22 MAY 2019: “Just over three out of four international visitors travel only to Canada’s largest provinces, Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, and most go to their biggest cities: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.” A new government tourism policy looks to change that, but admits, “Drawing tourists to venture beyond the big cities remains a challenge for regions that want to expand their visitor economies.”

The new Canadian tourism strategy is meant to help boost international visits to Canada during non-peak seasons by more than a million people and get visitors to see the country beyond Canada’s biggest cities. The plan, unveiled in Montreal, includes $58.5 million over two years to help communities create or improve tourism facilities and experiences.

The funding is supposed to back experiences that show off Canada’s strengths, and break visitors’ fixation on just a few destinations in the nicest weather.

Tourism Minister Melanie Joly said Tuesday that the tourism measures are tooled to help tourism revenues grow by 25 percent to $128 billion, by 2025 and the government also hopes to create 54,000 new jobs directly related to tourism.

In 2018, the federal government says, Canada welcomed 21.1 million international tourists, surpassing the previous year’s record of 20.9 million.

The federal government knows that tourism helps every part of the country, Joly said, adding it has seen many examples of communities transforming and diversifying their economies by attracting visitors.

Tourism is a pillar of the Canadian economy, generating $102 billion in annual economic activity, supporting 1.8 million jobs and accounting for over two percent of gross domestic product, the federal government said.

After the Montreal announcement, Joly headed into Ontario for stops at a brewery and a winery in the eastern part of the province, where culinary tourism is a fledgling industry.

Restaurants Canada

Restaurants Canada welcomed the national tourism strategy.

Building on commitments made in the 2019-20 federal budget, it said in a statement that the strategy emphasizes the critical role of culinary tourism for promoting the Canadian brand at home and abroad and supporting the advancement of Canada’s tourism industry.

“Foodservice is not only the number one source of tourism jobs, we’re an integral part of every Canadian hospitality experience,” said Shanna Munro, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada.

“As the voice of the Canadian foodservice community, Restaurants Canada is thrilled to now have a national tourism strategy that recognizes the significance of our role at the table.”