Call for Presentations
Tourism Canada Congress Event Description and Details
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada’s (TIAC) annual Tourism Congress is a two-day immersive conference experience. TIAC’s Tourism Congress brings together leaders from the tourism sector, key stakeholders, government partners and political representatives to share key insights, showcase new ideas and best practices, and re-ignite our industry’s passion for innovation and positive change. TIAC’s Tourism Congress is an opportunity to learn about new ways of doing business, breaking down barriers and pushing the boundaries to elevate Canada as a global tourism destination.
Founded in 1930, TIAC has been hosting this gathering of the minds for many years. The first officially recorded conference, then called the Tourism Summit, took place in 1994 in Vancouver. Since then, the event has been held annually and has grown with upwards of 500 delegates. Except for it being held virtually in 2020 and in Vancouver in 2024, the Tourism Congress has been hosted in the Ottawa/Gatineau Region for over 10 years.
Our Reach
TIAC’s annual Tourism Congress typically attracts a wide range of business owners, senior management, and key corporate decision-makers, including presidents, executive directors, chief operating officers, general managers, and account executives from the public and private sectors. Large national and multinational companies, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, attend Tourism Congress, including businesses representing accommodations, airports, attractions, concert halls, convention centres, duty-free shops, festivals & events, restaurants & food services, arenas, transportation, travel services, travel trades, destination and provincial/territorial marketing organizations, suppliers, travel media, and educational institutions and their students. Congress is expected to attract C-suite industry representatives, mid-level management, small and medium-sized enterprises and professors, teachers, and students from educational institutes.
This year’s Tourism Congress will return to the nation's capital in Ottawa and Gatineau at the Hilton Lac-Leamy. We are excited to bring the community together once again and showcase innovative ideas, tried and true best practices and industry support.
TIAC’s 2025 Tourism Congress will be held November 21–23, 2025, in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. All speakers are expected to register as fully paid delegates and attend the full event.
TIAC is committed to bringing a diverse group of voices, experiences, and ideas to TIAC’s Tourism Congress. We encourage folks from equity deserving groups to participate in this call for presentations. We also encourage all submissions to make every effort to bring diverse voices to their presentations, especially when proposing a panel discussion. Bringing together a diverse set of speakers is a top priority for TIAC and will be an important consideration in the final speaker selection.
Submission Guidelines
We invite you to be a thought leader, bring your ideas to the stage and showcase the innovative work being done within the sector. TIAC’s Tourism Congress delegates are looking for new ideas, case studies, data metrics, and industry inspiration. Delegates represent a truly national audience with participants from every province and territory. Our participants are decision makers, C-level, and executives make up nearly 40% of our delegates.
Format for Presentations
- 45-minute keynote style address
- 60-minute panel style presentation with live Q&A
- If your submission needs a different presentation style, please explain why.
Important note: Presentations cannot be a sale demonstration or pitch!
What to Include in Your Submission
- Session title
- Short, descriptive title as it should appear on the event schedule.
- Session description
- Summary of your session as it should appear on the event schedule. No more than 250 words
- Session outcomes/ learnings
- What the key takeaways will be for delegates. Please list up to three.
- Preferred presentations format
- 45 min. keynote style, 60-minute panel
- Please note, TIAC may request your participation in an alternative style to accommodate the program and maximize speaker opportunities.
- Session logistics
- Number of speakers or panelists and their names if they have confirmed their participation
- Will you be presenting any visuals during your presentation? If so, what is the format (PowerPoint, Canva, etc.)?
- What is your preferred room setup (e.g., theatre, roundtable, rows of tables and chairs)?
- Speaker bio(s) and headshot(s)
Remuneration
There is no fee payable by TIAC for this speaking opportunity.
Speaker Expectations
Please note that all accepted speakers are expected to agree to the following terms:
- Meet all TIAC provided dates and content deadlines.
- Be prepared for audience interaction through at a minimum Q&A
- Participate in promotional efforts to broaden the reach of the TIAC’S Tourism Congress through social media engagement and content creation (led by TIAC)
- Pay for, and participate fully in the TIAC’s Tourism Congress
Deadline for Submissions
All submissions must be received by February 28, 2025, 5:00 p.m. PST.
All submissions must be made through the following link:
If you have any questions please contact Jayden Jones, Event Manager – Program Development, TIAC, jjones@tiac-aitc.ca