OTTAWA, February 4, 2014 - Today's announcement to eliminate the single-entry visitor visa in favour of expanding Canada's 10 year, multi-entry visa is another step towards modernizing Canada's visa processing system that will help to incent return travel by those issued Canadian visas.

Globally, travel and tourism is the 4th fastest growing export sector, with much of the growth attributable to countries like Brazil, Mexico, India and China. Canada's ability to attract visitors from these important markets is contingent upon competitive pricing and a modern and efficient visa processing system.
 
"This makes us more competitive in a very competitive world. We hope this will promote return visits and take some volume out of the system to ensure increased service," remarked David Goldstein, TIAC President & CEO.
 
"TIAC is re-iterating our call for the government to reinvest a portion of the $350 million it receives each year in immigration service fees back into system modernization. We welcomed the two year, $42 million investment in expanding visa application centres as announced in the 2013 Economic Action Plan and encourage additional re-investments to augment capacity and efficiency," concluded Goldstein.

TIAC's 2013 report Gateway to Growth | Progress Report On Canadian Visitor Visa Process reviews the impacts of visas on Canada's travel and tourism industry.

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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