OTTAWA, ON, November 27, 2015 - Today the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and HLT Advisory (HLT) released the 2015 Annual Report on Canadian Tourism. This fourth annual collaboration examines the current state of Canada's tourism industry and provides a detailed, industry-focused look at issues impacting Canadian competitiveness. In addition to relevant statistics and research from 2015, the report focuses on the importance of bringing more Americans to Canada, the impact of the low-dollar on attracting visitors, the danger of relying on currency exchange as a growth strategy and re-defining how we perceive and market to short and long-haul travel markets.

"2015 is shaping up to be one of the best years for Canadian tourism in over a decade. There are several factors contributing to this success, most of which are short term and outside our control including US economic conditions and favourable currency exchange rates, " stated TIAC President and CEO Charlotte Bell. "Moving from an anomaly to a sustainable industrial strategy requires more than currency exchange and TIAC looks forward to working with the new federal government to achieve an adequately funded federal marketing partnership; an aviation cost structure reflecting a fair and competitive level of fees, taxes and levies; and solutions to the labour market challenges facing employers across Canada," Bell added.

International tourism is one of the fastest growing economic sectors on the globe, serving as a major economic driver and job creator for countries that make it a priority. While Canada's numbers are solid, our market share of the tourism industry is not keeping pace with other countries. The UNWTO ranks Canada as 17th in overall visitation globally when we had been as high as 8th in 2000. Furthermore, Canada is the only country to fall out of the top ten since 2000.

"The tourism industry has changed since Canada was a top 10 destination and so too have traveller behaviours. For this report we examined the strategic growth opportunities available to Canada in the key markets of China and the United States and analyzed the merits of marketing to long haul versus short haul routes. However you look at it, Canada's ability to return to the top 10 is contingent upon national leadership in funding and maintaining a consistent message to potential international visitors while aligning relevant provincial and municipal partners on the same objective, " stated Lyle Hall, Managing Director of HLT Advisory.

Click here to view the full report.

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For more information, please contact:

Rob Taylor
Vice President, Public and Industry Affairs
Tourism Industry Association of Canada
rtaylor@tiac.travel
t: 613-238-6251
c: 613-716-5442