Another successful Tourism Hill Days concluded in Ottawa. On February 4 & 5, TIAC led a coalition of members, PTTIA representatives and key stakeholders for a series of meetings, issues briefings and activities to keep tourism top of mind for government and MPs - a carefully timed effort that met Parliament Hill just a few weeks ahead of the upcoming federal budget.

United under the message #TourismMatters, Hill Day participants held over 20 meetings, advocating for Canada’s $97.4 billion tourism sector, with specific asks in 4 priority areas, as addressed in our pre-budget submission: marketing funding, access, labour and cost competitiveness.

Highlights from Hill Days include:

• The Parliamentary Tourism Caucus (PTC) on Feb. 4. TIAC President and CEO Charlotte Bell, together with Meetings Means Business Canada and industry representatives calling on government to address tourism pressing issues. Around 20 MPs, including the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie and the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Rural Economic Development were in attendance;

• TIAC’s Hill Day reception guest of honour was The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie who spoke of the importance of tourism as a major economic driver for Canada;

• Additionally, the reception hosted 70 Parliamentarians and tourism representatives, including The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, with snaps shared across Canada thanks to an interactive social media corner that sparked plenty of fun and interactions amongst attendees;

• Hill Days generated major buzz on social media, with nearly 20,000 Twitter impressions over two days. TIAC’s message echoed across Canada under the hashtag #TourismMatters.