Good news on World Tourism Day: Tourism spending in Canada rose 5.7% from January to June 2018 Français
Statistics Canada releases national tourism indicators for second quarter 2018
OTTAWA, Sept. 27, 2018 /CNW/ - Tourism is a vital industry in communities across Canada. The tourism economy means prosperity and good middle-class jobs, so that's why the Government of Canada is committed to supporting tourism from coast to coast to coast.
Today, as we celebrate World Tourism Day, Statistics Canada released a report highlighting the latest quarterly results for Canada's tourism sector.
In the first half of 2018, tourism spending in Canada was $43.8 billion, an increase of 5.7% compared to the first half of 2017. Domestic revenues edged up 6.4% to almost $34.5 billion, and tourism revenues from international travellers increased 3.2% to over $9.3 billion.
In the first half of 2018, tourism activities directly accounted for $18.7 billion of Canada's GDP, an increase of 6.2% over the first half of 2017. Tourism directly accounted for 733,800 jobs in the first half of 2018, an increase of 1.4% compared to the first half of 2017.
Tourism is a vital part of the Canadian economy, and the sector is growing. From 2014 to 2017, Canada's tourism sector gained ground by almost every measure. International arrivals in Canada grew by an average of 8% per year, and the tourism sector's contribution to GDP grew by an average of 4.6% per year. The tourism sector is a good source of employment for Canadians, supporting 1.8 million jobs across the country. From 2014 to 2017, the number of jobs in Canada's tourism sector grew by an average of 1.7% per year.
Statistics Canada's release of the latest numbers on the Canadian tourism industry coincides with World Tourism Day, a yearly celebration instituted by the World Tourism Organization.
Quote
"On World Tourism Day, we celebrate the contribution of Canada's thriving tourism industry. Tourism is a key part of the Canadian economy and creates good middle-class jobs in every community. As the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, I look forward to increasing Canada's engagement with partners throughout the international community on tourism matters in order to create economic growth that will benefit Canadians from coast to coast to coast."
– The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie
Quick facts
- Canada's tourism industry is thriving, supporting over 1.8 million jobs across the country.
- In the first half of 2018, Canada welcomed a record 8.6 million international tourists, an increase of 1.6% over the same period in 2017.
- China is Canada's second largest source of tourists. In the first half of 2018, Canada welcomed 300,800 tourists from China, an increase of 9.1% over the same period last year.
- The 2018 Canada-China Year of Tourism is an opportunity for Canada and China to build on and deepen the people-to-people ties that connect us.
- China is the world's largest outbound tourism market, with 142.7 million trips in 2017. In 2016, Chinese travellers contributed $1.488 billion to Canada's tourism sector.
Associated links
Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on Twitter: @ISED_CA
Follow @cdntourism on social media for tourism-related news: Twitter, Instagram
SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Jeremy Ghio, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, 343-998-5328; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 343-291-1777, [email protected]
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