Earlier today, the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance unveiled the new Federal Tourism Growth Strategy: Canada 365: Welcoming the World. Every Day. The announcement was made in Niagara Falls alongside;
- Chris Bittle, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Member of Parliament for St. Catharines;
- Vance Badawey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services and Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre;
- Marsha Walden, President and CEO, Destination Canada;
- Beth Potter, President and CEO, Tourism Industry Association of Canada; and
- Keith Henry, President and CEO, Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada.
This strategy is released after almost 12 months of consultations - roundtables and online submissions garnered input from some 400 tourism stakeholders, and follows the 2019 plan called Creating Middle Class Jobs: A Federal Tourism Growth Strategy, which identified that the Canadian tourism sector was not reaching its potential. The newly announced strategy uses 2019 as a foundation and incorporates lessons from the past three years of the pandemic.
The strategy outlines five Guiding Principles;
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Reconciliation in action
Sustainable and regenerative approaches
Focus on rural Canada
Canada has what the world wants
& was built on five strategic priorities;
Invest in tourism assets
Embrace recreation and the great outdoors
Partner to grow Indigenous tourism
Attract more international events
Improve coordination with a Federal Ministerial Council
TIAO is encouraged to see that the main themes throughout this document are in line with our priorities. We recognize all of our members that contributed by providing feedback and input in the consultation period. We also welcome the federal Ministerial Tourism Growth Council to be established, and congratulate TIAC for advocating for this table to be put in place for the last twelve months. It will help put the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy into practice and ensure a whole-of-government approach to tourism growth and the visitor economy.
The strategy outlines some key goals and targets through to 2030 to increase tourism’s economic output and improve Canada’s competitive standing internationally. These include;
Increase the tourism sector’s contribution to Canada’s GDP by 40% in 2030 to $61B
Impact of increase in tourism sector’s contribution to Canada’s GDP means an estimated additional 85,000 direct jobs
Restore Canada’s ranking in WEF Global Travel and Tourism Development Index from 13 in 2021 to 7 by 2030
We thank the Honourable Randy Boissonnault for championing this strategy and we look forward to supporting in Ontario as government looks to bring the tourism industry to new heights.
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