Canada unveils vision to reclaim place among world's top 10 destinations
Gary NoakesCanada has unveiled a new tourism development plan, which includes marketing the country as a year-round option, aimed at regaining its spot among the world’s top 10 destinations.
Speaking at Rendez-vous Canada in Edmonton, tourism minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada said the strategy would seek to increase annual earnings from $113 billion to “up to” $160 billion by 2030, she said, whereas doing nothing would see earnings only reach $140 billion.
Ferrada said the government would support SMEs “across the country” to reinvigorate its industry. “It will put us in the top seven destinations in the world."
In 2021, the World Economic Forum ranked Canada as 13th in the list of global destinations, a drop of three places and the first time Canada has fallen out of the top 10.
Destination Canada is tasked with delivering the strategy, Tourism 2030: A World of Opportunity. President and chief executive Marsha Walden admitted Canada had ground to make up.
“Our sector and our global competitiveness has been slipping since 2009," she said. "We have struggled to keep pace with other countries. We want to reclaim our position in the top seven global destinations.”
She said Canada had to be “more competitive”. “We need to think differently about how we produce revenue and yield," she continued. "We need to be more year-round and ensure peak periods maximise revenue. There is good work going on to expand our seasons right across the country.”
Canada is hampered, in particular, by accommodation shortages in some areas, and Walden admitted there were also “capacity challenges”.
Walden added Canada had to become “a must see, not a someday destination”. Efforts would be made to disperse guests to new areas and extend seasons.
Other efforts include supporting communities and tourism corridors in developing long-term tourism plans and identifying their infrastructure needs, and making relevant data to support this more accessible to businesses.
"We are creating one of the world’s leading data resources,” said Walden. “It will make us smarter marketers and more successful destination developers.”
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