GROSSE ÎLE, QC, May 22, 2015 - Today Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced his government's support for Connecting America, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada's (TIAC) marketing proposal to attract US visitors to Canada.

The federal government has pledged to invest $30M over three years in a partnering formula to re-enter the United States with a strategically-aligned and innovative leisure marketing campaign led by the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC).

"By investing in US marketing, the government has responded to the top priority of tourism businesses across the country," stated Charlotte Bell, TIAC President and CEO. "During our Tourism Town Hall consultations across Canada, industry has been unanimous in their desire to get back in the US market and take advantage of the recovering US economy, record high passport ownership and the favourable exchange rate."

While Canada currently welcomes 11.5 million American visitors yearly spending over $7 billion to the economy annually, these numbers are down 24% from a decade ago. Connecting America will target US leisure travellers and raise awareness of Canada's world class hospitality and tourism experiences.

Small and medium sized businesses comprise 98% of Canada's tourism sector. Connecting America is estimated to generate up to $400M in new spending and 2 900 new jobs across the country.

"Tourism is a fiercely competitive global industry where ease of access, world-class experiences and strength of marketing voice define advantage. TIAC continues to work through the Federal Tourism Strategy to improve conditions for tourism businesses to generate wealth and create jobs in communities across Canada," concluded Bell.

TIAC wishes to acknowledge the support of the Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, Blake Richards, MP and Chair of the Parliamentary Tourism Caucus and the parliamentarians, provincial governments and industry activists that worked on this initiative.

Click here to read the PM's release.

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For more information, please contact:

Rob Taylor

VP, Public & Industry Affairs
Tourism Industry Association of Canada
rtaylor@tiac.travel 
t: 613-238-6251
c: 613-716-5442