Tourism Industry Applauds $800 Million in Tourism and Travel Investments Announced in Budget 2009

I am very happy to post the following press release from Kevin Desjardins, Director, Communications for the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. It is a good day for tourism in Canada, given the challenges we face this year.-
Ottawa, January 27, 2009 - The Tourism Industry Association of Canada welcomed the announcement in today's federal budget of a number of key funding initiatives worth more than $800 million to help support the competitiveness of Canada's tourism and travel sector.
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"The government's new investments in Canada's tourism sector announced in today's federal budget will provide stimulus to the industry in these challenging economic times, and will help address several longstanding competitiveness issues facing our industry," said TIAC President and CEO Randy Williams.

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Among the funding initiatives for the tourism sector announced in the federal budget were:

• $40 million over two years to the Canadian Tourism Commission ($20 million for domestic marketing and $20 million for emerging markets)
• $100 million for marquee festivals and events over two years
• $150 million for Canada's national parks system over two years ($75 million for visitor facilities and $75 million for national historic sites)
• $25 million to create new hiking trails across the country
• $407 million for improvements to passenger rail service in the Montreal to Toronto corridor operated by VIA Rail

Additional funding of projects which will assist in the development of vital tourism infrastructure

• $24 million over two years for cruise ship tourism
• $60 million over two years for local and community cultural and heritage institutions (i.e. theatres and museums)
• $140 million over five years for Northern Economic Development, a substantial portion of which will be directed towards tourism projects

"These investments will help to improve product animation - or the way we deliver experiences - of some of Canada's most important tourism destinations, and will provide both international and domestic travellers with even more compelling and urgent reasons to visit Canada," continued Williams. "Moreover, the additional marketing dollars allocated to the CTC will allow the country's national destination marketing organization to promote these new and improved tourism products to potential visitors from traditional and emerging economies of the world."

TIAC has always regarded government as an essential shareholder in Canada's tourism industry, and the investments announced today clearly demonstrate that the government understands the sector's profound effect on the economy at large; an important export industry employing Canadians in every community. TIAC, on behalf of its members across the country, is pleased to see that the government has addressed many of the issues which were raised by the industry in the Association's June 2008 report, The Report on Canada's Tourism Competitiveness.

On the day of this important announcement, TIAC would like to wholeheartedly salute the work of the Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, the Hon. Diane Ablonczy in helping to secure this funding. Ms. Ablonczy has been an attentive and conscientious advocate for the tourism sector at the cabinet table over the past two years. TIAC also acknowledges the efforts of Industry Minister Tony Clement and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who have both demonstrated a knowledge of and commitment to Canada's tourism sector. The global tourism industry is intensely competitive, with more and more countries inviting increasingly discerning travellers to visit and spend their foreign currency in their communities.