Conservative Failure on Tourism Costs Canadians Jobs

May 7, 2013

OTTAWA– Conservative cuts to tourism have cost Canadians jobs and seriously impacted our country as a global travel destination, said Liberal Small Business and Tourism critic Joyce Murray today.

“The Canadian Tourism Commission’s annual report confirms that the Conservative government’s repeated budget cuts and policy blunders have cost Canada thousands of jobs and compromised the success of Canada’s tourism industry,” said Ms. Murray. “Under the Harper Conservatives, Canada’s share of global tourism is declining significantly while the world market is growing exponentially.”

Over the past decade, and as outlined in the Canadian Tourism Commission’s Annual Report 2012, international tourism receipts have doubled from roughly $500 billion to over $1 trillion. Yet during this same period, Canada has alarmingly dropped from the 7^th most visited destination globally to 18^th, while the average number of annual visitors has fallen from 20 million to 16 million. Meanwhile, by next year the Commission will receive only $58 million in funding – a 23 percent cut to its base funding in the past two years alone.

“Tourism is an $80 billion industry here in Canada and, directly or indirectly, supports almost 10 percent of all Canadian jobs,” said Ms. Murray. “With so many middle-class family incomes and youth jobs at stake, the Conservatives failure to support tourism demonstrates tremendous economic incompetence.”