As we close off Tourism Week, I was pleased to have the opportunity to sit down with the Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Randy Boissonnault along side John Wilson the President of The Wilson’s Group. The minister was well briefed on the motor coach and group travel segment and was keen to hear our recommendations for the economic revival of the visitor economy. Early this month minister Boissonnault announced the launch of consultations for renewal of Canada’s Federal Tourism Growth Strategy. This strategy will focus on labour gaps and instability, investment attraction, destination development and long-term economic growth across the country. The deadline for submissions is July 20th. I encourage all members to participate in this important process by submitting written submissions. If you choose to do so, please align your asks with those of the association and send your submissions to me directly.
The association participated in Tourism Week events and was able to connect with many key policymakers. This year’s theme of Travel now. For work, life, and play! was chosen to emphasize that the visitor economy is open and ready to safely re-welcome travelers from Canada and all over the world.
The association continues discussion with the government to remove travel barriers, specifically at the border. ArriveCan and the requirement to enter arrival data within 72 hours continues to challenge many members. We continue to push for the removal of this requirement which will allow passengers to entre this data at anytime before departures.
I look forward to meeting members in Toronto at the Ontario Transportation Expo from July 17th – 20th or at on the coarse on August 23rd during our Golf Tournament or at Marketplace taking place November 13-16, 2022 in Niagara Falls Ontario. If you haven’t registered, please do so soon.
As we rebuild our industry, the association must also recapture members to continue to grow our influence with the governments. Please encourage your industry connections to join the association or to consider signing up for this newsletter. Please feel free to connect our team members to those industry stakeholders that should be members and might need to hear from us directly.
Finally, as tours and coaches are back on the road, let’s aim to post images of groups travelling and experiencing destinations on our social media channels. Please remember to tag the association in your posts or send us the image directly to us so that we can share your success even further.
We are truly #BetterTogether.