Federal Tourism Strategy
Tourism is an increasingly important industry that supports small businesses and provides employment to Canadians across the country. The policies and programs of many federal departments and agencies have an impact on the tourism industry. In recognition of this, the Government of Canada made a commitment in Budget 2009 to improve the effectiveness of the support to the tourism sector through a Federal Tourism Strategy. The development of an FTS will aim at bringing greater coherence to the policies and programs that support tourism, thereby supporting long-term economic growth in Canada. To download the Federal Tourism Strategy click here.
About the Canadian Tourism Industry
Tourism is an important driver of economic activity in all regions of Canada. Tourism contributes as much to our country's wealth as agriculture, fisheries and forestry combined.
In 2008, tourism activity generated over $74 billion in revenues, represented 2% of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) and directly employed over 660,000 Canadians. Tourism is crucial to the bottom-line of key industry sectors, the primary source of revenues for passenger airlines and accommodation properties. Tourism also supports restaurants and the entertainment industry, including performing arts, cultural and sporting events, and a variety of small- and medium-sized businesses. Collectively, government departments and agencies invested over $540 million a year in 2007-2008 in initiatives that had a direct, positive impact on tourism, a 34% increase over the previous year.
At Industry Canada, the Tourism Directorate leads federal tourism policy development by engaging with other departments on issues that impact tourism and in working cooperatively with provincial and territorial governments to help expand tourism.
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