Canadian Tourism Commission releases 2014 Annual Report

Tourism as Canada’s Engine for Growth highlights a pivotal year for the country’s tourism industry, with revenue, arrivals and employment all blossoming.

Tweet: Why 2014 was a pivotal year for our industry—our 2014 Annual Report: Tourism as Canada’s Engine for Growth http://ow.ly/K7QTP

Vancouver, BC, May 14, 2015: The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC)’s 2014 Annual Report: Tourism as Canada’s Engine for Growth puts the spotlight on a pivotal year for the Canadian tourism industry. All major tourism indicators for Canada rose, especially tourism revenue, GDP, employment and arrivals.  CTC’s overseas leisure markets led the charge, delivering a 10% year-on-year rise in visitors to Canada.

International consumers had an insatiable appetite for travel in 2014: the latest World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) report showed that there were more than 1.1 billion global travellers, up 4.7% on the previous year. This surge is being fuelled by emerging economies and a growing global middle class, particularly in China and India, CTC markets that saw growth of 29% and 19% respectively in 2014.

Overall tourism export revenue reached $17.3 billion, maintaining Canada’s tourism industry as one of the country’s crucial economic drivers and No. 1 service export, with almost 627,000 jobs directly attributable to tourism. CTC also continued to support Canada’s Federal Tourism Strategy, building new strategic alliances with other government departments helping facilitate the hugely successful CAN+ visa program in Mexico and India.

The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Industry, has just tabled the report in Parliament.

“2014 was a strong year for the tourism sector in Canada, with particularly strong increases in arrivals from the key markets where the CTC invests in marketing and promotion with our partners,” says Scott Allison, chairperson (interim) of CTC’s Board of Directors. “Canada is reasserting itself as a global destination and we expect those results to continue in 2015.”

The 2014 Annual Reporthighlights the financial benefits for Canada that are directly attributable to CTC’s 2014 marketing activities, including:

• $925 million in tourism revenue for Canada’s economy
• $122 million toward federal tax revenue
• 7,500 jobs created or protected in Canadian tourism businesses.

The Annual Report showcases some of CTC’s best 2014 activities and campaigns. CTC helped China become Canada’s second-largest overseas market with an innovative content marketing initiative, CTCTV, an online biweekly TV program covering travel in Canada. CTC’s Business Events Canada team helped bring the annual TED conference to Canada, highlighting the country’s intellectual capital to global leaders in business, arts, science and academia.

“Working in partnership in 12 markets globally, the ‘sun never sets’ on the CTC’s work as we promote Canada as a premier travel destination,” says David Goldstein, CTC president and CEO. “We are proud to share the results of these efforts for the past year.  I want to thank provincial, territorial and destination marketing organizations, and all of our private-sector partners across Canada who continue to work with us.”

The Annual Report is CTC’s mechanism for reporting back to Parliament on its activities during its fiscal year.

Additional web links:

• Tourism Industry Factsheet to learn more about Canada’s visitor economy
• CTC Corporate Profile for key facts and figures about the Canadian Tourism Commission
• Brand Canada Library for rights-ready, free-to-use images and videos

About the Canadian Tourism Commission:
The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is Canada’s national tourism marketing organization. A federal Crown corporation of the Government of Canada, we lead the Canadian tourism industry in marketing Canada as a premier four-season tourism destination. Our vision is to inspire the world to explore Canada. With our partners in the tourism industry and the governments of Canada, the provinces and the territories, we promote Canada’s extraordinary experiences in 10 leisure marketsaround the world, conduct market research plus provide resources and toolkits to help industry leverage Canada’s successful tourism brand, Canada. Keep Exploring. For regular updates on CTC initiatives, subscribe to CTC News or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

For further information, please contact:

Margaret Nevin

Senior Corporate Communications Advisor
Canadian Tourism Commission
Tel: 604-638-8406

NT3