As the House of Commons returns for the fall session on September 17, TIAC has been hard at work this summer preparing for a busy season!

Topping the list on our priorities is following up on our recently submitted pre-Budget submission to the federal government. This document outlines priorities to help grow our sector and address five key areas: labour shortages, cost-competitiveness, streamlining the visa process for tourists, ensuring adequate tourism marketing funding and a call to action on a whole-of-government approach to tourism policy.

TIAC will be addressing these issues at the political level with all major parties in Canada ahead of the 2019 federal election in the hope of engaging politicians on tourism issues as they develop their party policy platforms.

We are also pleased to announce that TIAC President and CEO Charlotte Bell will be presenting our pre-budget submission to the Parliamentary Finance Committee on September 26th from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm EST. TIAC will also be addressing tourism issues and integrating these themes into the Tourism Congress and our communications channels, as we work with the industry to spread the word to political hopefuls in every riding about why Tourism Matters!

In addition to our annual Tourism Congress, we’re also preparing additional Town Hall stops in other markets in Canada this fall, as well as organizing ‘China Readiness’ sessions for tourism businesses.

We’re looking forward to a busy and exciting fall. Stay tuned to TIAC Talk and our website for more details.