(Pembroke, ON) - The Ontario's Highlands Tourism Organization (OHTO) has partnered with Direction Ontario, the leader in Francophone tourism marketing, to increase regional visibility with the French-language tourist market. The OHTO has leveraged this relationship to bring a significant cost-savings to local businesses by offering free enhanced directory listings in the 2011 edition of Ontario's only comprehensive French-language travel directory, L'Ontario en français.

"The French-language market is an important market to target, especially with the relatively close proximity to the Quebec border. At the same time, with this partnership, we can also increase our appeal to French-speaking visitors in the rest of Canada and in Europe. It's a market that businesses might not have even considered," according to OHTO Marketing and Communications Coordinator Leah Piltz. The free directory listing will give businesses a Francophone presence both in the print travel directory, that has a distribution of 40,000 copies, and also online at the websites DirectionOntario.ca and VoyagesOntario.com. The OHTO has ensured that free translation is also included for business that may not be able to write their listing in French.

In addition to the free directory listings, the partnership between the OHTO and Direction Ontario will also include representation throughout 18 pages of the 2011 Francophone Travel Guide. This will consist of region-specific editorial pages offering an overview of the tourism area (including a map, editorial content, and photos), and suggested itineraries of must-see and dos, and vacation ideas. The guide and companion websites are invaluable resources to visitors, letting them know what there is to see and do in the area.

Members of the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association (OVTA) who wish to be included in the OHTO/Direction Ontario free directory listing offer are asked to contact the OVTA at 1.800.757.6580 to obtain their free listing. Non-member tourism businesses who are interested in learning more about this exciting opportunity and future OHTO and OVTA initiatives are also encouraged to contact the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association. The directory listing submission deadline is Wednesday, December 15, 2010.

The partnership with Direction Ontario is just one of the many initiatives that the new Ontario's Highlands Tourism Organization is currently working on to promote tourism in the area. Tourism stakeholders and businesses in Renfrew County are encouraged to keep in touch with their local Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) - the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association - to hear about upcoming promotions and events.

The Ottawa Valley Tourist Association is the official destination marketing organization for the Upper Ottawa Valley and proudly represents more than 200 tourism businesses, comprised of attractions and events, accommodation, dining and retail establishments, rafting companies and outfitters, artists and galleries, as well as media and industry suppliers.