Dear TIAC Member, 

 

Given the growing global COVID-19 crisis and its impact on the travel economy, we want you to know what we are doing on your behalf. Since this crisis began, TIAC has been communicating daily with numerous senior federal government officials to ensure the devastating impact on the tourism industry is top-of-mind as Government establishes a stimulus package in the coming days to address this situation.  We are also working collaboratively with many other national, provincial and territorial organizations to share information and support efforts to ensure government relief and recovery measures address the very real and immediate need to support the tourism sector as one of the earliest and hardest hit industries during this crisis. 

 

As many other organizations are doing across Canada, the entire TIAC team is working remotely until this is over. But we are here for you every day and for the duration of this crisis, and beyond.  In addition to our daily website updates on COVID-19  which began several weeks ago, we will provide you with regular advocacy updates so you know the steps we are taking on your behalf.  

 

Given the quickly evolving situation over the past few days, our President and CEO has had numerous discussions with various government departments, including officials in the Finance Minister’s office and Minister Joly’s office, Tourism opposition critics, Blake Richards and Gord Johns, as well as consultations with several organizations representing tourism stakeholders.  At the urging of the CEO, the TIAC Board held an emergency board meeting on Saturday, March 14 to discuss preparing an urgent request asking Government to consider several federal fiscal stimulus measures for the sector, including those employed in it. 

 

As TIAC represents all sectors of the travel economy, our submission reflects our support for the entire industry.  As you will see in the attached letter  we are calling on government to act quickly as the travel economy is one of the first and most severely impacted sectors of not only the Canadian economy but also the global economy in the immediate term. We emphasized that travel-related businesses of all sizes are experiencing abrupt and direct impacts that will have long-term disastrous repercussions unless short-term relief measures are put in place immediately to keep businesses afloat during the crisis.  At the same time, we reminded government that this is also one of the sectors that has the greatest potential to rebound quickly and significantly contribute to the recovery of the Canadian economy as a whole.

 

TIAC has continued discussions with Government officials from several key Ministers’ offices this week, including Minister Bains at Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) as well as the Finance and Tourism Ministers’ senior advisors.  Senior representatives from the Bank of Canada reached out to TIAC President and CEO yesterday to discuss the severity of impacts where the need for action in the form of bold and immediate measures that ensure the survival or our businesses and workforce was stressed. These discussions are on-going - we have connected the Bank of Canada with other stakeholders to provide additional information - and will continue to communicate with them. 

 

Additionally, TIAC is in regular contact with other National, provincial and territorial sector organizations to help ensure communications align messaging and data. 

 

As representative of all sectors of the travel economy, we fully support the submissions filed on behalf of the Canadian Airports Council (CAC), the National Association of Canadian Carriers (NACC), the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC), the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) and others like the Canadian Society of Association’s Executives’ (CSAE) call for support for Not for Profit Associations.   

 

We know these are very difficult times for you, your organizations and your teams.  We will continue to work on your behalf and will not rest until this is over. We will continue to work on obtaining relief and recovery measures to help you through this as a top priority. Please continue to monitor our website https://tiac-aitc.ca/ for regular daily updates, as well as our social media activities and posts.  

 

Together we will get through this.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

President & CEO

Tourism Industry Association of Canada

contact@tiac-aitc.ca

t: 613- 238-6378