Price hike for tourism signs a move in the wrong direction, attractions say

The Old Stone Mill in Delta, Ont., is a national historic site that dates back to 1810. Visitors can watch theworking waterwheel turn the enormous millstonethat still grindswheat into fine flour, available for purchase in the modest gift shop.

According to its website, the impressive stone buildingis among "the finest examples of early industrial architecture in the region."

But the volunteers who run the place are afraid tourists won't be able to find it,tucked between Upper and Lower Beverley lakes off Highway 15, about 40 kilometres south of Smiths Falls.

That's because they can no longer afford to pay the hefty price for the two blue Ontario tourism signs that have for years guided motorists to the mill.

Price more than doubled

According to Ken Watson, who's volunteered at the Old Stone Mill for 20 years, thecompany that installsthe "tourism oriented directional signing" (TODS) has more than doubled its prices in certainhigh-traffic areas.

Watson saidhe was "shocked" when the Delta Mill Society received the2019 invoice.

"We're self-funded in a rural area. We barely had the money to support our existing signage, but we felt it was important," Watson said."We certainly don't have the funding to justify the increase up to what it is now."

The annual fee for the two signs on Highway 15 used to be about $300,but Watson said the 2019 fee has ballooned to $800.

"That's a lot of bake sales," Watson said.

The signs have become so costly that the society's board recently voted to pull out of the TODS program altogether.

Price hike for signs shocks tourist site volunteers

6 years ago

Duration 0:43

Ken Watson, a longtime volunteer with the Old Stone Mill in Delta, Ont., says the historic site simply can't afford the new price for highway signs directing tourists to the site. The company that installs the blue signs has more than doubled its prices in some areas.

No explanation

The program is managed by Canadian TODS Limited under the supervision of Ontario's Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

The general manager of the company referred CBC to the ministry for comment,but the ministry wouldn'texplain why the rates have risen so drastically.

In a written statement the ministry said it's "aware of the concerns raised by [the company's] clients about program rate increases," and is monitoring the situation.

According to the ministry's website,a recent review of the TODS program foundmost tourism operators believe the blue highway signs are "an important tool for profiling and directing customers to their business."

No warning for businesses

The CEO of Attractions Ontario, which represents about 500 tourism businessesin the province,saidhe's concerned about the suddennessof the increase, not to mention thefinancial strain it placeshis members, many of whom operate on a shoestring.

"The fact that it was poorly communicated and that they're trying to capture all the necessary increases in one year," Troy Young said.

Young said about 30 operators have already told him they plan to pull out of the sign program.

Young said he'sworking with other representatives from Ontario's tourism industry to seek solutions, but without a reversal, tourists might have to find their own way to the Old Stone Mill and attractions like it next year.