Tourism Highway Signs Program

header image

  The TODS (Tourism-Orientation Directional Signing) Program is being offered through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. This program qualifies tourism operators to place their business signs along provincial highways.
The TODS program provides wayfinding and directional information to travelers throughout the province of Ontario. Signs on the freeway display the business name and icon or logo.
Since September 2013, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (MTCS) and the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) have been engaging with a wide range of tourism stakeholders to collect feedback from across the province on the effectiveness of the Tourism-Oriented Directional Signing (TODS) program.
The ministries have now completed the review of the TODS program, and are pleased to share the final results.
Policy and Program Improvements
TODS policy improvements will be implemented starting in Spring 2015.  Significant improvements will include: 

  • Allowing tourism-designated outlet malls and regional travel information centres to apply for signage on our roadways;
  • Extending full signing opportunities to campgrounds on freeways;
  • Expanding eligibility criteria to allow for more rural downtowns, trail access points, museums, and cultural centres to qualify for signage;
  • Modernizing Area Profile sign criteria to recognize Tourism Regions and bilingual signing opportunities;
  • Strengthening program awareness and service delivery;
  • Modernizing Basic Advertising requirements to focus on online advertising; and
  • Introducing new generic icons for a wide range of sign categories to be made available in late 2015.

The full details can be accessed from this web link: http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/tourism/tods.shtml

footer image