Acknowledging that the Canadian economy will not fully recover until the country’s tourism sector recovers, Canada’s tourism ministers vowed continued support for the domestic industry in the face of the ongoing pandemic at a gathering on Friday.
Meeting at the annual Canadian Council of Tourism Ministers meeting (CCTM) in Quebec, the group of federal, provincial, and territorial tourism ministers promised to establish a collaborative work plan designed to help the industry recover from losses garnered during the global health crisis and again reach the record levels of foreign visitations to Canada achieved in 2019 (22 million).
The plan, to be introduced “in short order,” will consist of three key elements:
• Collaborating to address the challenges posed by workforce shortages
• Addressing access to destinations
• Promoting economic growth for the entire tourism sector, specifically sustainable tourism, events, and Indigenous experiences
The CCTM event, co-chaired by federal tourism minister Randy Boissonnault and his Quebec counterpart, Caroline Proulx, provided a forum for attendees to agree on common objectives to pursue, which included the reaffirmation of the need for continued collaboration and support for the sector through the pandemic and towards recovery.
“We know the Canadian tourism sector continues to be one of the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Canadian economy will not fully recover until tourism has too,” said Boissonnault. “I want to assure all Canadians in the sector that we will continue to support businesses through the current challenges.
“Tourism is everybody’s business, a key economic driver in communities across the country. As the federal minister of tourism, it is my responsibility to leverage best practices and to collaborate with my colleagues on a workplan for 2022 and years to come…”
Throughout the meeting, the ministers discussed the current context and the main challenges affecting the recovery of the tourism sector, both in the short and long term, including uncertainty surrounding the trajectory of the pandemic, the level of tourism demand, workforce challenges, and destination development.
They also affirmed their commitment to strengthen federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) collaboration in developing policies that will help the sector recover, where necessary, all while respecting federal, provincial, and territorial areas of jurisdiction and the needs of municipalities.
The ministers noted the importance of working with partners and stakeholders in their respective jurisdictions with the goal of restoring travellers’ confidence in Canada.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, our government has implemented robust measures to support our stakeholders,” said Quebec minister of tourism Proulx. “We will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure a strong and dynamic tourism recovery and to help our businesses and workers and lead our industry to the heights it had reached before the current crisis, a desire we all share.”
Added BC minister of tourism Melanie Mark, “Tourism is vital to our country, communities, economy, and the people whose livelihoods depend on its continued success. We recognize the ongoing challenges faced by the tourism sector and are committed to our collective recovery and future growth by working and paddling together.”
The ministers said they would review progress on this work plan throughout 2022. British Columbia is the new co-chair of the CCTM and will host the next meeting later in the year.