Tourism drops in Canada

The number of tourists to Canada has been declining for the past seven years, according to the results of a new study published by the Hotel Association of

Canada. Tony Pollard, the association’s president, presented his study to the Canadian Parliament’s Standing Committee on Industry, Technology and Science. According to Pollard, in 2007 approximately 34.4% fewer Americans visited their northern neighbour than in 2000. This means that Canada has a so-called “travel deficit” vis-à-vis the United States; more Canadians are traveling to the US than the number of Americans who are visiting

Canada, and this has been to the detriment of the northern country’s tourism sector. According to Pollard, the deficit has increased from about $1 billion seven years ago, to over $7 billion today. The hotel industry has been most heavily hit by this slump in tourism.

While Pollard did acknowledge that the Government of Canada was investing money in order to help develop the tourism sector (such as by promoting the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games), he also believes that more needs to be done, especially in light of the fact that many American families have been turned off by the high value of the Canadian dollar, which has rendered a trip to Canada much less of a bargain than it used to be. The government should invest in border infrastructure and should spell out more clearly what travel documents are required to enter the country. Pollard also noted that many hotels are experiencing great difficulty attracting and keeping the staff they need to run their business. One way to solve this shortage in workers is to permit foreigners to hold jobs in the hotel sector.