Peter Hum – Ottawa Citizen – Publishing date:Jun 24, 2020 •
Ottawa Tourism on Wednesday launched a free digital “passport” of discounts from more than 60 local businesses that is meant to spark the city’s pandemic-ravaged economy.
The passport’s offers, which are downloadable at ottawatourism.ca/myottawa-pass, are valid through July 31. The discounts are to be redeemed directly through smartphone technology as part of contactless interactions in line with COVID-19 best practices.
“With the #MyOttawa Pass, Ottawa Tourism is switching gears and focusing on Ottawans as the first ones to help get Ottawa’s tourism industry back on its feet. We are promoting the #MyOttawa Pass as a way to rediscover our city and start spending money again at local tourism businesses, particularly at a time when, for them, every dollar counts,” Michael Crockatt, Ottawa Tourism’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
Some of the businesses represented in the discount collection are Holtz Spa, Ottawa Biplane Adventures, Saunders Farm, the Bytown Museum and the Ottawa Art Gallery.
In an average year, roughly 11 million visitors come to Ottawa and spend $2.2 billion. The comparable figure in 2020 will drop by more than 60 per cent to just $800 million because of COVID-19, Ottawa Tourism estimates.