April 2026

Tourism Itinerary Challenge

Design a Tourism Experience That Puts Your Community on the Map

Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in Canada, supporting over two million jobs and connecting communities from coast to coast to coast. In this challenge, you'll design a unique local itinerary showcasing the less-explored, distinctive features of your hometown or region — the hidden gems that visitors may not find on their own.

About Discover Tourism

Watch this video to explore how Discover Tourism is helping young people explore career opportunities in one of the world's fastest-growing industries. Then read on to see how you can take part in the Tourism Itinerary Challenge, design a unique tourism experience, and earn micro grants while building real-world skills.

Challenge Overview

Active Submission Period

April 1-30, 2026

Eligibility

Grades 7-12 students across Canada

Total Incentives

$10,000 in micro grants

Individual Awards

20 winners × $500 each

Submission Deadline

April 30, 2026 at 11:59 PM EDT

Challenge Details

Canada's tourism industry is booming — and every community has something unique to offer. In this challenge, you'll design a one-of-a-kind local tourism experience that highlights the hidden gems of your hometown or region, explains who it's for, shows how it benefits the local economy, and connects it all to real careers in tourism.

Create a detailed weekend itinerary for a unique tourism experience in your hometown or region. Your experience should: • Showcase less-explored or distinctive local features — not the obvious tourist spots everyone already knows about • Include specific stops, activities, or highlights that make your itinerary stand out • Show that you're thinking about environmentally and community-conscious choices in your itinerary Think about details like: • Supporting local businesses and artisans instead of big chains • Keeping your environmental footprint low, such as eco-friendly ways to get around (walking tours, bike routes, public transit) • Highlighting Indigenous culture or local heritage (with respect and authenticity) • Who the tourist will interact with, what their role is, and how they contribute to the experience Think about what makes your community special — the places, people, stories, and traditions that visitors may not discover on their own.

Identify the target visitor demographic for your experience. Consider who would be most interested: • Families with young kids? • Adventure seekers? • Foodies and culinary tourists? • Cultural tourists interested in history or the arts? • Eco-tourists and nature lovers? • Young travellers looking for unique experiences? Explain: • Why your experience would appeal to this audience • What makes your region uniquely suited for this demographic • What would draw them to your community over other destinations

List the actual businesses and services a visitor would interact with during your experience. Think about every stop on your itinerary: • Where would they stay? (hotel, B&B, campground) • Where would they eat? (restaurants, cafés, food trucks) • What attractions would they visit? (museums, parks, zoos) • What experiences would they take part in? (sports, concerts, festivals) • What services would they use? (bike rental, guided tour, shuttle) • Where would they shop? (local artisans, gift shops, markets) Explain how your experience supports these businesses and contributes to tourism jobs and community development in your area. Pro tip: Think about the full end-to-end journey of a visitor — from the moment they arrive (airport, train station, highway) to the moment they leave. Every step of that journey involves a local business or service. The more of these you can identify, the stronger your impact statement will be.

Record a 90-120 second video covering Steps 1-3. Your video should walk through: • Your experience concept and what makes it unique • Your target audience and why they'd love it • The local impact and businesses involved • The tourism roles connected to your experience Format is flexible: • Talking head, animation, documentary style, vlog — whatever works for you • Vertical or horizontal — your choice • Props, maps, photos of your community are encouraged • You don't have to show your face if you prefer voice-over with visuals Video length: 90-120 seconds (1.5-2 minutes)

Before submitting, review your video: ✓ Does your experience showcase less-explored, distinctive local features? ✓ Did you include environmentally and community-conscious choices? ✓ Did you identify a clear target audience? ✓ Did you list the actual businesses and services a visitor would use? ✓ Did you list some actual roles/careers people might interact with, e.g. tour guide, chef, hotel staff, etc.? ✓ Is your video between 90-120 seconds? Make sure your video link has proper sharing settings — test it in an incognito browser window before submitting.

Evaluation Rubric Summary

Total: 100 points

Content & Accuracy

25%

Comprehensive coverage of all required elements with accurate, detailed information

Local Impact & Community Connection

25%

Real local businesses and careers referenced to demonstrate community connection

Engagement & Creativity

25%

Compelling delivery that maintains viewer interest through creative presentation

Communication & Clarity

25%

Clear audio/visuals with logical organization, smooth flow, and meets 90-120 second requirement

View Detailed Evaluation Rubric Here

Frequently Asked Questions

Get answers to common questions about this activity

Carefully read the Activity Details steps 1-5 to understand what is being asked of you in this activity. You can also watch the How this Works video for a detailed overview.

You're being asked to submit a 90-120 second video highlighting the research and planning you did from steps 1 through 3. Your video should cover: your tourism experience concept, your target audience, and the local businesses and economic impact. Make sure your video link has proper sharing settings — test it in an incognito browser window before submitting.

Yes, you can complete the activity multiple times exploring different tourism experiences, though students can only win one micro grant per activity. We'd encourage you to focus on quality, not quantity.

No, it's whatever feels authentic and engaging to you. It can be a TikTok style video with lots of different cuts and background music or more documentary style — whatever you will enjoy making more, and clearly communicates the requested information from steps 1-3.

Nope, it doesn't matter at all what tool you use. There are lots of free tools available to make videos today. Check with your school to see what they already have access to. For example, Canva is a great tool to be able to create videos with.

Lots of skills like research, critical thinking, communication, content creation, and entrepreneurial thinking. You'll also learn about tourism planning, economic impact analysis, environmentally conscious decision-making, and career exploration. It would be a good idea to add the completed video to your myBlueprint portfolio and reflect on what skills you feel like you've developed.

Submissions will be reviewed by a team of representatives from myBlueprint. We may, if needed, collaborate with representatives from Discover Tourism.

Yes, videos will be accepted in either English or French.

Depending on the volume of submissions, we plan to have selected and be able to announce winners by the midpoint of the following month. So for example, with this activity, we hope to be able to announce the April winners by mid-May.

Yeah, that's a great idea, along with a reflection of what you learned from doing this activity and what you found interesting. As a heads up, we'll also be asking students to submit evidence of their completed activities through a myBlueprint portfolio if you plan on applying for one of the Series Completion incentives at the end of the year.

You can absolutely complete this activity on your own. That being said, you should absolutely communicate with your teachers (and parents) that you're doing this and see if you can potentially earn credit for the work that you're doing for this activity.

The Local Tourism Challenge has been designed as an individual activity.

Yes, you can still submit monthly activities after the deadline. However, any activity submitted after the deadline is not eligible for that month's pool of micro grants. It still makes sense to complete them even after the deadline so that you can potentially earn one of the Series Completion incentives. Those only require all activities to be completed, not necessarily completed within the month of the activity.

Teachers won't be able to see through myBlueprint which students have submitted activities or not. However, we will create reports that will be shared with your myBlueprint lead at the school board level who can share specifics with you upon request.

myBlueprint is solely responsible for running the Industry Immersion Series. Meaning that only myBlueprint is collecting any information related to this Series. No personally identifiable information is being shared with any third parties. We will publish de-identified (anonymous summary data) information to provide updates on how the series is going. For example, the number of activity submissions received for each month, which province they're coming from, and communicate with our school board partners about school-specific participation. Click here to see the questions students are being asked to answer when they submit their completed activity.