Canada’s Tourism Vision: Focused on Growth

Beautiful landscapes. A diverse, welcoming culture. A rich, storied history. Canada’s tourism industry truly is world-class. And every day, tour operators, retailers, hoteliers, restaurateurs—many small business owners—welcome thousands of tourists from around the world. It is these hardworking Canadians that give us a welcoming, inclusive and warm reputation for which we are famous.

Tourism is a vital part of the Canadian economy.

The Government of Canada, led by the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Minister of Small Business and Tourism, has a clear plan to work with all partners to grow international tourism to Canada.

The New Tourism Vision is a whole-of-government approach to seizing the global opportunity that tourism offers.

In every region of the country, tourism creates jobs and opportunities, for Canada’s middle class:

• It is our largest service export and represents more than 2 per cent of our GDP.
• One in 11 Canadian jobs—more than 1.7 million—depends on the tourist economy.
• Tourism is our number one employer of youth, and is an important provider of employment for new Canadians.
• In 2016, international visitors accounted for $20 billion in tourism revenues. Domestic tourism raised just under $72 billion.

Tourism builds people-to-people connections, supports cultural exchange, expands trade opportunities and foreign direct investment, while helping Canadians and people from around the world better appreciate and understand each other.

Through the New Tourism Vision, the Government is taking action to improve Canadian tourism marketing, access, and product—all with the clear goal of increasing the total number of visitors to Canada.

The Global Opportunity

Worldwide, tourism is booming. In 2016, more than 1.2 billion tourists took a trip internationally—an increase of almost 4 per cent from 2015. Growth in tourism outpaced growth in merchandise trade.

The tourism industry is valued at over US$1.5 trillion (approximately CDN$2 trillion).

Canada’s Opportunity

Canada stands to benefit from this encouraging global trend. We have seen tremendous growth in international tourist arrivals in recent years.

In 2015, the number of international visitors to Canada grew by 7.5 per cent to reach 17.8 million. In 2016, we welcomed almost 20 million tourists, a further increase of 11 per cent.

The world has taken notice of Canada. The New York Times, Lonely Planet and Condé Nast have all recognized Canada as the top international destination for 2017. With the 150^th anniversary of Confederation underway, 2017 is going to be bigger and better.

Next year, we will celebrate the 2018 Canada-China Year of Tourism. This is an opportunity to welcome more visitors from the world’s fasting growing source country for international tourists.

Where we’re heading:

Canada’s New Tourism Vision sets out concrete targets for growth:

• Canada will compete to be one of the Top Ten most visited countries in the world by 2025.
• The number of international overnight visits to Canada will increase by 30 per cent by 2021.
• The number of tourists from China will double, by 2021.

How we’re going to get there: the MAP to Growth

Canada’s New Tourism Vision is focused on taking action under three pillars: Marketing, Access and Product.

This is our MAP to growth.

• Marketing is the key to attracting tourists to Canada. To build on Canada’s strong international brand and get the word out to new markets, the Government’s Vision will make use of both traditional and innovative new media.
• Making Canada easier to Access by international travelers. Cost, travel time (including flight connections), and ease of access to a destination all have an effect on trip planning.
• Building on our incredible tourism Product offerings. In a competitive global market, we must continue to innovate. Tourists seek authentic experiences, and to keep them coming back for more, this Vision will help to support the renewal of products and services on offer.

The Government is also committed to working closely with our provincial and territorial colleagues. The Canadian Council of Tourism Ministers recently announced the Nunavut Declaration, which commits to collaboration in order to grow and increase the competitiveness of Canada’s tourism sector. We will also work in close collaboration with stakeholders in the tourism industry, to ensure that their views are heard and that they are updated on the progress of our vision.

Pillar 1: Marketing

Destination Canada, our country’s national tourism marketing agency, has been successful in developing campaigns targeted to individual markets and traveler interests. They work closely with Canada’s tourism industry and with Provincial and Territorial destination marketing organizations to present a Canada-wide message.

Action Item 1: Stabilized funding for Destination Canada

As part of Budget 2017, the government will invest $95.5 million in Destination Canada on an annual basis. Previously, targeted short-term funding had been provided for specific marketing campaigns. This long-term stabilized funding will allow Destination Canada to continue sustained marketing campaigns to attract more visitors, while also being able to plan ahead.