Travel agents and Canadians in the travel and tourism business know they play a huge role in Canada’s economy.

Maybe the federal government is figuring that out, too.

Federal Minister of Small Business and Tourism Bardish Chagger launched Tourism Week on Sunday, noting that Canada set a record for visits last year (20.8 million) and that revenue from domestic and international travellers reached a remarkable $97.4 billion last year.

“The first quarter of 2018 is off to a promising start, with Canada enjoying its best first quarter ever for tourism,” Chagger said. “in the first three months of this year, the number of overnight visits by international travellers hit a record high of 3.1 million. In addition, China overtook the United Kingdom as the number-one source of international tourists to Canada—the first time it has topped the list.”

“This is very good news as we celebrate the Canada-China Year of Tourism this year,” the minister continued. “Our government has committed to doubling the number of Chinese visitors by 2025. The Canada-China Year of Tourism offers a tremendous opportunity to strengthen the people-to-people ties that connect our two countries and to grow Canada's tourism sector, which supports 1.8 million jobs from coast to coast to coast.”

Throughout the coming week, Chagger will join tourism industry stakeholders and representatives from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and other tourism associations for a number of events in the nation's capital that celebrate Canadian tourism.

(As an aside, I’ve railed at the Canadian government for years for putting the tourism portfolio in with small business, as tourism is an enormous source of income for this country. It’s just plain wrong, and misguided. But at least Chagger appears to have some influence in the Trudeau cabinet.)

As Canada's tourism industry enters the high season, TIAC is pleased to kick off Tourism Week, a nationwide celebration in which industry and stakeholders come together to celebrate the importance of tourism and discuss ways to strengthen our industry,” said Charlotte Bell, President and CEO, Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

“Tourism currently contributes $97.4 billion to the economy, makes up two per cent of Canada's GDP and is responsible for supporting 1.8 million jobs in every area of the country,” she said.
“Throughout this week, members of our association and tourism businesses across Canada will engage in collaborative activities and policy discussions to help us reach the goals of Canada's Tourism Vision and continue to move Canada's tourism sector forward."
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