The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) has named Beth Potter as president and CEO of the organization effective March 15, welcoming the 30-plus year industry veteran at what the organization says is a critical point in its history as the pandemic continues to play out.

Most recently serving as president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (AITO), the tourism industry veteran has extensive experience in the NPO and tourism sectors, having worked with several boards and committees including recently contributing to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s tourism recovery efforts.

“Before COVID-19, Canada’s tourism sector generated $105 billion, accounted for 2 percent of the country’s GDP and created more than 1.9 million jobs,” said TIAC Chairman David McKenna. The pandemic is the worst crisis our industry has faced in its history. As a result, Beth is joining TIAC at a critical time as she leads efforts to revitalize Canada’s visitor economy.

“Beth will enable TIAC to benefit from its extensive industry-specific advocacy knowledge and experience, both nationally and internationally,” he continued. “Such experience is essential to support the TIAC team and our industry… By effectively leading its advocacy efforts, the Canadian tourism industry will be able to welcome visitors from across the country and around the world whenever possible.”

“Clearly, the tourism sector is going through a very difficult time,” Potter said. “However, the sector remains both innovative and resilient… The government’s decisions in the coming weeks and months will have a significant impact on our ability to bring the number of jobs and tourism’s contribution to the Canadian economy back to pre-COVID-19 levels.”

Potter noted that over the past 11 months, TIAC has made significant progress, including through the implementation of federal financial assistance programs that have proven essential to the tourism industry and is determined to take advantage of such achievements to ensure that tourism can benefit from specific support essential to its recovery.

Founded in 1930 to encourage the development of tourism in Canada, TIAC serves today as the national private-sector advocate for this $102 billion sector. Based in Ottawa, TIAC’s mission is to support Canadian tourism businesses and promote positive measures that help the industry grow and prosper.