The Destination Markham Corporation (DMC) is an arm’s length municipal corporation launched in April 2020 as the destination management organization (DMO) for the City of Markham.

Destination Markham’s purpose is to promote Markham as a remarkable destination for visitors, including tourists, sport and festival attendees, meeting, and conference delegates, and business travellers.

The key tourism objectives are to research, develop, market, and grow Markham’s tourism/visitor economy. This initiative will collaborate with Markham’s hotel industry, festival-event conference-travel planners, attraction operators, cultural institutions, sports tourism promoters, entertainment and recreation providers, food service businesses and the City of Markham.

Destination Markham will:

  • Take a leadership role in promoting and marketing Markham as a leading destination for tourism, leisure and business travel with an emphasis on promoting overnight stays.
  • Promote developments and investments that increase and enhance Markham’s attractiveness as a tourism destination and as an economic sector generating employment and taxable assessment.
  • Collaborate with stakeholder organizations such as Central Counties Tourism, Markham Board of Trade, York Region’s tourism organizations, and other business, government and not for profit organizations in delivering programming that attracts greater spending and investments in Markham.
  • Develop relationships with tourism stakeholders and other levels of government.
  • Develop and implement Destination Management strategies and activities that reflect Markham’s unique character, its cultural and built heritage, natural features, diverse ethnic communities, social and cultural traditions, recreational and sports assets, and business development opportunities.
  • Seek to leverage the transit and infrastructure investments made by the City, York Region and the Province of Ontario to build exciting tourism offerings and a sense of place in key areas such as Downtown Markham, local village cores, and other strategic areas.
  • Undertake its work based on an informed and objective decision-making process that is accountable and transparent, resulting in city-wide benefits.

2022 Business Priorities

  1. STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP & CAPACITY BUILDING
    Strategic Priority #1: To continue building organizational capacity.
    Key Goal #1: To create an inspiring vision and strategic plan, and to improve capacity.

  2. RESTARTING AND STRENGHTENING MARKHAM’S VISITOR ECONOMY
    Strategic Priority #2: To restart Markham’s visitor economy.
    Key Goal #2: To directly impact the restart of the visitor, and continue to build DMC’s industry profile as the leading tourism authority in Markham.

  3. DRIVING GROWTH
    Strategic Priority #3: To drive growth.
    Key Goal #3: To develop the market for conferences, meetings, events, and leisure, and to position Markham brand as a destination on the domestic and international market.

  4. MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
    Strategic Priority #4: To position the “Markham Brand” and its value proposition in the tourism sector.
    Key Goal #4: To promote Markham as a diverse and leading destination in Canada.