Tourism Industry Celebrates Strong Growth: TIAC
Canada’s tourism industry had a strong summer season with a record number of overseas visitors in 2014.
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) says the solid growth from overseas, in addition to re-entering the US market with a national campaign, will put the industry on track to reach its goal of 5% growth.
According to officials, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) which markets Canada in 10 overseas countries around the world performed especially well, averaging 12.7% growth compared to last summer (June, July August) in its target overseas markets. On the other hand the US market, which represents three quarters of all international visitors, only saw a 0.2% growth from last summer.
“The strong performance from CTC markets this summer is a testament to the value of national marketing campaigns in selling a country. We congratulate the CTC and their provincial/territorial and destination partners on creating momentum for the industry,” said TIAC chair Michael Crockatt. “As the US is such an important market for our industry, we hope the CTC will be able to re-enter the US with similar results.”
Tourism is an $84 billion industry that directly employs more than 600,000 Canadians in every region of the country. In 2013, 79% of tourism revenue came from domestic travellers. However, with international travellers spending on average three times more than domestic travellers, TIAC is looking to boost international travel by 5% to match global growth rates and capitalize on this booming industry.
