understand how tourism activity can contribute to government strategies aimed at sustainable recovery
Integrate an ecosystem and practice exchanges of best practices and networking with other companies interested in a sustainable transition
Formulate new innovative and sustainable strategies and practices for their business - put in place an action for the 2022 season and submit a draft action plan for the 2023+ season

Commitment required

The Journey to Impact will begin on November 1, 2021 and will continue until June 15, 2022. Participants will have access to an e-learning platform where they will be able to view all the training and reference content and from which they will be able to access the workshop trainings and other resources along the way.

Participants should commit to:

Part 1, between November 1st 2021 and February 18th 2022: Six (6) group workshops lasting 2 hours each. At least one week is planned between each workshop.

Allow about 1 hour for readings / screenings before each workshop and 1 hour for homework after each workshop.

Also plan one or two networking activities with their peers and trainers during this period.

Part 2, between March 9th and April 29nd 2022: One (1) group workshop lasting 2 hours and a personalized meeting of 1 hour. Reflection process within the company should be done between meetings.

Part 3, between May 2nd and June 15th 2022: Two (2) group workshops lasting 2 hours and a personalized meeting of 1 hour. Reflection and development work within the company should be done between meetings.

Evaluation Criteria

The company's engagement in the Impact Pathway process.

Eligibility criteria

Have a main business establishment located on the island of Montreal

Understanding the challenges of sustainable development, sustainable tourism and impact.

Operate in the tourism industry (attraction or activity, tourism services business, accommodation, catering, transport, travel services, leisure and entertainment, etc.) or tourism-related events

Understanding of the growth opportunities for the business related to sustainable development, sustainable tourism and the impact.