OTTAWA — As the Canada-China Year of Tourism (CCYT) enters peak tourist season, the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, announced that she will lead a delegation of more than two dozen Canadian tourism companies, alongside provincial and territorial ministers and officials, to China from June 23 to 28.
The week-long mission will bring together tourism-industry businesses and stakeholders, with a focus on Indigenous tourism, rural and remote destinations, culinary tourism and winter sports tourism. The delegation will showcase Canada’s diverse and unique tourism opportunities to Chinese travellers and to the Chinese tourism industry.
Through this mission, Canadian tourism industry leaders will also be immersed in the Chinese market and will develop a better understanding of its potential. They will have the opportunity to promote Canada’s tourism offerings and meet key stakeholders in the Chinese tourism industry through business-to-business matchmaking and briefings from trade and tourism experts.
“China is Canada’s second-largest overseas source market for tourists, and it’s growing. Our government understands the economic opportunity this represents for the more than 200,000 small businesses in the industry and the close to 1.8 million Canadians whose jobs are supported by tourism,” says Chagger. “Our goal is to double the number of Chinese visitors coming to Canada by 2021, and the relationships we build on this trade mission will strengthen our business-to-business connections in this key market.”
The delegation will include tourism-industry leaders from across Canada, including Parks Canada, Destination Canada, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) and the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada (ITAC).
